Chris Hemsworth Surfs Through Shark ‘Feeding Frenzy’ in Australia (Video)
Chris Hemsworth’s been a busy man lately, making the media rounds for his latest thriller film, Crime 101, which is currently enjoying an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.
And during his press tour, which looks more like podcast appearances these days, one thing has repeatedly come up for the Australian actor: surfing.
In his latest audio interview, on the wildly-popular Smartless podcast, Hemsworth talked about surfing, specifically at home in Australia, and with regards to sharks.
Around the 50:27-minute mark, co-host Jason Bateman asked: “I’m in awe of your general manhood, and exposure to the elements, and things like that. So, down there in Australia, you’ve got the snakes, you got the spiders, you got the sharks…when you’re surfing, have you ever seen a dorsal fin?”
To which Hemsworth responded: “Oh yeah. When I first moved to Byron Bay, there was a string of shark attacks – two deaths, and one guy survived – in the space of two weeks. One out in front of my house, one 10 minutes south of me, and one five minutes north. I was like, ‘Where have I moved to? What have I done?’ This is crazy.’”
Recently, as was well-documented, there was a shark attack rampage in Sydney, Australia. That’s about a day’s drive to the south of Byron Bay. The spate of attacks included four in 48 hours, with one surfer losing a leg, and a young boy, his life.
In spite of all this, Bateman wondered: “But you’re still paddling out?”
Hemsworth responded: “Yeah, when there were other people in the water. So, your chances are a little better. There was a period where there would be choppers going up and down the coastline. Just shark spotting. They’d have a siren on…it was like a feeding frenzy. The police would come down, and tell you to get out of the water. And everyone would be like, ‘I’m not getting out.’ Then each guy starts paddling in, and everyone’s like, ‘alright fine.’”
Bateman: “And these are the big daddies, right?”
Hemsworth: “Yeah, bull sharks and great whites are the most predominant.”
And yet, Hemsworth still noted the relative rarity of shark attacks, citing common statistical tidbits about sharks and other tragedies, while also adding a new one:
“I surf every day. You hear the statistics. It’s like getting hit by lightning. Or driving a car is worse. I heard one that more people die in America by shaking a vending machine, trying to get chocolate or whatever, out of it. I’m not sure if it’s true.”