Chris Hemsworth Was Really Set on Fire Eight Times

When Netflix's Extraction 2 needed a fight scene audiences would not forget, director Sam Hargrave decided to put Chris Hemsworth in the middle of real flames. The fire was not added later on a computer. It burned on set, on the actor, in the cold.

Snow, Night and a Burning Arm

Hargrave explained the thinking to the Motion Picture Association. "It's snowing, it's nighttime, and then the contrast to that to get people excited, I thought, light him on fire," he said.

He also said computer-made fire would not look right. "CGI fires wouldn't have the same reality," he said. So the crew lit Hemsworth for real.

The brawl sits inside a roughly 21-minute action sequence that is designed to feel like one continuous shot.

How Many Times Did He Burn?

The exact count depends on who is asked. Hargrave told reporters in Manila it was eight times. He told GamesRadar it was seven or eight, and he told Entertainment Weekly six or seven.

That is why the story is told here as about eight. Every version agrees on the part that matters: the flames were real, and the cameras kept rolling.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the safety rule was simple. If the fire ran past 10 or 15 seconds, or his arm felt too hot, Hemsworth put the flames out himself with his hands.

A Fight Built From Hidden Edits

The sequence was not actually filmed in one take. Hargrave said the team chose not to shoot it in one shot, and instead hid seamless edits at certain points so it plays as a single, unbroken fight.

The scale was huge. Hemsworth said that the 21-minute sequence took about six weeks to shoot, with 300 to 400 extras and 14-hour days. He called it the most physically demanding work he had done.

"I was on fire at one point," he said, with the understatement of a man who had been lit up more than once.

Still Streaming

Extraction 2 remains on Netflix, so anyone can watch Thor throw punches with a burning arm in the falling snow. The fire in the frame is the real thing.