Chris Hemsworth has explained why a brief moment backstage at the Oscars left him wincing at his own judgment, saying he regretted asking Billie Eilish for a selfie because it instantly recast him from peer to fan and, in his words, “we will never be friends.” The Australian actor recounted the episode during a light-fire round on a US late-night talk show, describing how he spotted the singer after the ceremony and overrode an internal warning not to do it, justifying the approach by telling himself that his children would be thrilled. He said that as soon as the shutter clicked, he realised he had changed the dynamic with one of the night’s biggest winners in a way that jarred with how he tries to conduct himself professionally at industry events.
Hemsworth said the photograph was taken at the 2024 Academy Awards, where Eilish and her brother and co-writer Finneas won best original song for the ballad “What Was I Made For?” from the film Barbie. He had attended the ceremony with his wife, the actor Elsa Pataky, and said the excitement of the evening, coupled with the fact that his children are fans of Eilish, helped tip him into taking a step he would usually avoid. “I got a photograph with Billie Eilish at the Oscars,” he recalled, adding that he had thought, “don’t do it,” before deciding “my kids are going to love this.” The regret, he said, set in immediately: “I went from work colleague to now like, a fan… We will never be friends, never be best friends.”
The remarks came across as self-deprecating rather than critical of Eilish, and Hemsworth did not suggest she reacted poorly. He framed the episode as a cautionary tale about professional boundaries in an environment where cameras are omnipresent and where performers are also fans of one another. He said that asking for a photo in the heat of an awards night can feel harmless but that, for him, it blurs lines he would rather keep clear. He also acknowledged that his family life often intersects with those moments; as a father of three who spends much of the year in Australia, he said his children’s enthusiasm for certain artists sometimes prompts him to collect mementos he would otherwise forego.
The 2024 ceremony was one of the most heavily watched in recent years, buoyed by box-office successes that re-energised the film industry’s biggest night. Eilish, then 22, and Finneas accepted their second career Oscars as the youngest two-time winners in the history of the awards, after previously winning for “No Time to Die” from the James Bond franchise. Hemsworth attended as one of a cadre of marquee names associated with major studios and ongoing franchises; known worldwide for his portrayal of Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he has used the high-profile circuit of premieres and awards shows for more than a decade to promote projects while trying to keep encounters with fellow celebrities collegial rather than star-struck.