Chris Hemsworth confessed that getting married and having children changed his career.
“I do wonder sometimes, if we hadn’t met, what my career would look like,” Hemsworth, 35, told GQ Australia of wife Elsa Pataky, whom he married in 2010. “Have I made decisions based on that? How has that influenced me? There’s times when I’ve thought, ‘Wow, because having kids is more important to me, some of my roles have suffered.’ There’s definitely a couple of films I could’ve put way more energy into but I was like, ‘No, I’d rather be with my kids.'”
Hemsworth and Pataky, 42, are parents to daughter India, 6, and twin sons Sasha and Tristan, 4.
“I don’t regret that but I’m aware,” he continued of his family life’s influence on his roles. “You can’t completely dismiss what that pursuit does for you either. I often find myself saying, ‘It’s all for my family,’ but in all this I definitely have personal things I need to achieve, too. The difference is you have to open yourself up and go, ‘Well, you had kids so you forfeited a bit of that.’ It can’t be a truly individual, selfish endeavor, but we still need to take care of our own. Now my identity is another team, another community — the community being the family. You have to adapt and be malleable.”
The “Bad Times at the El Royale” star enjoys the relatively low demands of the “in and out” job as opposed to other pursuits in show business, like directing, for which he wasn’t sure he had the stamina.
He also admits he likes the payday.
“Once you get the jobs, you wonder did you actually just want to be famous? Was it purely about money? An artistic expression? I’ve arrived at a place of truth and while the attraction was a few things, one was definitely financially,” he said, reflecting on his modest upbringing in Australia. “I did not want to be broke, like we’d been broke when we grew up. I wanted to take care of my parents and my family.”
Of course, as one of Forbes’ highest-grossing actors, Hemsworth has little to worry about financially anymore, but he still has concerns.
“I feel gross about [my wealth],” he admitted. “I remember saving up for a surfboard when I was younger. The surfboard was 600 bucks and I saved up for a whole year with Dad’s help. I didn’t even want to surf on it for fear of damaging it. It taught me so many lessons about appreciation and working hard for something. When I think about my kids, I don’t want them to miss that joy.”
“Elsa and I talk a lot about how we instill that same appreciation and respect for things,” he continued. “I don’t want them to feel like they’re privileged in any way. The fact that we have money and their parents are famous, that somehow they’re special, that scares me because we grew up with no money.”
See why Chris Hemsworth was named 2014’s Sexiest Man Alive:
![©BAUER-GRIFFIN.COM Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth look disheveled and dirty in their costumes as they film 'Snow White and the Huntsman' on location outdoors. In between takes Kristen gets a touch up on her hair and takes a smoke break. NON-EXCLUSIVE November 10, 2011 Job: 111110H1 Surrey, England www.bauergriffin.com www.bauergriffinonline.com [KGC-04]](https://cdn.statically.io/img/pagesix.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2014/11/111110h1_hemsworth_b-gr_04.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=393)
