Chris Hemsworth says moving out of Los Angeles to Australia was the ‘greatest decision’ of his life

Actor Chris Hemsworth said he moved his family back to Australia from Los Angeles partly because the film industry is no longer operating in the California metropolis.

The “Thor” star made the comments while a guest on the “SmartLess” podcast with Jason Bateman and Will Arnett.

‘You know when you come back from work, you wanna go on a holiday? Like, coming home for me is — it feels like a holiday.’

“It was right around the time my boys were born, and it was just, we kind of were set up in L.A. and not enjoying it, you know? Like, nothing was shooting there. We were filming kind of everywhere else,” he explained.

The film industry has been on the decline in Los Angeles, as movie theater productions take advantage of tax incentives offered by other states and countries.

The 42-year-old went on to say the move to Australia was the “greatest decision” he’s ever made.

“You’d come home and paparazzi and all the sort of the trappings of, you know, living in that space,” he added.

He also complained that living in Los Angeles meant they lived far too close to their neighbors.

“You know when you come back from work, you wanna go on a holiday? Like, coming home for me is — it feels like a holiday. We have a big farm and horses and motorbikes and surf,” he added.

He described his own idyllic childhood in Australia as part of the reason he was inspired to become an actor.

“It was just all bush land and rainforest sort of set up around us,” he said. “And so we would just [have] … outdoors adventures and playing different characters. And I think that’s, to be honest, where the sort of intrigue or interest into that transportation into another.”

RELATED: Legendary director Steven Spielberg abandons California as debate over billionaire tax heats up

President Donald Trump threatened to put a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the U.S. in order to boost the film industry in California.

“California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit!” Trump wrote in Sept. 2025. “Therefore, in order to solve this long time, never ending problem, I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States.”

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