Movies, series, streaming

In a new series, Chris Hemsworth shows us how to tap into the fountain of youth. By Tymon Smith

Human beings are obsessed with the idea of beating death. The myth of the Fountain of Youth and the power of its waters to give drinkers eternal life stretches back to the writings of Herodotus in the fifth century BC, through to the Crusades-era writings of Prester John in the 11th century and the legend of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León whose quest for the fountain led him to Florida in 1513.

In 2006, director Darren Aronofsky offered his vision of the myth in his critically slated but cult-favourite film The Fountain with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz as a couple experiencing life, love and the search for immortality across time periods.

Aronofsky says longevity science was in the realm of science fiction back then, but now the scientific investigation into living longer through the adoption of bizarre techniques has become pop culture. “A lot of people think about how longevity science can help them to live better, longer,” he says.

The director explores the popular theories of longevity science in a documentary series developed for National Geographic, recruiting Thor actor Chris Hemsworth as a guinea pig to investigate aspects of the modern-era search for the fountain of youth.

The show Limitless with Chris Hemsworth is a Men’s Health meets Hercules science travelogue in which the actor takes on extreme challenges beneficial to fighting the ageing process. He learns how to manage stress preparing to walk across a crane suspended 200m in the air; takes a swim in sub-zero Arctic waters; fasts for four days; goes walkabout in the Australian outback with only the sun, stars and his memory to guide him; and finally dons an MIT-developed ageing suit to experience what life may be like as an octogenarian in a specially created old age home where he comes face to face with his mortality.

The 39-year-old opens up to the camera about his personal history and his hopes and fears as he thinks about how to ensure he’ll live long enough to see his two children grow up and to play with his grandchildren. He admits: “It’s easier to play a character, hiding behind a mask, than to be yourself, especially in a docuseries where I’m put through physical, mental and emotional challenges.”

It was important for Aronofsky to make his star feel nervous, uncertain and uncomfortable. “Knocking yourself out of homeostasis and your comfort zone is the theme of some of the techniques pitched in Limitless. There are jolts we have to do to our systems. The science supports that as a way of helping us to live healthier lives.”

It’s one thing to be the chiselled Hemsworth, travelling the world in a filmed adventure series about mortality and a different thing to be an ordinary mortal. But thanks to Aronofsky’s dedication in offering audiences information and techniques to use in their daily lives to live more healthily (and a particularly moving final episode offering hard truths about death), the show ultimately succeeds in being something more than one boy’s own adventure.

Hemsworth says: “I came to the show thinking: ‘This’ll be fun; I’m fit and healthy – it’ll be a journey,’ and realised wow there’s so much more that I can do. So many people resonate with a lot of the ideas here and they’re not science fiction and they’re a lot more familiar than they were so it’s perfect timing and it’s something that I want to continue to implement, absolutely.”

He’s just announced his retirement from acting after discovering during the filming of Limitless that he has a genetically higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and that’s not the only thing Hemsworth has learned. “I do a lot of ice baths and saunas, get my sleep in order, stress management (that was a big one). I’ve been very busy over the years, going from job to job to job and not really thinking about my internal environment and having to look this way for a film, but equally important is how do I feel inside and am I in a state of fight or flight constantly or am I more passive or still?”

Limitless with Chris Hemsworth is now streaming on Disney Plus.