National Geographic’s annual SharkFest is back, and to help kick things off this year is Thor himself. Chris Hemsworth is starring in a new documentary, Shark Beach With Chris Hemsworth, and ET has an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the special.
After an increase in local shark attacks along the east coast of Australia, Hemsworth is trying to understand more about how different sharks behave and discover if there’s a way humans and sharks can safely coexist.
In the hour-long documentary, the actor partners with underwater conservationist and legend Valerie Taylor to dig into the work of shark science and explore new preventative measures and the latest technology to help stave off shark-human encounters.
“I surfed kind of most of my life and spent a lot of time in the ocean,” Hemsworth shares, noting, “There’s nothing quite like the ocean. It's a special place.”
While a lifelong surfer, the actor had to learn how to scuba dive for the special, allowing him to get up close and personal with the underwater creatures he’s hoping to understand better. And in the special, he tests the limits of his newfound skills as he goes diving in the middle of a shiver of grey nurse sharks.
And by the end, Hemsworth says he “had to make a choice of whether I was going to stay with the sea animals or come back to human life.”
Shark Beach With Chris Hemsworth premieres July 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on National Geographic, with an encore presentation on Nat Geo WILD on Aug. 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. It’ll be available to stream on Disney+ starting July 9.
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