Samuel Henry John "Sam" Worthington is an English-born Australian actor, best known
for the portrayals of Jake Sully in Avatar, Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation, Perseus
in Clash of the Titans and its sequel, Wrath of the Titans, and Alex Mason in the video
game Call of Duty: Black Ops and its sequel Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
In 2004, Worthington received Australia's highest film award for his lead performance
in Somersault. He performed predominantly in leading roles in a variety of low-budget
films before moving to major studio films, ranging from romantic drama and comedy-drama
to science fiction and action.
Early life Worthington was born to English parents in
Godalming, Surrey, in southeastern 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., a housewife, raised him and his sister Lucinda, and his father, Ronald W. Worthington,
was a power plant employee. 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 didn't 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, New South Wales. At 19, while working
as a bricklayer, he auditioned for the National Institute of Dramatic Art and was accepted
with a scholarship. Career
2004–08 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% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes.
2009–present 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 center 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 US$2.730 billion in box-office receipts worldwide. 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 Call of Duty: Black Ops. 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 November 2011, Worthington along with Jonah Hill and Dwight Howard starred in commercials
for the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
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 Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
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. Worthington was in a relationship with actress
Maeve Dermody for 3 years before breaking up in 2008. He was also in a relationship
with Natalie Mark from 2008 until 2011. On 18 October 2013, Worthington had confirmed
the rumours of a relationship between fellow Australian, model Lara Bingle and himself.
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 February 26, Worthington appeared in Manhattan
Criminal Court, where he was ordered to stay away from Sheng Li for six months. The case
was adjourned until May 8, when the actor will face charges of assault in the third
degree, attempted assault and harassment. On April 1, The photographer who charged along
with Sam Worthington after a street altercation in Manhattan, blamed the Australian actor's
model girlfriend for starting the fight and wants her arrested. On May 8 the case involving
Worthington and Li was dismissed. Filmography
Films Television
Video games Writer
Awards and nominations References
External links Sam Worthington at the Internet Movie Database
ArtistDirect.com Video Interview – Clash Of the Titans