Wait, there’s another Hemsworth and his name is not Chris or Liam?

SINGAPORE — You might not have realised it when he first appeared on screen, but, yes, there is a Hemsworth in Westworld, and his name is not Chris or Liam. He’s in fact their big brother, Luke.

While his younger brothers Chris and Liam have made a name for themselves in superhero and dystopian fantasy movies — Chris as Thor and Liam in The Hunger Games, for instance — Luke, 35, has worked mainly in television in his native Australia. Now, he is part of the cast of HBO’s latest blockbuster series, Westworld, a futuristic cautionary tale in which a Western-themed amusement park populated with lifelike robots exists to service rich, obnoxious guests.

Based on the Michael Crichton 1973 film of the same name, things start to go awry when the robots evolve consciousness — the setup for metaphysical questions such as what really makes us human, whether we can trust the reality that we know, and the relationship between creature and creator. Westworld also stars Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood and Ed Harris.

Hemsworth plays Ashley Stubbs, the park’s skeptical and brusque head of security. It’s his job “to ensure the safety of the people in the park who are the paying customers”, he explained over the phone from Los Angeles, adding: “It’s unclear exactly where his ultimate allegiances lie, but I think that will all be revealed in time.”

Like his character, Hemsworth readily admitted that yes, he is a little paranoid about technology. “I think I am, and I think we all rightly should be,” he said. “I think it’s quite a logical step — from artificial intelligence and virtual reality and the gaming world, it’s not such a big leap to think that this may be a reality in the future, where we can go to a park of this nature and indulge in these violent delights.”

Growing up in rural Australia, he and his brothers were never quite gaming geeks. “I remember Nintendo, the original Commodore 64, Super Nintendo and XBox. But we did a lot of outdoors stuff, too,” he said. “We lived in an incredible place where we had zero neighbours, and we would spend a lot of time outside in the forest, playing games with ourselves and hurting each other, and role-playing that way.”

Luke may be the least commonly spotted Hemsworth, but the trio are close and keep in touch by brainstorming about their mutual craft. “We’re all very competitive, we all share opinions and we all like to discuss things and we’re all very interested in the arts and the authenticity of our performances,” he said. “So we are constantly talking about all of our roles and all of our trajectories in life and in our art.”

In the digital age, it is easy to get too caught up in what we think we know. But if, like the robots in the show when we first meet them, you do not question the nature of your reality, “then you are leading a pretty boring life”, Hemsworth chuckled. “I question the nature of my reality pretty much every day, and it keeps me happy and healthy. And it makes me want to be more creative.”

He is also enjoying the stimulation of the show’s mindbending topics. “There are questions throughout this entire series about what makes us human. Even whether the androids are human or not is a big question, and it’s definitely a big premise of the show, but it doesn’t (presume) to answer any of those at this stage,” he said, adding, in response to our badgering: “Whether he’s an android or not is something you’ll have to wait to find out!”

He continued: “As for my role in the future — I hope it expands. With a show like this, there’s very little information given to us. We’re all kind of figuring it out along the way and just enjoying the moment.”

That’s par for the course in the brave new world of HBO.

Catch Westworld on Mondays at 9am and 9pm on HBO (StarHub TV Ch 601). Also available on HBO On Demand (StarHub TV Ch 602).