How Chris Hemsworth Became the New Kind of Leading Man

Chris Hemsworth gives his family top billing.

And a globally famous star who is as earnest about his feelings in public as he is in private is pretty rare, especially for Hollywood action stars, writes GQ.

The actor’s openness and warmth in terms of talking about his family is not lost on fans, particularly female fans, who do not tend to hear famous men speak candidly about the difficulties of juggling a demanding career with raising a child.

“Obviously women are asked all the time, ‘How do you balance it?’ Men are never asked that,” Tessa Thompson, Hemsworth’s co-star in the most recent Thor movie, Thor: Ragnarok, and in the forthcoming Men in Black film, told GQ for their cover story on the star.

She said that Hemsworth’s frankness about his fatherly priorities is endearing because it’s effortless. “It’s so lovable, because it’s really honest.”

When Hemsworth was a rising star in Hollywood, men were supposed to be rebels, not dads. And they were also supposed to stay single. But Hemsworth met his wife, actress Elsa Pataky in 2010 and they married shortly afterwards.

He looked like a leading man — blue eyes, eternal tan, endless muscles — so he got the customary masculine roles. But now with more clout, Hemsworth has thrown out the macho playbook and created his own template, emerging as an actor eager to skewer the old stereotypes.