To help kick off National Geographic’s Sharkfest celebration, actor Chris Hemsworth took a break from being the big-time movie star that he is to host the documentary special, Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth. In it he explores ways that sharks and humans can live better together without doing each other harm, after yet another deadly year for shark attacks in his native of Australia.
And in order to get up close and personal with some sharks, he teamed with 85-year-old conservationist Valerie Taylor, a filmmaker who specializes in filming sharks in their natural habitats, and who helped shoot the original Jaws movie. Of course some viewers were quick to pair them up in a relationship due to some adorable chemistry, but they were all business once it came time to go under the water.
That’s when Taylor and Hemsworth spotted a quite large grey nurse shark swimming just above them, a scene that Hemsworth described as “incredible” as it was happening.
“Coming face-to-face with them, it’s hard to put into words the serene beauty of these magnificent creatures,” Hemsworth said, later adding. “Just amazing.”
And even though their jaws are filled with over 100 needle-sharp teeth, luckily for Hemsworth, grey nurse sharks only eat small fish and crustaceans from the sea floor. But that didn’t stop fans on twitter from loving every second of it, even using the moment to officially anoint Hemsworth over Chris Evans as, “the superior Chris.”
The actor did eventually get to meet a great white shark during the special as well, when he joined a group of marine researchers who specialize in catching, tagging and tracking sharks. And while Hemsworth’s meeting with a great white wasn’t quite face-to-face, it was still a bit of an intimate encounter.
“Here we are, about to take an anal swab from a shark. All for science. So let’s dig in, shall we?” Hemsworth said, later joking. “Where is its butt?”
Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth aired Monday at 9:00 p.m. on NatGeo.
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