Ben Gordon, drummer of PARKWAY DRIVE, spoke to Australia’s “Today” about how he trained actor Chris Hemsworth to play drums in preparation for playing live on stage with Ed Sheeran, as captured in the upcoming docuseries “Limitless: Live Better Now”. The follow-up to Hemsworth‘s hit docuseries “Limitless” is set to premiere on August 15 on Disney+ and Hulu, and will also be available on National Geographic starting August 25.
In “Limitless: Live Better Now”, which was filmed across six countries over two years, Chris tests his limits by drawing from cutting-edge science and the wisdom of elders to push himself like never before. With no previous experience, he learns to play the drums for a live performance with Grammy Award winner Ed Sheeran in front of 70,000 fans; scales a dizzying 600-foot climbing wall in the Swiss Alps to break out of his comfort zone and embrace risk; and takes part in South Korean Special Forces training, enduring electrocution and pepper spray to confront his long struggle with chronic pain and reconfigure his response to it — all to uncover tools we can use today to live healthier, happier lives.
The first episode of “Limitless: Live Better Now”, dubbed “Brain Power”, gives Hemsworth the unenviable task of learning the drums in just two months so he can perform live with Sheeran.
Regarding how he ended up teaching Hemsworth to play drums, Gordon told “Today” (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): ”Yeah, it was good fun, actually. I’ve been friends with Chris for about seven, eight years now. We met from a mutual friend when he moved to Byron, and we’ve been mates ever since. So when he got challenged by Ed Sheeran to learn the drums for ‘Limitless’, I guess I was the obvious choice to call because, I guess, I’m his only friend who’s a professional drummer. So he gave me a call and asked if I would help out. And initially I was just gonna help him out behind the scenes. But as it turned out, they filmed our sessions and they wanted us to be part of the episode.”
Asked if Hemsworth was any good and whether he has “chops” as a drummer, Gordon said: “No. I’ll have to qualify that answer. When he first came to me, he was really bad… I have a lot of admiration for him because the whole premise of the episode was him finding something that he wasn’t gifted at, which was quite hard ’cause he’s very talented in many areas, and diving into something that he finds uncomfortable. So, no one in the world is good at everything, even Chris Hemsworth, so he found something he’s not good at, which was the drums. He was a complete novice. He had no idea about it. He had no rhythm. But that was kind of the challenge and that’s what makes the episode fun… He’s got the physique. He just lacked the coordination and the rhythm, but he got there in the end.”
Joining Hemsworth on this transformative journey in “Limitless: Live Better Now” are returning expert Dr. BJ Miller, a renowned palliative care physician, plus a powerful lineup of inspiring voices, including cognitive scientist Dr. Maya Shankar, Gordon, neuroscientist and Professor Abigail Marsh, free solo climber and wingsuiter Steph Davis, former members of South Korea’s military, MMA fighter Kim Dong-hyun, freestyle motocross legend Robbie Maddison and more. Together, they offer fresh insights into how we can build stronger minds, bodies and connections.
Official “Brain Power” episode description: “Inspired by the benefits of learning a new skill, which aids memory and cognitive function, Chris Hemsworth takes up drumming. When he is invited to join Ed Sheeran onstage at a stadium concert, Chris has just months to master the instrument and conquer his nerves to perform in front of 70,000 fans. It’s a challenge that pushes him beyond his limits.”
Speaking about the experience of preparing to play drums live with Ed Sheeran after only two months of training, Chris told The Hollywood Reporter: “I was in and out of a press tour at the time. I had other work obligations. I have three kids, and I couldn’t cancel them, so they were still there. [Laughs] I would’ve liked to have sent them off somewhere else for a couple of weeks and applied my complete focus to this, but I wasn’t able to do that. So it was more just narrowing my focus and understanding what was in front of me and separating from the other things, places and different directions I was being pulled in. Two weeks out was when that really hit home. I had about six to eight weeks to learn, and I kept putting it off. And about two weeks out, I realized I didn’t know the song. I was in the space of no return. It was too late basically. So I went home and started drumming, and I literally blistered up my fingers that week. When I did the show, I had Band-Aids all over my fingers. So I thought of nothing else, and while it’s not the best way of working, I operate a little better in that space sometimes. Fear can be a pretty good motivator until it’s breathing down your neck. Sometimes, the reality is not as vivid. So I certainly was terrified, but the experience and the elation and the somewhat out-of-body feeling that I was absorbed in while playing — and then, afterward, the kick of endorphins — was unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced. It was not just the juxtaposition of potentially going from fear or failure to success; it was being a part of something far bigger than myself. 70,000 people were singing along in unison and moving to this beat, this track, this song, this artistic creation that Ed assembled, and I was a piece of that puzzle. It felt how universal prayer or meditation or something on a big global scale might feel like. And as silly and orchestrated in whatever ways it was, there was something else I got a glimpse of, and it was pretty special. I’m very thankful for it.”
