Chris Hemsworth condemns modern-day whaling

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth has condemned modern-day whaling as "completely unnecessary" just days after a Japanese fleet returned to the Antarctic ocean to resume hunting.

The Thor star plays a shipwrecked whale hunter in Ron Howard's new movie In The Heart Of The Sea, which documents the real life sinking of a whaling ship in the Pacific Ocean in 1820 - the disaster which inspired Herman Melville's classic tale Moby-Dick.

Authorities in Japan recently gave the green light for the hunting of minke whales to resume in the Antarctic following a suspension last year (14), and Chris was asked about the latest developments during an interview with BBC Breakfast.

The actor spoke out against the practice and insisted the industry portrayed in the film is completely different because hundreds of years ago, sailors only went hunting in a desperate bid to feed their families.

"Whaling in this day and age is completely unnecessary and I don't understand it..." he told the show. "They (the sailors portrayed in the film) had to go away for a year, maybe three years... just to put food on the table."

Chris recently hit headlines by talking about the extreme diet he endured to play an emaciated sailor in the film, revealing he cut his food intake down to just 500 calories a day.

"We started on one diet, normal 2,000 calories, and then each week we'd reduce that intake until the last couple of weeks where it was down to 500!... That's a pretty ugly sort of experience," he admitted. "It led to some interesting mood swings and inconsistent emotion; many that my wife can vouch for, which were all negative!"