Dewey Nicks and Krista Smith spotlight Hollywood’s latest Aussie imports, Chris and Liam Hemsworth.

Hemsworth may not be a household surname in Hollywood, let alone elsewhere, but expect that to change, and soon. Actor brothers Chris, 26, and Liam, 19, were raised in southern Australia, and grew up fighting like bear cubs. With age they’ve become best friends, though that hasn’t stopped them from maintaining a healthy competition across parallel trajectories as rising young stars. After toiling on the Aussie soap opera Home and Away (where Heath Ledger also earned his stripes), Chris got his first American break when he was cast as Captain Kirk’s doomed father in J. J. Abrams’s Star Trek reboot. Chris has followed that brief but memorable role with the lead in the upcoming remake of Red Dawn, the Reagan-era action movie about kids taking on Soviet invaders. Meanwhile, Liam, who had been laying floors back home, landed a screen test for the title role—complete with winged helmet—in Marvel Studios’ coming Thor franchise hopeful, to be directed by Kenneth Branagh for summer 2011. The part ultimately went to Chris. But Liam, who followed his brother to California last March, quickly rebounded and will soon be seen as a romantic lead opposite Miley Cyrus in The Last Song, from a predictably tear-jerking screenplay by Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook). We look forward to seeing how this friendly sibling rivalry plays out as the brothers Hemsworth near Hollywood’s summit.

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