Chris Hemsworth Jokes Homeschooling Kids Has Improved His 'Negotiation Tactics' (Exclusive)
For Chris Hemsworth, self-isolating with his family while promoting a new movie has been a particularly unique experience.
The Australian action star spoke with ET's Kevin Frazier earlier this week via video chat, and he explained how doing press from his house has been something of respite from the typical pressure and madness leading up one of his films' release dates.
"It's kinda nice to be home, you know? Normally we'd go from country to country to country and all in the space of, you know, a two-week period," Hemsworth, 36, shared. "It's insanely exhausting. I don't miss the travel."
"I miss the sort of interaction with people, certainly, but the changing in time zones, I'm quite happy to do without," he added.
Hemsworth has been self-isolating with wife Elsa Pataky and their three children -- 7-year-old daughter India and 6-year-old twin boys Sasha and Tristan -- and he says he's been taking embracing the unusual situation.
"I'm just enjoying the time at home with the kids and not having a schedule laid out in front of me and not knowing what's coming," he said. "There's a bit of anxiety with that, but also kind of refreshing. I'm just trying to be at peace with that and be in the moment, day by day, and have a positive attitude."
One thing that seems to strain that peace and emotional grace has been homeschooling his young children, which Hemsworth said has been somewhat trying.
"I wish I had a positive attitude about that," Hemsworth joked. "My negotiation tactics are improving though! It's like, three hours of that and then 20 minutes of actual school work."
However, getting to spend all this time with the family comes in stark contrast to how far he was from his kids when shooting his new action epic Extraction.
"We had a two or three-month shoot, and my kids didn’t come with me," he recalled. "I was sort of back and forth a bit, but mostly away from them, and I've never done that before. That was the hardest thing in itself."
In Netflix's latest high-octane original production, Hemsworth stars as an emotionally haunted mercenary who is hired by an Indian drug kingpin to rescue his 14-year-old son from a rival crime lord.
Beneath the skillful action sequences and kinetic gunfights, Extraction tells a story about grief, redemption and a sense of parental responsibility. Hemsworth said he managed to tap into his own experiences as a father, and his desire to spend time with his kids during the production, to bring life his character.
"The unique vulnerability or pain I was feeling…. it certainly added, you know, layers to my [performance]," he reflected. "Any time you can sort of draw upon something that is truthful, that's always the aim."
The action sequences themselves, however, also raised the bar when it came to high-energy on-screen combat, and Hemsworth's antihero mercenary takes a serious beating as he tears his way across Bangladesh trying to keep his teenage ward safe against a literally army of foes.
As it turns out, shooting the intense and realistic fights and stunts took a toll on the handsome star.
"I was pretty beat up. I'm still recovering," Hemsworth admitted. "I mean, during the filming, I was just running on adrenaline. And we had the busiest schedule, the most intense schedule. We were shooting all day long, it was hot, exhausting."
Hemsworth said they were also fueled by "the adrenaline and excitement and enthusiasm that we were doing something pretty special and unique."
Director Sam Hargrave also joined Hemsworth during his chat with ET, and the filmmaker reflected on why Extraction is hitting Netflix at the exact right moment.
"Now, in this crazy time, [it's great] that we can bring people a little bit of, you know, escapism, some entertainment, something new and fresh, a different perspective on an action film," Hargrave said, "and just provide people with entertainment in these times where that's more important than ever."
Extraction marks Hargrave's feature film directorial debut after a long an extensive career as a stuntman and stunt coordinator, and his experience with the nuances of filming action sequences shines through in the pulse-pounding thriller.
Extraction debuts on Netflix on Friday.
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