Christopher Hemsworth AM (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria and Bulman, Northern Territory, he rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series Home and Away (2004–2007) before beginning a film career in Hollywood. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Hemsworth starred as Thor in the 2011 film of the same name and reprised the role in several subsequent installments, which established him among the world's highest-paid actors.
Christopher Hemsworth was born on 11 August 1983 in Melbourne, to Leonie (née van Os), an English teacher, and Craig Hemsworth, a social-services counsellor. He is the second of three sons, following Luke and preceding Liam; both of them are also actors. His maternal grandfather is a Dutch immigrant and his maternal grandmother is of Irish descent; [non-primary source needed] on his paternal line he is of English, Scottish, and German ancestry. He was brought up both in Melbourne and in the Outback in Bulman, Northern Territory. He has said, "My earliest memories were on the cattle stations up in the Outback, and then we moved back to Melbourne and then back out there and then back again. Certainly, most of my childhood was in Melbourne but probably my most vivid memories were up there [in Bulman] with crocodiles and buffalo. Very different walks of life." He attended high school at Heathmont College before his family again returned to the Northern Territory, and then moved a few years later to Phillip Island.
