Liam is the one engaged to Miley Cyrus. Chris is the one who’s in that superhero movie with the hammer. And Luke is … who the hell is Luke?
These three actors, Australian-bred and innately brooding, comprise the fabulously Hemsworth brothers. Luke, 32, is the oldest, followed by Chris at 30, with Liam being the youngest at the tender age of 23. But it’s easy to see why you may not be able to distinguish between the three of them. They’re all blond-ish, blue-eyed with beefy builds. And while they’ve starred in some of the biggest blockbusters of the past few years, even the industry has a hard time keeping track. “I learned today you guys have a third brother,” Jimmy Kimmel told the youngest Hemsworth during an interview on Monday. “Is he hideous like the two of you?”
Luke—the “third brother”—stays mainly under the American radar. He’s a TV actor who got his start in Australia’s soap opera sensation Neighbours and went on to star in a handful of other Aussie TV fare. He has three children with his wife Samantha, whom he married in 2007. “He’s our oldest brother and he got into acting first,” Liam said during his interview with Jimmy Kimmel. “He was doing TV shows for a while when I was in high school, and that was what led me to do acting, and Chris as well.”
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Luke stars alongside Ian Somerhalder, Brian Cox, and Alexis Knapp in The Anomaly, out in 2014.
Meanwhile, his two younger brothers have taken the opposite approach, diving headfirst into film roles in the U.S.
Chris Hemsworth, the middle of the three boys, is best known for his roles as the unworldly superhero in Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), and the upcoming Thor: The Dark World (2013). He also starred opposite Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron in last year’s Snow White and The Huntsman. He’s already signed on for sequels to Avengers and Huntsman, but first he will appear in Rush, based on the real life story of racecar driver James Hunt and his nearly life-ending crash. Chris is known for his do-gooder roles (sacrificing his life in Star Trek, saving the world as Thor—a role for which he put on 20 lbs. of muscle), so the racecar driver role will be a bit of a stretch (read: drunk, womanizing, etc. etc.). Before shooting, Hemsworth asked director Ron Howard, “Is James the villain or is he the hero?”
Off screen, Chris plays daddy to India Rose, his 1-year-old daughter with Spanish actress Elsa Pataky, whom he married in 2010. Photos of Chris holding his pint-sized daughter in his beefy, sculpted arms were quick to surface, prompting swoons from women worldwide.
Then there’s Liam, the youngest but equally as bankable actor whom you’ve probably seen running through the forest alongside Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games. Before The Hunger Games, Liam starred in The Last Song, adapted from the popular Nicholas Sparks novel with the same name. While the film had nowhere near the success of another Sparks adaptation, The Notebook, Liam began a relationship with costar and former Disney queen Miley Cyrus in 2010. The pair got engaged in June of 2012, and are still engaged (we think), but it’s been anything but smooth sailing. The constantly on-again off-again couple hadn’t been seen together in public for nearly 14 months until they showed up to promote Hemsworth’s latest flick, Paranoia, at the premiere this month.
According to Us magazine, Liam’s two brothers even staged an intervention to help get him out of the relationship. “Liam’s loved ones think he needs someone more stable,” said a source. Another source added, “Liam’s brothers had heart-to-hearts with him because they were worried. Each time, he was more receptive.” Back in late June, Miley attempted to silence rumors the pair would split, and when asked if the couple would still marry on an appearance during Good Morning America, Cyrus replied: “I’m still wearing a ring, so…”
Liam Hemsworth will reprise his role as one third of the Jennifer Lawrence love triangle in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, out this November. In September, he’ll begin filming the last Hunger Games installment, to be released in typical trilogy fashion—two parts in 2014/15.
And while the boys seem to be close knit—all appearing on the same Australian soap where eldest brother Luke got his start—there is always family rivalry. According to Deadline Hollywood, Chris’s original audition for Thor didn’t impress casting directors, so they brought in younger brother Liam to test. But the directors passed on Liam, and decided to give Chris a second audition (And now, a sequel).
Although no final word on casting for next year’s most anticipated film has been made, we wouldn’t be surprised if Liam, Chris, or even eldest brother Luke could be up for the biggest, and kinkiest role in Hollywood. 50 Shades of Grey, anyone?
