It's never easy being the new kid in the class. Liam Hemsworth admits he had his doubts when he was approached to take the lead in the sequel to Independence Day, one of the 1990s biggest sci-fi movies – he takes the baton from Will Smith and stands alongside returning cast members such as Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum in Independence Day: Resurgence.
But having committed to the cause, Hemsworth now hopes to deliver a film that will satisfy fans of the 1993 original. "We all felt a responsibility to the fan base from the first film," he admits. "This script was really fun, Roland [Emmerich, the director] is fantastic at doing this genre of film and there's a bunch of fantastic actors in it. And, of course, it's Independence Day."
Hemsworth's star has been on the rise, with roles in blockbusters such as The Hunger Games franchise, as well as indie fare such as 2013's Paranoia and, recently, The Dressmaker. These had him rubbing shoulders with Hollywood giants, including Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Kate Winslet and Woody Harrelson, and Hemsworth says he's happy to learn from his more experienced co-stars.
“I’ve gained something from every one of them,” he says. “One of the best bits of advice I’ve ever received, well, it’s not really advice as such, but I was sitting with Harrison Ford and I said to him: ‘Do you ever have a moment in your career and where you think why am I doing this? Is it the right thing to do?’ and he said: ‘No. Absolutely not. This is the best job in the world. Don’t ever think that. Absolutely not.’ ”
Hemsworth says the key to a successful career is to walk the line between box-office hits and more cerebral fare.
“Finding a balance between artsy films and blockbusters is the way to go,” he says. “You take these big-money films when they come along if you feel good about it ... you can’t just do it for the money. There has to be a good script there, because that’s when careers go a little wrong. I want to work with great, big- name actors and directors, and in between do indie projects that I’m passionate about. Those films are hard to get made, and the odds are always against you.”
It's a little-known fact that Hemsworth and his thespian brothers, Chris (Thor, Star Trek Into Darkness) and Luke (Neighbours, Kill Me Three Times), used to run their own flooring business in Australia before Hollywood discovered them. With the current trend for making celebrities do bizarre things on reality shows, can we ever expect to see some kind of Charity Hemsworth Flooring Challenge on television, now that Chris has the Hammer of Thor to help out?.
“ I wouldn’t rule it out,” he says, with a laugh. “It sounds like a great idea. I haven’t laid a floor in maybe eight years – it’s the most back-breaking work I’ve ever done, especially when you’re laying timber on top of concrete and you have to nail concrete nails into it, but who knows? I couldn’t rule it out.”
cnewbould@thenational.ae