HEMSWORTH BROTHERS AT WAR!
Friendly rivalry takes a turn as the siblings grow apart
For years the Hemsworth brothers have shared a good-natured rivalry, whether it was over who scored the hottest movie roles or who surfed better waves.
Even when both Chris and Liam – the younger two of the acting trio – both tried out for Marvel’s Thor, then 18-year-old Liam didn’t hold it against Chris for getting the part.
But Woman’s Day has learned that 13 years later, Chris’ world-famous role is finally coming between them. Due to the pandemic, filming for the latest Thor instalment has moved from Hollywood to Australia, and the border has seen an influx of international A-list names, including Natalie Portman, Jeff Goldblum and Taika Waititi – and Chris has found himself at the centre of a star-studded social scene.
The tight-knit cast were recently spotted attending a South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL game in Sydney, as guests of the team’s co-owner – and most recent addition to the Thor cast – Russell Crowe.
AUSSIE BRAT PACK
Chris’ older brother, Westworld star Luke, 40, has been seen hanging out with the glittering posse of famous names, with a source saying that despite his relatively less famous name, he won street cred in Hollywood from a cameo in Thor: Ragnarok.
But spare a thought for Liam, the 31-year-old baby of the family, who appears to be very much on the outside of 37-yearold Chris’ Aussie brat pack.
“Liam and Chris especially have been inseparable throughout their careers, but lately Liam hasn’t seemed to be such a fixture among Chris’ social circles,” says a source. “Liam has been at a bit of a loose end in the past couple of years. The movie scripts haven’t exactly been piling up at his door, and his divorce from Miley Cyrus took the wind out
of his sails. He lived a very public life up until recently and has become something of a recluse now that he’s moved to Byron Bay fulltime.”
Still, we’re told that long days spent milling around his mansion with low-key model girlfriend Gabriella Brooks, 23, are beginning to wear thin on a man who was once one of Hollywood’s most promising young actors.
“He sees his brother being the ringleader of this new Aussie celebrity scene and is starting to feel left out,” says a source. “Chris is pretty dismissive of the whole thing, saying that Liam and especially Gabriella are much younger than most of his friends and he can’t see why they would want to hang out with a bunch of 40-somethings. But Liam is starting to suspect he’s being rather deliberately left out.”
It’s a new development that surprises many of Liam and Chris’ mutual friends. “For so many years, they were basically a joint package,” says a source. “Whatever Chris does, Liam does too. He followed Chris from LA to Byron, and they co-direct a property development company there together, and are next-door neighbours.
“So for Liam to not be joining Chris and his new mates – not even for a night at the footy, which is right up Liam’s alley – hints that there’s tension there. Perhaps Liam was hoping for a role within the new Thor, but it could easily overshadow Chris so it’s not surprising if it didn’t eventuate and Liam’s sulking.”
According to our source, there could soon be even more distance between Chris and Liam, both figuratively and literally. “[Chris’ wife] Elsa is pushing for them to move to Sydney to be closer to the hustle and bustle,” says a source. “They spend so much time flying in to work and hang out with their new friends that it makes sense.
CITY LIVING
“Elsa was never a huge fan of the big smoke, but lately she’s changed her tune. She’s been loving her girly shopping trips with Isla Fisher, Tessa Thompson and Rita Ora. It feels like a new lease on life for her after years of being marooned in Byron with the kids.
“But a side effect of the family moving south would be abandoning Liam and everything he and Chris have built together, which I can’t imagine him being happy about.”
‘He sees his brother as the ringleader and feels left out’