The success of most filmmakers can be traced back to one film. For James Cameron, it was Terminator that gave him his breakthrough. For Sam Worthington it was Avatar – Heading to Pandora. Before that, the Australian with British roots had already worked as an actor for more than 10 years, but the films were not big blockbusters or cult films. That changed when Cameron noticed him – and offered him the role that would change his life.
Sam Worthington never planned to be an actor – and ended up starring in Avatar
One thing that James Cameron and Sam Worthington have in common is their connection to the working class. Before his career as an actor Worthington worked as a bricklayer. According to an article in the London Free Press, it was a girlfriend at the time who introduced him to acting by chance. He was supposed to just accompany her as moral support, but then he was offered a role.
Since then his life has changed twice. He initially took on smaller roles in film and television, but his breakthrough didn’t materialize. Then he met Cameron. At this point Worthington lived in his caras Cameron revealed to the London Free Press. When Worthington was offered the role, however, he had one condition.
He said he needed a week to get his brakes repaired.
It was clear to Cameron that he had found someone special. For him, the then 33-year-old was a man who was both authentic and tough as well as emotionally accessible. These qualities made Worthington a perfect candidate to star in Avatar.
The first test shoots for Avatar weren’t very lavish
Life didn’t change quickly for Sam Worthington. After he got the role, there wasn’t much evidence that he would be part of the most successful film of all time to date. He filmed some test footage in Hawaii with Cameron and co-star Zoe Saldana.
We had to wear tails, ears, a thin G-string and walk around half-naked pretending to be our characters.
Of course, this didn’t go unnoticed and someone spoke to Worthington about it. He explained to the passerby what they were doing and pointed to Cameron, the film’s director. It probably didn’t look like Hollywood to the passer-by, because he replied: “He’s come a long way since Titanic. Poor guy.”