- Chris Hemsworth and his father Craig tackle Australia’s outback on Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250s as part of a deeply personal Alzheimer’s documentary.
- The ride uses reminiscence therapy to help Craig reconnect with memories while revisiting the places that shaped the Hemsworth family.
- A Road Trip to Remember blends motorcycles, family bonds and emotional storytelling — streaming now on Disney+ and Hulu.
Chris Hemsworth has battled supervillains on screen, dangled off skyscrapers for stunts, and pushed his limits for National Geographic’s Limitless — but his most challenging journey yet takes place not on a movie set, but on two wheels with his father, Craig.
In his new documentary A Road Trip to Remember, Hemsworth trades Hollywood action for something far more personal: a motorcycle trip across Australia with his dad, who is living with early-stage Alzheimer’s. Riding Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250s, the pair revisit the landscapes, homes and memories that shaped their lives, using the simple act of riding as a powerful form of reminiscence therapy.
More Than a Road Trip
Celebrity parent-child road trips are nothing new, usually filled with light jokes and soft-focus nostalgia. But Hemsworth’s film goes much deeper. Guided by clinical psychologist Dr Suraj Samtani, the documentary explores how revisiting meaningful places and experiences can help strengthen neurological connections and slow cognitive decline.
For Hemsworth, the idea wasn’t a TV pitch — it was a long-delayed promise.
“My Dad and I had always spoken about taking a trip back to the Northern Territory,” he says. “We’d just never made the time. When Dad’s diagnosis came through, it suddenly felt urgent. What we experienced was far more profound and moving than I ever anticipated.”
Some of the film’s most powerful moments take place at the Hemsworth family’s former home outside Melbourne. Using hundreds of old photos, the production team meticulously recreated the interior exactly as it looked in the 1990s. The result is an emotional jolt for Craig, who lights up as memories resurface — then falters as the same questions return moments later. The camera captures every triumph and heartbreak.
Riding Into the Past
The journey continues north to Bulman in the Northern Territory, where Chris spent his chaotic early childhood and where Craig worked as a buffalo wrangler alongside Indigenous communities before later racing motorcycles and becoming a child-protection officer. To Chris, Craig wasn’t just Dad — he was his first hero.
That connection is at the heart of the film. While the pair tackle outback roads on their Pan Americas, the real terrain is emotional: the slow-burn grief of watching a parent slip away, mixed with gratitude for the memories that remain.
Hemsworth, who discovered during Limitless that he carries two copies of the APOE4 gene variant linked to a significantly higher risk of Alzheimer’s, admits the journey isn’t just about helping his father. It’s about confronting his own future, too.
Why Motorcycles Matter Here
The documentary repeatedly underlines something riders already know instinctively:
Motorcycles aren’t just transport — they’re connection.
Riding keeps the mind engaged, the body active and the senses stimulated. It demands presence, not passiveness. It creates shared experiences that stick. And for reminiscence therapy, revisiting old roads and familiar landscapes from the saddle can unlock memories that static environments can’t.
“For the first time,” Hemsworth says, “I think the trip gave my dad some agency — something to take part in, not something happening to him.”
The film shows why. Whether it’s reconnecting with friends from decades ago or rolling into a spot loaded with family history, the bikes provide momentum — forward and backward.
A Universal Message
While the documentary is visually stunning and emotionally raw, its message is simple:
Stay active. Stay connected. Keep the brain curious. Keep moving.
As Hemsworth puts it: “It reminded me that what we’ve experienced together matters more than what’s being lost.”
It’s a sentiment every rider understands — memories fade, but the feeling of a ride shared with someone you love never does.
Watch The Trailer HERE
Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember is streaming on Disney+ now.
Chris Hemsworth’s new documentary A Road Trip to Remember follows the actor and his father Craig on an emotional motorcycle journey across Australia after Craig’s early Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Riding Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250s, the pair revisit meaningful locations from their past as dementia specialist Dr Suraj Samtani guides them through reminiscence therapy. The film explores memory, father–son connection and the therapeutic power of motorcycling, highlighting both the challenges of cognitive decline and the resilience of shared experience. Now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
