Chris Hemsworth got set on fire for insane 'Extraction 2' scene: 'What am I doing?'

NEW YORK − Meet Tyler Rake, black ops mercenary and walking fire hazard.

In a staggering 21-minute fight sequence from “Extraction 2” (streaming now on Netflix), Chris Hemsworth's burly action hero gets grazed by a nearby explosion during a prison break, causing his hand to catch fire. So he stamps out the flames the only way he knows how: punching bad guys until they light up like Christmas trees.

Shooting the scene with 400 extras, “the fear was always there,” says Hemsworth, seated at a hotel overlooking Central Park. “You know you’ve got a great safety crew around you. The other stunt performers had rehearsed it for weeks and weeks, and the preparation leading up to it had been insanely detailed. But the moment my arm ignites, my brain tells a very different story, which is, ‘What am I doing?!’ “

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The epic 'Extraction 2' single-shot action scene also involved running on top of a train

The insane “Extraction 2” sequence begins with Tyler, who is tasked with rescuing a young woman (Tinatin Dalakishvili) and her kids from a Georgian prison, where they are being held by a nefarious drug dealer (Tornike Bziava). Tyler’s plan quickly goes awry when a bloody jailyard riot breaks out. He then must usher the family to safety with gangsters on their tail, leading to a car chase through the forest and a snowy showdown on top of a speeding train.

Thanks to ingenious shooting and editing techniques, the strenuous scene is made to look as though it all happens in one long, uninterrupted camera shot. With the sequel, stuntman-turned-director Sam Hargrave wanted to up the ante from the first “Extraction” in 2020, which featured a 12-minute, single-take action sequence that was similarly intense.

“After the first movie, Chris was pretty adamant, like, ‘I don’t know if I want to do that anymore. That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,’ “ Hargrave recalls. “So to walk up and be like, ‘Hey, Chris, we’re going to do another one and it’s twice as long!’ He was like, ‘Are you joking?’ “

Rehearsals for the scene lasted nearly five months, and it took 29 days in all to shoot. The technically precise sequence was filmed out of order at different locations and times of day, which made it “mind-blowingly difficult” to stitch back together seamlessly, Hargrave says.

Chris Hemsworth did most of his 'Extraction 2' stunts without special effects

For Hemsworth, 39, the most intimidating stunt was being on top of a moving train going 50 mph, shooting at an enemy helicopter hovering 20 feet in front of him. Hargrave gave the "Thor" actor ample time to rehearse and find a speed he felt comfortable with. A walkway was also built on top of the train so Hemsworth and the camera operator could move safely across.

"It was wild," Hemsworth says. “We did that eight or nine times, and every time, your heart rate’s through the roof. It’s exciting and exhilarating and all a bit of a blur. I’ve done a lot of films and a lot of action sequences on green screen, and you can cheat your way through things (using special effects). But with this, 95% of what you’re seeing on screen happened there on the day. The risk is high, but the reward is far greater too.”

Hargrave notes that the only part of the train sequence that uses digital effects is when Tyler shoots down a helicopter and it crashes in the snow. (“That’s because we love our pilot,” he quips.)

The train scene was “actually the hardest part to get Netflix on board with because you could make the argument, ‘Why are you doing it practically?’ And the answer was, Chris was on board. He said, ‘The DNA of this franchise is doing real action – seeing Tyler Rake doing real things is what’s going to thrill audiences.’ His commitment is unparalleled.”

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After arduous days of shooting, Hemsworth would unwind each day by watching episodes of HBO’s “Succession.” (“To be honest, I’m not sure that led to a state of relaxation,” he jokes. “That had the opposite effect some days.”)

The first “Extraction” ranks as one of Netflix’s most-watched movies ever, meaning expectations are high for the sequel to draw in similarly huge viewership. And if there is a third film, Hemsworth and Hargrave may be asked to take the action to even greater heights.

“We’ve set ourselves up,” Hemsworth says with a grin. “Somebody said, ‘You’d have to do the whole film as a ‘oner.’ Which could be a possibility – we’ve talked about that.”

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Extraction 2': Chris Hemsworth breaks down wild 21-minute fight scene