Sam Worthington


Samuel Henry John Worthington is an Australian actor and writer. He is best known for playing Jake Sully in the Avatar film series, Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation, and Perseus in Clash of the Titans as well as its sequel Wrath of the Titans. He then transitioned to more dramatic roles, appearing in Everest, Hacksaw Ridge, The Shack, ', and Fractured. He also voiced the protagonist, Captain Alex Mason, in the video games ' and .
In 2004, Worthington received Australia's highest film award for his lead role in Somersault.

Early life

Worthington was born to English parents in Godalming, Surrey, in South East England, and moved to Perth, Western Australia when he was six months old. He grew up in Warnbro, a suburb of Rockingham. His mother, Jeanne J., is a housewife, and his father, Ronald W. Worthington, is a power plant employee. He has a sister, Lucinda.
He attended John Curtin College of the Arts, a school specialising in the dramatic arts, located in Fremantle, Western Australia, where he studied drama but did not graduate. When he left the college, his father gave him $400 and sent him on a one-way trip to Cairns, Queensland, telling him to "work his way home". He began working on construction and odd jobs, eventually settling in Sydney. At age 19, while working as a bricklayer, he auditioned for the National Institute of Dramatic Art and was accepted with a scholarship.

Career

2000–2003

Worthington played a small role alongside Adam Garcia in the Aussie dance film Bootmen. He played a lead role in the low budget Aussie comedy gettin’ square.

2004–2008

Worthington had a major role in Somersault and played the lead in a modern Australian retelling of Macbeth. He won the AFI Award for Best Lead Actor for his role in Somersault. He was well known in Australia for his role as Howard in the acclaimed Australian TV series Love My Way, in which he played the main love interest of the female lead.
Worthington's international film career began with a series of small roles in Hollywood production The Great Raid, which was filmed in Australia.
He auditioned for the role of James Bond in Casino Royale but lost the role to Daniel Craig. He starred in the Australian creature-feature film Rogue, as a man named Neil, which gained a 100 percent fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

2009–2019

In Terminator Salvation, Worthington plays cyborg Marcus Wright who assists the humans despite their suspicions of him. Shot prior to the release of Terminator Salvation, the James Cameron-directed science-fiction film Avatar was Worthington's next project. In the film, he played Jake Sully, a paraplegic US Marine who, assigned to control an alien body called an avatar through a neural link, finds himself at the centre of a war between his own species and the indigenous Na'vi people of the moon Pandora. The film went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time, grossing more than $2.73 billion in box-office receipts worldwide, before being overtaken by. In November 2010, Worthington told GQ Australia that he went to audition, but wasn't told what it was for and got annoyed. So he did his part, left, forgot about it – and was called back. "I was a bit pissed off, and I think that came across," he says. "I think Jim saw a spark and liked it because that's Sully's character – a guy who doesn't like to be bullied and a guy who just wants to set things right."
He provided voice work for Captain Alex Mason, the protagonist character in the video game '. Some gamers criticised Worthington's inability to mask his Australian accent, as in Avatar. In November 2010, The Hollywood Reporter named Worthington as one of the young male actors who are "pushing – or being pushed" into taking over Hollywood as the new "A-List".
He was selected as one of the entrants to the Who's Who in Australia 2011 edition.
In 2012, Worthington starred in the sequel to Clash of the Titans, called Wrath of the Titans, alongside Liam Neeson. As in the first film, Worthington played the demigod and son of Zeus, Perseus. He also reprised his role as Alex Mason in '. Also in 2012, Worthington starred as Nick Cassidy in Man on a Ledge, a suspense-thriller film directed by Asger Leth.
Worthington also portrays Jim Fitzgerald in the Discovery Channel television series, Manhunt: Unabomber.
In 2019, Worthington starred as Ray Monroe in the Netflix thriller film Fractured.

Personal life

Worthington has said that when he was about 30, he sold most of his possessions and ended up with around $2,000 to his name. He says he bought a car with the proceeds and was living in it before he successfully auditioned for his role in the film Avatar. He then found a place to live.
On 18 October 2013, Worthington had confirmed rumours of a relationship with fellow Australian, model Lara Bingle. They married on 28 December 2014 and had a son, Rocket Zot, in 2015. In October 2016, Bingle and Worthington had their second child, another son, Racer.
Worthington is a Christian.

Arrest

On 23 February 2014, Worthington was arrested in New York City for assault, after punching a paparazzo, Sheng Li, who allegedly kicked Bingle in the shin. Video footage of the incident depicts Worthington referring to Bingle as his "wife", furthering speculation about the pair's marital status. Worthington was initially released on a desk appearance ticket, while Li was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment, assault and harassment.
On 26 February 2014, Worthington appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court, where he was ordered to stay away from Li for six months. The case was adjourned until 8 May 2014, with the actor to face charges of assault in the third degree, attempted assault and harassment.
On 1 April 2014, Li blamed Bingle for starting the fight and called for her to be arrested. Later that month, Worthington secured a conditional discharge deal on a misdemeanour assault charge, therefore avoiding any jail time, while the charges against Li were dismissed "in the interest of justice". Li then filed a $3.7 million civil lawsuit against Worthington, which was settled out of court before going to trial in September 2015.

Filmography

Films

YearTitleRoleNotes
2000BootmenMitchell Okden
2001A Matter of LifeOur HeroShort film
2002Hart's WarCpl. B.J. "Depot" Guidry
2002Dirty DeedsDarcy Ryan
2003Gettin' SquareBarry "Wattsy" Wirth
2004Enzo-Short film; Director, Writer, Music and Cinematography
2004SomersaultJoe
2004ThunderstruckRonnie
2005The Great RaidPfc. Lucas
2005Fink!Able
2006MacbethLord Macbeth
2007RogueNeil Kelly
2009Terminator SalvationMarcus Wright
2009AvatarJake Sully
2010Clash of the TitansPerseus
2010Last NightMichael Reed
2010Love & DistrustMilesSegment: "Blue Poles"
2011The DebtYoung David Peretz
2011Texas Killing FieldsDetective Mike Souder
2012Man on a LedgeNick Cassidy
2012Wrath of the TitansPerseus
2013DriftJB
2014SabotageJames "Monster" Murray
2014CakeRoy Collins
2014The Keeping RoomMoses
2015Paper PlanesJack Webber
2015Kidnapping Freddy HeinekenWillem Holleeder
2015EverestGuy Cotter
2016Hacksaw RidgeCaptain Glover
2017The ShackMack Philips
2017The Hunter's PrayerStephen Lucas
2018The TitanRick Janssen
2019FracturedRay Monroe
2020DreamlandTBDPost-production
2022Avatar 2Jake SullyFilming
2024Avatar 3Jake SullyFilming
TBAThe Georgetown ProjectPost-production
TBALanskyDavid StonePost-production

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations