Actor Chris Hemsworth has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his significant service to the performing arts and charitable organisations.
Hemsworth, best known for his role as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is among the 252 people to to be made an AM as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
The 37-year-old has been a patron of the Australian Childhood Foundation since 2009, donated $1 million to help fight the Black Summer bushfires in 2020 and supports conservation initiatives alongside his wife Elsa Pataky, including AussieArk and WildArk.
He has also supported the local film industry, having convinced Marvel Studios to film the third Thor film, Thor: Ragnarok, in Australia.
Hemsworth learned the ropes on Australian sets, appearing in several well-known local productions before moving to Los Angeles.
Here’s a look back at where he started.
Hemsworth’s first credited role was as King Arthur in short-lived television series Guinevere Jones, which aired on Channel 10 in 2002.
The show was about a girl who moves to Melbourne and finds out she is the reincarnation of Guinevere, King Arthur’s wife.
Hemsworth can be seen in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the show’s opening credits.
In a right-of-passage for all Australian actors, Hemsworth had a role on the popular TV series Neighbours.
He only appeared in one episode in 2002 as Jamie Kane, an assistant working in Stephanie Scully’s shop.
In 2003, Hemsworth appeared in a single episode the children’s TV show The Saddle Club as veterinarian George Whiteside.
His older brother Luke Hemsworth, best known from WestWorld, also had a one-episode appearance on the series.
Summer Bay is where Hemsworth eventually found his home on another popular soap opera, featuring in Home and Away for just over four years as character Kim Hyde.
After his debut in early 2004, Hemsworth won the Logie for Most Popular New Male Talent in 2005.
Similar to Neighbours, Home and Away has helped launch several high-profile Australian acting careers including Isla Fisher, Naomi Watts and Heath Ledger.
Hemsworth left the bay, and the show, in 2007 and moved to Los Angeles.
Hemsworth landed a small but important role in the 2009 Star Trek film, which relaunched the franchise with Chris Pine as James T Kirk.
In the first 10 minutes of the movie, Hemsworth appears as Kirk’s father, George Kirk, who sacrifices himself so the crew of the starship and his newborn son can get to safety.
Hemsworth would appear in a few smaller films after Star Trek before catching his big break.
When Hemsworth and co-star Tom Hiddleston were cast in Marvel’s big budget film Thor as part of its master movie plan, it raised a few eyebrows.
The pair had been chosen for a franchise that had already cast A-list actors in key roles including Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and Samuel L Jackson.
So when the trailer launched, it wasn’t just Agent Phil Coulson asking “who are you?”.
Thor was released in cinemas in April 2011, and as they say, the rest is history.