Making his way in the world of entertainment for over two decades now, Luke Hemsworth is an actor full of passion. Diverse, from his beginnings in Australian Soap Opera Neighbours, to his role as Ashley Stubbs in the HBO Sci-Fi series Westworld, Hemsworth dives into everything with a burning passion. Grateful and humble, he continues to work regularly in film and television, with his most recent being the Action filled feature Gunner.
Released in theaters and digitally on August 16, 2024, the film co-stars Morgan Freeman, with Hemsworth portraying Lee Gunner; a returning home war veteran with emotions he rather not burden his family with. Looking to rekindle a relationship with his son, Gunner soon finds himself faced with having to do everything he can to protect them. A compelling story, Luke Hemsworth recently took some time to chat about Gunner, his career in cinema, plus more.
Cryptic Rock – You have been blessed to be a part of some really cool films and TV series through the years. Tell us, how would you describe your career in cinema to this point?
Luke Hemsworth – Wow, that’s a good question. It’s a bit of a dream for me. I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with some of my all-time heroes – Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, and now Morgan Freeman. My cinema career has been something that’s been cobbled together by hard work, passion, and dedication.
I went to acting school for years, started on an Australian Soap Opera, and then eventually started in film, and then American TV as well. I consider myself to be very fortunate. My life is very comfortable. My kids enjoy a much better standard of living than we grew up with. I live near the beach. I get to walk to the beach and surf… which was my dream growing up.
I love what I do. I can’t stand it when I’m not working. I try to work as much as I can. I love being on set. I love the environment. I love actors. I love talking to actors. I love directors and how amazing their minds are. They’re some of the most intelligent, articulate, and interesting people on the planet, I think. I love being a sponge to all of that environment. I love soaking it up. I like to think that each thing that I do is better than the last thing. I feel like I’m growing as a person and as an actor as I go along.
Cryptic Rock – It is great to hear how enthusiastic you are about it all. It sounds like it is very rewarding. Your latest film is the high-paced Action Thriller Gunner. How did this project come about?
Luke Hemsworth – I think it was just one that came across. I was doing another military project at the time. It sort of made sense to go from this other film straight into this, and use all of that experience to inform this character.
Unfortunately, leading up to this I broke my ankle on Christmas Eve really badly and had to have surgery. We were supposed to start shooting at the end of January, and I think it got pushed back a few weeks. I came straight from hobbling around on crutches and physical therapy into this Action film. It was touch and go whether I was going to be able to do it. To my surgeon’s credit, the physio team and everyone involved, I did everything. There wasn’t anything in this film that wasn’t me, which is pretty cool.
Cryptic Rock – Wow. As mentioned, this is a very high-paced Action film too. What really grabs you is your character’s depth, because there is a lot there. Was that something that drew you to the role of Lee Gunner?
Luke Hemsworth – I’m a father. It’s a pretty big question – what lengths would you go to protect your family? What lengths would you go to get your kids back? Also, I think I’ve been spending so much time with these Special Forces guys. I’ve been listening to podcasts after podcasts of stories. I was just struck with how capable they are, and how damaged a lot of them are.
Ultimately, these guys are really competent in what they do. They are heroes in terms of the things that they don’t get recognition for. You hope to bring that level of depth to a character for every character. I think the level of training that I’d had beforehand really helped me sink into that.
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