Sometimes it pays to have a superhero in the house. On Friday, Dec. 9, Chris Hemsworth shared a video of his wife, model and actor Elsa Pataky, sitting on his shoulders in order to put the star on their enormous Christmas tree on Instagram. Since the Thor actor is over six feet tall, you might think Pataky could easily reach the top, but as the Marvel actor’s video shows, putting the finishing touch on their tree was no easy task.
While it’s unclear exactly how tall the couple’s tree is, Pataky still couldn’t reach the top while sitting on her husband’s shoulders. Undeterred, Hemsworth gets creative as he first attempts to jump and then gets on his tiptoes to help his wife reach the top. “You can do it, Elsa!” he encourages her as they both struggle to make the tree cooperate. Ultimately, Pataky manages to pull the top branch down low enough to secure the star, leading to cheers from their children, twin sons Sasha and Tristan, 8, and daughter India, 10, as well as other spectators.
Near the end of the video, Hemsworth playfully shouts, “My spine!” as Pataky continues to celebrate their festive teamwork from his shoulders. The “Spiderhead” actor captioned his post, “Last year we tried this but with me on Elsa’s shoulders . . . nor the tree or @elsapataky’s knees made it. After 12 months of preparation we finally figured it out. A star is born!!”
Hemsworth’s holiday post comes just a few weeks after he revealed in an exclusive interview with Vanity Fair that he discovered, while filming the health docuseries “Limitless,” that he’s at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Since then, the actor revealed he’s decided to take a more “curated” approach to the jobs he accepts and focus on spending quality time with his family.
“It really triggered something in me to want to take some time off,” Hemsworth said. “And since we finished the show, I’ve been completing the things I was already contracted to do. Now when I finish this tour this week, I’m going home and I’m going to have a good chunk of time off and just simplify. Be with the kids, be with my wife.”