Ben Gordon - Parkway Drive 'Limitless, Drums and a Shirtless Chris Hemsworth'

If you thought Avengers: Endgame was the ultimate team up to include Chris Hemsworth... you better put down Mjölnir (nerd) and settle in for one of the biggest worlds colliding stories to ever hit the small screen.

This week, Disney+ and National Geographic are launching a new series called Limitless - which showcases the Thor actor taking steps to live better for longer and improve his brain power after hitting the big 40. Created by Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream), Limitless finds Chris Hemsworth retraining his brain to unlock his body's full potential with a series of "challenges" to push the Aussie icon to breaking point and the first episode runs head first into the world of live music with two unlikely connections helping him achieve his ultimate goals.

Pop sensation Ed Sheeran issues Hemsworth the challenge to play his signature song 'Thinking Out Loud' on drums. The catch is he's only got two months to learn the song from scratch and will perform it in front of 70,000 people in Romania. Sounds pretty easy right? Well if you've never played drums before, you'd be shitting bricks - and believe me there's lots of that throughout the episode.

This is where Chris calls upon the help of friend and fellow Byron Bay local, Ben Gordon, the drummer from a little band you may have heard of called Parkway Drive. Together the pair embark on a journey that pushes them both to their limits and creates an inexplicable sense of anxiety that is felt through the screens and into the minds of the viewer.

Seriously, you'll be on the edge of your seat watching whether or not Chris has what it takes to step up to the kit and not become an internet sensation for all the wrong reasons.

Ahead of the premiere in Australia on August 15th, we sat down with Ben Gordon to discuss his role as Chris' drum coach, and how he managed to take a Marvel God from basic bitch beginner to stadium stardom in less than two months... and how a gentle (?) egging on from the rest of Parkway Drive gave Hemsworth the kick in the pants he needed to pull it off.

Watch the full chat below or read on for the best bits.

The first point of call was to address just how difficult of a concept this was for Chris Hemsworth to undertake and despite Ed Sheeran's song being slower than 'Karma' for example, there's more to the idea than just hitting skins correctly.

"Obviously, the drums in Parkway are much more complicated than Ed Sheeran's song, but obviously the principles are the same. The drummer is essentially the time keeper and you gotta keep in time, there's certain co-ordination techniques you gotta learn...

It was weird for me 'cause I haven't really taught anyone since I was a teenager, I used to give a few lessons but it's probably been 20 years, and there's a big different between being professional at something and being a teacher, and I'm the first to admit there's way better teachers out there than me.

But the fact that I'm Chris' friend and he felt really comfortable with me and I just treat him like a mate (not this superstar that he is) and the fact I've got real life experience that not a lot of drum teachers particularly have.

I've been touring for 20 years playing in front of thousands of thousands of people for many many times in my life and I've learned how to deal with that situation and the mindset techniques that you need to be comfortable and calm. So there was the teaching of drums but there was also the mindset of how to perform in front of a massive crowd."

And with that in mind, the mission started to teach Chris Hemsworth to play drums in Parkway's rehearsal space in Byron Bay. Was he natural from the second he picked up the sticks? Fuck no! Just like you and I, he was at the very beginning of his journey and couldn't manage basic drum patterns.

Despite there being a two month timeframe to get ready to play, the actor still had work commitments and press tours to attend which took him away from those all-important practice sessions. At one point, Ben questioned how seriously Chris was taking the challenge at hand - and as a viewer, you will too.

With the clock ticking and doubts rising, Ben decided the best way to show Hemsworth the severity of how far behind he was, by enlisting the help of his Parkway bandmates to perform 'Vice Grip' in a full band practice session. It was at this pinnacle point where Chris realised how important the role of a drummer was to keep the band on track in a live setting - and just how far up shits creek he truly was.

"It wasn't actually 'til about two weeks before the show where he comes and plays with Parkway where he started to realise that he was really out of his depth and he needed to take it more seriously.

I had to pull him aside off camera and say 'listen mate, you can't muscle your way through this one. You can't use your strength and bravery like some of the other episodes... with learning an instrument you have to put the time in, there's no shortcut.'

And at that point when he was completely thrown in the deep end with Parkway - which a really funny and fun scene in the show - basically from that point on he started taking it seriously and practiced a lot."

The end result - in which he absolutely BUTCHERS the IRE classic - will have you in fits of laughter as Parkway Drive are seen in a light never before witnessed when they all pile-on Chris in jest.

"It was a fun scene 'cause the director said to us, 'Don't hold back, just treat him like you would someone trying out for the band. Don't treat him specially 'cause he's Chris Hemsworth'.

So the band actually ripped into him, particularly Winston [McCall]; I've never really seen Winston as the bad guy, he was just roasting him.

It was actually quite awkward on the day... but it comes across well. It's all in good fun"

Without giving the ending away, all I can say is if it wasn't for Parkway Drive, then Chris Hemsworth may have ended up being a viral meme for all the WRONG reasons.

While on the subject of Parkway, Hollywood and getting out of your comfort zone, I questioned whether Ben would follow Chris' acting trajectory and head to Summer Bay (Home & Away fictional town) or to a Marvel set to take up acting - for his own Limitless episode - to which the metal drummer stated "I did tell Chris if he needs a stand in for the next Thor [movie] I'm ready to go..." before accepting he's better suited up the back of the stage.

"I'm fine with being on camera, but I think acting's a whole different thing. I'll stick to being a musician."

Hilariously, we also touched on which Hollywood actors would play Parkway Drive in their own bio-film, and the list of potential names dropped will have you once again in fits of laughter.

Limitless hits Australian small-screens on August 15th via Disney+ - and is a must-watch for any/all Parkway Drive, Ed Sheeran and Chris Hemsworth fans - and yes, you'll be drooling when the God of Thunder takes off his shirt to bust out some beats in front of Parkway's array of Gold plaques and tour memorabilia.

Interview by Paul 'Browny' Brown @brownypaul