Actor Luke Hemsworth has thanked his Hollywood A-list brothers Chris and Liam for keeping him in the acting business.

The eldest brother of the Australian sibling trio was all set to turn his back on acting and focus on family life with his wife Samantha and their four kids, but his brothers convinced him to move to Los Angeles to audition for bigger roles instead of settling down Down Under as the boss of a flooring company.

"It never really left me," Luke tells Entertainment Tonight of his desire to act. "It was a tough journey for my wife and the kids (to move from our native Australia to L.A.), in terms of leaving all of our support and family back home. But luckily, we had Chris and Liam here at the time. They're both very supportive, and it made it much easier."

The Hemsworth brothers send each other scripts, but Luke jokes the boys often discuss professional missteps as they support each others' careers.

"Most of the time, we'll discuss things afterward, in terms of what decisions we should've made," the 36-year-old laughs.

Luke kicked off his career starring in Australian soap opera Neighbors, but thanks to his brothers' encouragement he has landed his first starring role in a feature film as infamous American cowboy Wild Bill Hickok in the upcoming Hickok.

Portraying the real life 19th century gunslinger was a "boyhood dream" realized for the actor, who has been a lifelong fan of westerns.

"It came at the right time, and I've always been a fan of westerns, so to get a chance to play the iconic and famous real-life person was a chance I jumped at," he explains. "(Plus) you've got Kris Kristofferson, Trace Adkins and all these guys (in the cast too)."

Hickok, which also stars Bruce Dern, reaches theaters on Friday (06Jul17).