INTERVIEW: The Producer Who Keeps Chris Hemsworth Alive: Jane Root On Making 'Limitless: Live Better Now'
- Sarah Angelo-Haight
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Jane Root is an incredibly accomplished woman. From her previous role as president of the Discovery Networks to her current work as founder and CEO of Nutopia, the production company behind the critically acclaimed documentary mini-series Limitless: Live Better Now, Root knows how to tell a compelling true story. In addition to getting to review Limitless: Live Better Now, the second season of Chris Hemsworth’s mini-series that sees the actor undergo physical and mental challenges in the interest of learning how to live a longer and better life, I also got the opportunity to sit down with Jane Root to talk about the experience of making Limitless. From logistical considerations to whether there were any stunts that didn’t make the cut, she detailed the experience of making a breathtaking piece of media that makes the man behind Thor seem both accessibly human and more of a superhero than ever, while managing not to kill him in the process.
SARAH: Whose idea was it to do a second season? The first season ended with some finality to it. What was the process of coming up with the idea of doing it again?
JANE ROOT: One person was very, very passionate about doing a second series, and his name is Chris Hemsworth. That's wonderful. Chris was blown away by the impact of the first series. He said that more people came up to him at his kid's school and asked him about the show than ever about any of his movies. He hadn’t expected that, and none of us had. After all, this is Thor, right? And he said, “Oh my God, this is incredible. This is what I want to do more of.” That’s really it. The moment he said that, we all jumped into action, talking to scientists and academics across the world about the most cutting-edge science, then started making shows out of them, you know - stunts and figuring out what we could do. It was Chris, overwhelmingly.
SARAH: You talked about picking the experts. How did you go about doing that? Did you have criteria or specific topics you wanted to cover?
JANE ROOT: The essential recipe of Limitless is really cutting-edge science - something that feels like it’s on the edge and people haven’t seen before. New ideas, new research = and then an incredible physical stunt. It’s got to be thought-provoking and also really enjoyable and entertaining. We’ve got to push that man to the absolute limit, and he seems willing to do it too. He really goes there emotionally and physically in ways that are astonishing. He also always has moments where he says, “Why on earth am I doing this? Why did I say yes?”
SARAH: Was there any time where you thought, 'Maybe this isn’t going to work for him, or it’s too much'?
JANE ROOT: In the episode about pain, he talks about having back pain since he was a kid, which none of us knew. It was a surprise. You don’t expect Thor to have a bad back, but he really does, and he struggles with it. It was powerful to see him make that the core of a show.
SARAH: Seeing him talk about it so openly, someone who’s so physical and dedicated to wellness - it was meaningful to me and I think it will be for others too.
JANE ROOT: Exactly - even Thor. That’s a big thing. In that episode, when he’s wired up with electric shocks and then playing Jenga with his oldest friends, the pain goes away because they’re laughing. It’s a beautiful result. I hope that clip goes viral - it could help a lot of people. I actually went to the dentist the other day and listened to a funny podcast thinking, “It helps.”
SARAH: The stunts are extraordinary. What sort of safety considerations did you have to make?
JANE ROOT: Oh, so many. Every stunt involves massive planning and safety. The ice climb in Switzerland, for example, was extremely challenging. We had teams at the top and bottom. We work with a company that specializes in this. We trust them completely.
SARAH: I could only imagine the kind of insurance involved!
JANE ROOT: A lot! Someone once said, “If you kill Chris Hemsworth, that’s a big headline!” So, we’re incredibly careful. In Korea, when he swam in that icy river, that was truly tough.
SARAH: I remember the cold plunges from the first season. I wondered if it was easier this time.
JANE ROOT: It’s always tough. Cold-water swimming is becoming more popular. It boosts your immune system and challenges you. I do it myself. But yes, it still looked freezing - and he stayed in his wet clothes afterward!
SARAH: There are so many people involved - Chris, experts, performers. How did you manage scheduling?
JANE ROOT: Scheduling is one of the hardest parts. Chris is making movies, he’s a family man, lives in Australia - it’s complex. We plan around filming windows. For example, the ice climb could only happen during a specific time of year. Even the Ed Sheeran concert in Bucharest had to be at that one event. He was genuinely terrified there - just as you see on camera.
SARAH: Watching him perform live was fascinating.
JANE ROOT: He’s never really performed like that before. He’s a movie star, not a stage performer. His friends told him, “If the drummer messes up, the song goes south,” and Ed Sheeran joked that in the worst case, 75,000 people get a TikTok of him failing. But he did great.
SARAH: It was so fun to watch him challenge himself.
JANE ROOT: Exactly. That’s what it’s about: pushing yourself, taking risks. He approaches it like a participant journalist, not a celebrity. He studies, works with experts, and commits fully.
Limitless: Live Better Now is available for streaming on Disney+.
This interview was edited for clarity.