Chris Hemsworth and dad fight Alzheimer’s with a trip down memory lane

Millions of people around the world live with the harsh reality of Alzheimer’s disease, which also significantly affects their family members. No one is safe, as actor Chris Hemsworth discovered when his own father was recently diagnosed. This revelation inspired Hemsworth to embark on a trip down memory lane with his father, which took them to the Northern Territory in Australia. The experience was filmed for An unforgettable road trip, a new documentary film from National Geographic.

Director Tom Barbor-Might had worked with Hemsworth on the latter’s documentary series Unlimitedalso for National Geographic. Each episode of Unlimited follows Hemsworth on a unique challenge of pushing his limits, complete with interviews with scientific experts on practices like fasting, extreme temperatures, brain stimulation, and regulating the stress response. Barbor-Might directed the season 1 finale, “Acceptance”, which was very different in tone, dealing with the inevitability of death and the need to confront one’s own mortality.

“It was really interesting to see Chris in this more intimate personal space, and he was good at it,” Barbor-Might told Ars. “He was charming and emotional and vulnerable, and it was really moving. It felt like there was still work to be done there.” When Craig Hemsworth received his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to further explore this personal element.

Hemsworth found a scientific guide for this journey in Suraj Samtani, a clinical psychologist at the Center for Healthy Brain Aging in New South Wales, who specializes in dementia. Recent research has shown that the risk of dementia can be cut in half by maintaining regular social interactions and, even after a diagnosis, fostering strong social bonds can slow cognitive decline. Revisiting past experiences, including visiting places from the past, can also boost cognition in people with early-onset dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, hence Hemsworth’s road trip.

The first step was to recreate the family’s 1990s Melbourne home. “The therapeutic practice of reminiscence therapy gave the film not only its intellectual and emotional foundation, but also its structure,” Barbor-Might said. “We really wanted to explore that and also, as an audience, get a glimpse into their family life in the 1990s. It was a sequence that we thought was really important. The owner was extraordinarily willing to let us come back. [the house]. They went to live in a hotel for a month and were very, very noble and accommodating.