Chris Hemsworth is one of the most sought-after stars in all of Hollywood – and for good reason. The Australian actor is a physically imposing star with great screen presence and an excellent sense of humor. Of course, the longtime Marvel star has also been noted for his smouldering good looks, which many would agree is partially how he makes his money. And apparently, even before he achieved stardom in Hollywood, the actor was very conscious of how important his visage would be down the road. Because as his trainer recalled, Hemsworth did what he could to avoid being hit in his “pretty face” while they were growing up.
Luke Zocchi has been friends with Chris Hemsworth for years now and has been able to see firsthand how the star has climbed the ranks within Hollywood. Zocchi recently recalled that his longtime pal had always known that he wanted to jump into acting. So as teenagers, Hemsworth declined to get into boxing so that he wouldn’t run the risk of damaging his face:
He didn’t want to ruin that pretty face. I used to say, ‘do you want to do a few rounds in the ring?’ and he was like ‘No way! I’m going to Hollywood, I can’t get punched in the face!
The Extraction star has proven to be somewhat of a daredevil over the course of his career, having performed wild stunts on set and surfed in shark-infested waters in his personal time. With that in mind, it may seem a bit funny that he once drew the line when it comes to boxing. You can understand his logic, however. Had his face been bruised or somewhat scarred by the time he auditioned for Marvel Studios, the company may not have felt as inclined to cast him as the pristine God of Thunder.
Today though, Chris Hemsworth’s relationship with the sport has changed, as it’s now part of his training regimen. In the midst of his training for Extraction 2 (which is now filming), he shared a badass (shirtless) video in which he was getting it in with a punching bag. Hemsworth also has an occasional sparring partner in the form of UFC coach Jorge Blanco, as Luke Zocchi went on to reveal during his interview with Insider. However, the Bad Times at the El Royale alum takes great care when going toe to toe with Blanco:
Jorge has been very gentle and uses a little jab here and there, but is definitely not going too hard. Chris is pretty respectful. He knows that Jorge could probably kill him if he wanted to. So Chris throws a few punches, and they move around.
At this point, the actor’s training and eating schedules have arguably received as much attention as his actual body of work. Many seem to be particularly enamored with techniques he utilizes to gain those swole arms. Though there are some things he isn’t willing to do while getting in shape. Last year, he took part in a wild gym trend called occlusion training, during which a person uses special bands to cut off the blood flow to certain muscles while lifting weights. He eventually dropped the trend due to the “painful” side effects.
It’s comforting to know that Chris Hemsworth continues to take care when it comes to maintaining all parts of his person, including his face. I’m sure his loyal fans wouldn’t love him any less if he had a few facial imperfections. Yet if he wants to continue to keep himself blemish free, they probably won’t have any problems with that either.