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.

"[5] He attended high school at Heathmont College[5] before his family again returned to the Northern Territory, and then moved a few years later to Phillip Island.

[14] Josh Tyler of CinemaBlend was impressed with Hemsworth, describing the actor's scene as the "best five minutes I've spent in a movie theater this year.

"[20] Hemsworth went on to play Sam in 2010's Ca$h alongside English actor Sean Bean, which was the first film he shot when he arrived in the United States.

The film's director, Stephen Milburn Anderson, said Hemsworth had only been in the United States for six weeks when he had auditioned for the role, recalling, "Here's a guy who is young, has the right look, is a very good actor and, let's face it, he's beautiful.

He and castmate Tom Hiddleston, who ultimately played Loki, had each auditioned for the role, for which Hemsworth said he gained 20 pounds of muscle.

[26] The film received positive reviews,[27] and Hemsworth's portrayal of the God of Thunder was praised by Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times.

[28] Hemsworth reprised the role the following year for the film The Avengers (2012) as one of the six superheroes—alongside Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark / Iron Man, Chris Evans' Steve Rogers / Captain America, Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner / Hulk, Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanova / Black Widow, and Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton / Hawkeye—sent to defend Earth from his adopted brother, Loki.

It garnered positive reviews,[33] and his portrayal of Alpha male jock Curt Vaughan was described by Alison Foreman of Mashable as his "sexiest" role yet.

[40] In 2013, Hemsworth starred in Ron Howard's sports drama film Rush, as 1976 Formula 1 World Champion James Hunt.

[41] Henry Barnes of The Guardian was impressed with Hemsworth's performance, praising the actor for delivering the "superb script" with "some mastery.

[53] In addition to the film receiving positive reviews[54] and grossing over US$1.4 billion worldwide,[55] Hemsworth also won the People's Choice Awards for Favorite Action Movie Actor.

[60] His last 2015 film was In the Heart of the Sea, based on the book of the same name by Nathaniel Philbrick, with Hemsworth playing first mate Owen Chase.

In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he said that to prepare for the role of starving sailors, the cast was put on a diet of 500–600 calories a day to lose weight.

[66][67] The film disappointed critically and commercially, but Hemsworth was praised for "deliver[ing] the most fun" by Caroline Westbrook of Metro[68] and won the Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Movie Actor.

[74] Meanwhile, in his review of Avengers: Endgame, Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal acknowledged "Hemsworth's Thor, endearing despite some ragged material and the actor's seemingly limited dramatic range" while praising Hemsworth in the MCU Infinity Saga finale "as the graceful, exuberant comic actor he was destined to be, while Thor morphs, alarmingly and charmingly—yet still heroically—into a beer-bellied apparition who could pass for Jeff Lebowski.

[81] The film grossed US$253 million worldwide and received generally unfavourable reviews from critics, who criticised the "lackluster action and forgettable plot," although the chemistry between Hemsworth and co-star Tessa Thompson was praised.

[83] After being watched by 90 million households in its initial month of release, the film broke Netflix's viewership record previously held by Bird Box.

The episodes saw Hemsworth take a plunge in icy Arctic water, fast for long periods of time, and participate in an indigenous Australian ceremony.

[96][97] In October 2024, Hemsworth entered talks to play the title character in Paul King's Prince Charming for Disney.

[99] His exercise routines have been regularly discussed in the media, including The Times of India,[100] Men's Health,[101][102] MensXP,[103] Entertainment Tonight,[104] and Metro.

[126] In episode five of his National Geographic documentary Limitless (2022), Hemsworth revealed that his maternal grandfather suffers from Alzheimer's disease.

It was also revealed that Hemsworth himself has inherited two copies of the APOE4 gene, one from his mother and one from his father, which makes it eight to ten times likelier for him to eventually develop Alzheimer's disease than the general population.