Chris Hemsworth: A Roadtrip to Remember. Exclusive Director interview.
Moving beyond his own health as featured in the LIMITLESS series, in this deeply emotional special, Chris embarks on an intimate motorcycle journey across Australia with his father, Craig, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, to rekindle memories and strengthen their bond, exploring the effective science of connection, community and nostalgia — crucial but often overlooked tools in protecting brain health.
In this touching and uplifting journey, inspired by Craig’s recent diagnosis, Chris and his father set out on their motorcycles on a “road trip back in time,” visiting people and places from their shared past, from suburban Melbourne to the wild expanses of Australia’s Northern Territories, to explore the profound science of social connection. Through the stunning, vast landscapes of Australia, Chris and Craig's journey becomes a funny and moving exploration of a father and son's bond, proving that love, community and shared experience can be potent medicine.
Tom Barbor-Might is a multiple award-winning director, writer and showrunner specializing in premium factual television. His work has been both commercially and critically successful internationally, and he has worked with many of the world’s leading streaming platforms, networks and brands. His shows have been internationally acclaimed for blending drama and documentary while bringing cinematic techniques to the telling of ambitious and moving factual stories, playfully blurring the lines between factual and dramatic filmmaking.
Recent credits include Apple TV+’s “Becoming You.” Shot in 10 countries and across six American states, this landmark series was documented on a truly epic scale. In 2022, Barbor-Might directed the ambitious Season 1 finale of Nat Geo’s “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth.”
Barbor-Might returned to work with Chris Hemsworth and his family on the documentary “A Road Trip To Remember,” following their successful collaboration on the emotive and experimental “Acceptance” episode and first-season finale of “Limitless.” “Road Trip” is Barbor-Might’s most intimate collaboration yet.
My father died last year and minutes into this film, it really touched a nerve. It’s going to be a very personal watch for many people for lots of different reasons. Do you go into a project like this intentionally trying to explore different reactions from people?
- I think first of all on a project like this.. one of the things that attracted me, I had very personal experiences like you have, and I’m very sorry for that. We don’t really talk about these things. We will all experience loss, and one of the things I’ve been trying to do, especially with Chris actually, is to tackle those things that are in plain sight but don’t get talked about.
We wanted to go ‘ok, this touches countless people all over the world, many people have the horror of these experiences every day and I don’t think it’s vastly reflected in culture, certainly not in popular entertainment’. So we wanted to put something honest out to talk about these things. It has a science behind it, it’s documentary journalism but also captures personal storytelling. It became very clear to me that it had to be Chris and Craig’s story and if we got that right, people would connect to it.
What really got me was those moments where you catch on Chris’s face that horror and realisation of his Father’s deterioration. That moment where he notices things, and you capture those real moments but you obviously have all the technical stuff around it, making a film. So how do you keep it so real?
- Great question, we wanted it to be cinematic and that comes with a lot of technology, a lot of crew members, me there and all of that. So part of that was the actual set was really small. It was myself, two operators, Chris, his Dad and that’s that. We used long lenses to keep the cameras far back and all the conversations were real, I did not say ‘Chris, ask him this’, that never happened. What you see is what happened for real, and it was shot in order as well. Although we had a structure, the scenes were open-ended. The other thing is Chris and Craig really committed to being honest. Those looks from Chris you picked up on, it’s very interesting you did pick up on them and I’m glad you did, because that’s the reality of what it’s like.
You’ve been so sensitive… you could have exploited situations or constructed or reconstructed things. Is it difficult to not do that?
- We set out to make something that wasn’t going to force a story. It was never a pressure that I felt, there is always a pressure to make sure you come home with a film, yes, but not only is it beautiful looking and cinematic, it also happens the way that you see it. There’s a sequence in the house where Craig’s Alzheimer’s manifests, and that was a moment where we just let the cameras roll. We did tell them we will always stop if anything feels wrong, that was a rule, but with that came a lot of trust.
With some of the real sensitive moments are the studio elements, where they’re talking individually. How were those filmed?
- Completely individually, Chris and I had a day together, then Craig and I and his wife Leone was there to support him. We really wanted Craig to have his own voice, which came with a duty of care. Documentary interviews are strange things, they’re strangely therapeutic. Apart from therapy, there aren’t many times in life where people get to talk like this.
When Chris did see those scenes of his dad talking, how did he react?
- We had dinner the last night, and I was telling him about it and he really wanted to see the rushes, so we got them to him so he could watch it. Craig as you say really is very stoical, a strong silent type. Seeing his dad open up was very, very moving. Hearing him talk about fears, his emotions… I think it was a big moment for everybody.
My kids love Chris’s recent series, now you’ve done those, do you or Chris have ideas of what to do next?
- We joke that I did the season finale of the first run of Limitless, and we have joked that every three or so years I turn up with a camera and make him cry so yeah we do need to find the next one. There are no concrete plans, I’m working on another Disney project at the moment, but it would be great to find the next thing with Chris. The next piece of therapy!
Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember will be streaming is Disney+ and National Geographic now.