Chris Hemsworth's Throwback Thor Photo Features A Co-Star Who Calls Him "Dad"

Days after the premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder (which, with a $143 million North American box office, is officially the God of Thunder’s biggest turn yet) Chris Hemsworth is getting emotional about his long tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and the family that’s been by his side along the way.

In a pair of photos posted to his Instagram July 11, Hemsworth shared a throwback glimpse at his daughter, India Rose, on set with him more than a decade ago — the “first time she was on set,” he wrote. (Based on the timing, Hemsworth seems to have been filming Thor: The Dark World then.) In the adorable snap, the Mjölnir-sized baby looks up at her dad in costume. Cut to another set photo — this time, from Thor: Love and Thunder — where Hemsworth cradles his daughter in his arms. “She’s my favourite superhero,” he wrote in the caption.

This time around, India wasn’t just visiting her dad’s work for the day — she actually appears in the movie, too, as a character named Love. “They really wanted to be in it ... it felt sort of like a one-off, fun, family experience, you know? I don’t want them to now go and be child stars and actors,” Hemsworth told Kevin McCarthy of his kids’ involvement in the project (one of his twin sons appears as Young Thor, too). “It was just a special sort of experience we all had, and I loved it. They had a great time.”

India was born in 2012, the first child for Hemsworth and his wife, Elsa Pataky. Starting a family on the heels of Thor and The Avengers (and all the attendant superhero stardom) might seem like a bit of a whirlwind — but as Hemsworth explained to Parade in 2015, his growing family had a grounding effect.

“For the first time, it’s not about me anymore,” he said. “This internal dialogue about my own boring story isn’t at the forefront of my thoughts. It’s about them now, their welfare. If I make a film, what is that going to allow us to do? What is it going to give them? That’s been really refreshing, I’ve got to say, because it’s so easy to become self-centered, particularly for me in this business.”

Fortunately for Hemsworth (the first MCU star to get four solo films) he’s managed to wrangle the whole family into the Thor business. Back in The Dark World, Pataky even played Natalie Portman’s body double for the film’s final, climactic kiss — and now, his kids are involved in the filmmaking process, too.