Sam Worthington started his career in the early 2000s by featuring in Australian shows and films. He gained worldwide recognition by starring in James Cameron’s biggest film Avatar, which was released in 2009. The big break in the 2009 film made him one of the highest-earning actors in the industry, and he has since appeared in multiple films, one of which also includes the 2010 film Clash of the Titans.
Worthington portrayed the character of Perseus, a fisherman who goes on a quest to hunt Medusa’s head after finding out that he is the son of Zeus. He reprised his role in the 2012 sequel to the film. He was not satisfied with his work in the first film and wanted to give his best in the sequel. However, things did not go as planned, as it led to a confrontation between him and the director of the film, Jonathan Liebesman.
Sam Worthington’s Horrible Fight With Jonathan Liebesman
Wrath of the Titans takes place a decade after the events of the first movie and features Sam Worthington’s character as a single father to his son Heleus. Considering his character was a single father, the actor wanted to make certain changes to Perseus’ looks and decided to develop a “dad bod.”
He shared that he considered that his character would not want his god part anymore and would hardly care about how he looks. However, things did not go as planned, as he soon realized that the studio would certainly not want an actor with a “big belly” to play the lead in their film.
“Of course, that’s antithetical to what a studio wants when they pay X amount of dollars to make a movie about a chiseled hero,” Worthington said. He also mentioned that his vision was far more different than what the director Jonathan Liebesman and the studio had in mind, and it led to a horrible fight between them.
The Australian actor said, “My arrogance clashed with the studio and the director’s vision, and it turned into a horrible fight.” He reflected on what he did and shared that he should have at least discussed his plans rather than showing up with a big belly on the first day.
Sam Worthington Was Frustrated With His Avatar Audition
Before appearing in the Avatar franchise, Sam Worthington only had a few Australian shows and movies on his resume. However, the actor still managed to catch James Cameron’s attention when he auditioned for the 2009 film. During his interview with Variety, he shared that while auditioning for the film, he had no idea about what the movie was, or who was making it.
He was told to read lines for a character named Jake Sully, who has arrived on a fictional planet. The Terminator actor, who was frustrated with the whole process, spat his gum at the camera instead of reading the lines. “I was just angry. It was like, ‘You’re not telling me anything,” he shared.
However, he was surprised to learn that the film he auditioned for was a James Cameron movie. “Later, when they were like, ‘Jim Cameron wants to meet you, and this was for his movie,’ I was just like, ‘Oh shit, I’m going to get in trouble,” he shared. The director was intrigued by his attitude during the audition, and safe to say, he had nothing to worry about.
The Clash of the Titans film series is available on Prime Video.
Source: Variety
