Sam Worthington at the Drift Movie Media Event at Event Cinema. Photo by Eva Rinaldi – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Facts About Sam Worthington


 

Samuel Henry John Worthington is an Australian actor born on 2 August 1976 in Surrey, England. When he was six months old, his family moved to Perth, Western Australia; however, he eventually spent his formative years in the Warnbro suburb of Rockingham. His father, Ronald W.

Worthington, worked at a power plant, while his mother, Jeanne, was a housewife. Lucinda is Worthington’s only sister. His character of Jake Sully in Avatar and many other well-known films like Clash of the Titans, Wrath of the Titans, and Terminator Salvation have seen the actor rise to prominence. Below are some really interesting facts to know about the English-born Australian actor.

1.He Attended John Curtin College of the Arts But Later Dropped Out

Sam enrolled in the John Curtin College of the Arts in Fremantle, Western Australia but did not graduate. After dropping out of college, he had no idea what to do with his life. His father, who did not want him to waste his life staying at home, handed him $400, a one-way ticket to Cairns, Queensland, with the instruction to sort his life out before returning home.

2.Growing Up, Sam Worthington Did Not Aspire to Become a Movie Star

Sam Worthington at the Giffoni film festival. Photo by Rossella Vetrano – Wikimedia Commons

Sam initially had no plans to pursue a career in acting. At the age of 19, Sam was sent away from home and started working odd jobs like construction. He eventually found work as a bricklayer at a construction site in Sydney, New South Wales, before the opportunity to audition presented itself.

He says that a woman he was dating asked him to audition with her at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Kensington. His impulsive decision to audition paid off because he won the scholarship and was admitted to the school. His friend’s audition was unsuccessful, and the two split up soon after the audition. Sam studied acting and graduated in 1998.

3.Sam Worthington auditioned for the role of James Bond in Casino Royale, but lost the role to Daniel Craig

London Barbican Centre ,50 years of designing Bond. Picture by Ank Kumar – Wikimedia Commons

In 2006, Sam Worthington auditioned for the title character James Bond, making it to the final round of the audition process, but was beaten by Daniel Craig.

4.He Was Struggling Financially When He Auditioned for the Movie Avatar

Before landing his big break in 2009’s Avatar, Worthington sold everything he owned and was left with only a little over $2,000 in his pocket. With the money, he bought a car and was residing in it as he could not afford a place to live.

Despite not being the first choice for the part, he was cast when Jake Gyllenhaal and Matt Damon both declined it. After he got selected for the lead role, he then found a decent place to live.

5.Sam Worthington is a Devoted Christian

The actor disclosed that he came to faith later in life and has been journeying on since. His faith was enhanced by struggles. Despite leading a luxurious life and having a promising job, he was an irate guy who believed that he was a man defined by his possessions. He then sold all of his items, began living out of his battered Toyota Corona, and grew in his relationship with God.

6.The British-Australian Actor is Renowned for His Role in 2009’s Film Avatar 

Tokyo Conference of the Avatar way of water. Picture by Dick Thomas Johnson- Wikimedia Commons

In the science fiction movie, Sam plays Jake Sully, a paraplegic former U.S. Marine who joins an expedition to Pandora to assist mine for a new energy source for the earth and finds himself in the center of a conflict between his own species and the native Na’vi people of the moon Pandora. The movie, which took ten years to complete, has one of the largest box office totals of all time with $2.79 billion, just a little less than the proceedings from Avengers: Endgame.

7.Sam Worthington Has Starred in Numerous Films

Worthington’s international film career started off with a string of small appearances in the Australian-shot Hollywood movie The Great Raid (2005). Later, he then starred in the Australian creature-feature film Rogue (2007),  played cyborg Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation, and Jake Sully in Avatar.

Worthimgtom also starred as Perseus in Clash of the Titans and its sequel Wrath of the Titans, alongside Liam Neeson. He later took more dramatic roles, appearing in The Debt (2010), Everest (2015), Hacksaw Ridge (2016), The Shack (2017), Manhunt: Unabomber (2017), and Fractured (2019). On television, he acted in Love My Way and was the executive producer in the television drama mini-series Deadline Gallipoli.

8.Sam Worthington Has Won Many Awards

In 2004, Sam received the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Male Actor for his outstanding performance as a young guy who was sexually confused in the movie Somersault. Additionally, the movie went on to win all the awards across 13 categories.

In 2009, he received the Australians in Film Breakthrough Award, which James Cameron presented to him. Moreover, Worthington defeated Russell Crowe and Eric Bana to win the 2009 “GQ Man of the Year Award.”

9.He is the Voice Over Artist for Captain Alex Mason in the Video Game “Call of Duty :Black Ops”

Call of Duty: Black ops billboard. Picture by Jules Morgan – Wikimedia Commons

In the video games Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010), Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012), and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018), Sam performed the voice of the main protagonist, Captain Alex Mason. His inability to disguise his Australian accent, unlike in Avatar, has drawn a lot of criticism from some gamers.

10.The Australian Star is Happily Married With Three Children

Worthington confirmed relationship rumors with fellow Australian model Lara Bingle on October 18, 2013. Two years later on the Australian radio program Kyle and Jackie O in the Morning Lara Bingle announced that she and the actor were wed. The couple, who started dating in 2013, secretly exchanged vows on December 28, 2014, in Melbourne.

The couple have three sons together; all with eccentric names that start with the letter ‘R’. Their first son, Rocket Zot was born on 24th March 2015, and their second child, Racer Worthington was born in October 2016. The notoriously private couple who have kept their older children shielded from the public eye welcomed their third son, Little River in a haze of obscurity, with estimates suggesting his birth occurred between March and June 2021. The family recently relocated to Australia after having spent some time in the US.