Samuel Henry John Worthington (born 2 August 1976) is an Australian actor.
One of the highest grossing actors of all time, he is known for playing Jake Sully in the Avatar franchise, Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation, and Perseus in Clash of the Titans and its sequel Wrath of the Titans.
2000
He has received Australia's highest film award three times for his leading roles in Bootmen (2000), Somersault (2004), and Avatar (2009).
On television, Worthington appeared in his native Australia as Howard in Love My Way and as Phillip Schuler in the television drama mini-series Deadline Gallipoli, for which he was also an executive producer.
Worthington played a small role alongside Adam Garcia in the Aussie dance film Bootmen (2000).
He also played a lead role in the low-budget Aussie comedy Gettin' Square.
2004
Worthington had a major role in Somersault (2004), for which he won the AFI Award for Best Lead Actor.
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.
2005
Worthington's international film career began with a series of small roles in Hollywood production The Great Raid (2005), which was filmed in Australia.
He auditioned for the role of James Bond in Casino Royale, but lost the role to Daniel Craig.
2006
In 2006, he played the lead in a modern Australian retelling of Macbeth.
2007
He starred in the Australian creature-feature film Rogue (2007), as a man named Neil, which gained a 100% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes.
2009
In 2009, Worthington starred in James Cameron-directed science-fiction film Avatar, in which he played the role of Jake Sully, a paraplegic former U.S. Marine who finds himself at the centre of a war between his own species and the indigenous Na'vi people of the moon Pandora.
The film was a massive success amassing critical acclaim and several accolades.
It became the highest-grossing film of all time, grossing more than $2.8 billion ($0 billion adjusted for inflation) worldwide.
Worthington's performance in the film catapulted him to global prominence.
After auditioning for James Cameron, Worthington consequently landed the part in 2009's science-fiction action film Terminator Salvation, thanks to Cameron's personal recommendation to fellow filmmaker McG.
In the film, Worthington co-starred alongside Christian Bale and played Marcus Wright, a human-terminator hybrid.
Terminator Salvation was released on May 21, 2009 and grossed over $371.4 million worldwide despite mixed reviews.
2010
He has taken other dramatic roles, appearing in The Debt (2010), Everest (2015), Hacksaw Ridge (2016), The Shack (2017), Manhunt (2017), and Fractured (2019).
He voiced the protagonist, Captain Alex Mason, in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010), as well as its sequels Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012), and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018).
Samuel Henry John Worthington was born to English parents in Godalming, Surrey, in South East England, UK.
He moved to Perth, Western Australia, as an infant.
He grew up in Warnbro, a suburb of Rockingham.
His mother, Jeanne J. (née Martyn), is a housewife, and his father, Ronald W. Worthington, is a power plant laborer.
He has a sister, Lucinda.
He attended John Curtin College of the Arts, a high 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.
In November 2010, Worthington told GQ Australia that when he auditioned for the role, he was not told what it was for, which annoyed him.
"I was a bit pissed off, and I think that came across. 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 later said that James Cameron "changed his life" and he will always be grateful to him.
Worthington kicked off 2010 with Clash of the Titans, an action fantasy film directed by Louis Leterrier and produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Worthington headlined the film playing the demigod and son of Zeus Perseus, who embarks on a mission to defeat Hades.
Despite receiving generally negative reviews from critics, Clash of the Titans grossed $493 million worldwide and turned out to be the 11th highest grossing film of 2010.
He provided voice work for Captain Alex Mason, the protagonist 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.
Also in 2010, Forbes named Worthington among Hollywood's highest grossing actors.
