Chris Hemsworth may be a superhero on screen, but that doesn’t mean he’s not inspired by real life superheroes.
The 36-year-old has sent a supportive video message to a fan who battled a brain tumour, telling him: ‘You’re an inspiration.’
The Thor star even spoke to the young guy’s mum to discuss the surprise.
Staff at Australia’s Coffs Harbour Base Hospital also arranged for Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke and Vikings’ Travis Fimmel to record videos for Roan Clarkson’s 21st birthday.
Finally, with the help of the patient’s friends, they were able to spread the word and get Chris to record one too.
In his personalised message, the Avengers: Endgame star says: ‘I’ve heard all about your story and what an incredibly amazing person you are.’
Liam Hemsworth’s brother added: ‘Just wanted to say hello pal, just wanted to give you a shout out. I’ve been talking to your mum a lot.
‘Your courage, your bravery is truly inspirational mate. I know you’ve got a lot of people around you who love and support you, but I just wanted to send you all my love and support too, and say that I’m thinking of you, and lots of love, mate.’
Roan’s mother Carol Clarkson told Metro.co.uk: ‘Roan was thrilled and felt loved that the nursing staff had arranged this for him. He’s now watching all of Chris’s movies again.’
According to a message written by Roan’s dad Brian Clarkson on a Facebook page dedicated to Roan’s recovery, the Game of Thrones fan was first diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of four.
‘Many wonderful people helped Roan and we tried to care for and cure him as best we could,’ wrote Brian. ‘Eventually, however, we were told that Roan would require palliative care.’
‘Aged seven, Roan was given a new lease of life when brilliant neurosurgeon Charles Teo worked his magic. Despite some difficulties and obstacles to overcome and navigate, Roan has embraced life since that date.’
However, in October 2016 it was discovered Roan had a fresh tumour on his brain stem. This was quickly removed and Roan is now receiving ongoing care and rehabilitation. The family set up a GoFundMe page to support his care.
‘As a result of this [2016] surgery Roan has incurred more physical impairments,’ explained Brian. ‘The extent of these are not yet known, but he has dire need for extensive rehabilitation, as well as possible ongoing treatment.’
Kindhearted Chris’s other movies include Bad Times at the El Royale and In the Heart of the Sea. However, he is perhaps best known for Avengers: Endgame, which recently surpassed 2009’s Avatar (and before that, 1998’s Titanic) to become the highest-grossing movie of all time.
Meanwhile, Chris was last month named one of the world’s highest-paid actors, with earnings of $76.4m (£62.9m). He was beaten only by Rampage star Dwayne Johnson, who made $89.4m (£73.6m).
In third place in Forbes’ ranking was Chris’s Avengers: Endgame costar Robert Downey Jr, who made $66m (£54.4m).
Other stars to make this list included Akshay Kumar, Jackie Chan, Bradley Cooper and Adam Sandler.
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