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Samuel Henry John Worthington  (born 2 August 1976) is an Australian actor. He is best known for playing the lead role of Jake Sully in Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022).

After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1998, Worthington slowly built up a track record acting in Australian productions, with leading roles in Gettin' Square (2003), the award-winning Somersault (2004)for which he won an AFI Awardand Macbeth (2006). In 2006, he was cast in James Cameron's Avatar. Worthington was introduced to American audiences in Terminator Salvation (2009). When Avatar was released five months later, after years in production, it was considered groundbreaking for its use of motion capture and computer-generated imagery and became the highest-grossing film of all time. For his performance, Worthington won another AFI Award and a Saturn Award. He later starred as Perseus in the critically panned Clash of the Titans (2010) and Wrath of the Titans (2012).

Despite his high-profile roles in Terminator Salvation and Avatar, journalists wrote that Worthington's career as a whole has not seen the same level of success. Worthington has said that he is not inclined towards fame. He made a shift to smaller roles, including films such as The Debt (2010), Everest (2015), Fractured (2019). In 2022, he reprised his role as Sully in the similarly successful sequel Avatar: The Way of Water.

Early life and education
Born in Godalming, Surrey, Worthington moved to Perth, Western Australia, at a young age, and was raised in the suburb of Warnbro with his sister, Lucinda. His father, Ronald, worked at a nearby power plant, and his mother, Jeanne, was a housewife. Worthington attended primary school in Warnbro, but, from Year 8, began commuting daily to attend the John Curtin College of the Arts in Fremantle.

After dropping out of school when he was seventeen, Worthington did not know what he wanted to do. When he was eighteen or nineteen, his father gave him a hundred dollars and paid for a ticket to Cairns, Queensland, telling to work out how to get back for himself. Worthington went around Australia and took up many different jobs, eventually becoming a bricklayer. In 1995, he met a girl while traveling across the Nullarbor Plain. His girlfriend's dream was to become an actor, and he accompanied her when she was auditioning for the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney for "moral support". He put down his name for auditions on the spur of the moment. Ultimately, he was accepted, but she was not. The event led their relationship ended shortly after. Worthington became lifelong friends with five other students in his class, including Myles Pollard.

Australian productions (2000–2008)
Shortly after graduating from the NIDA in 1998, Worthington found his first role in a rendition of The Judas Kiss at the Belvoir Street Theatre. He said of his Australian roles that, because there were less acting jobs, he took on everything "to pay the rent." Worthington was still an apprentice. He saw acting as just another job, and often worked hungover.

Worthington made his on-screen debut as a suspect on the 2000 JAG episode "Boomerang: Part 1". He played Mitch, the brother of Adam Garcia's character, in the Australian dance film Bootmen (2000). While the film received mainly negative reviews, Worthington's performance was praised. The Movie Show co-host Margaret Pomeranz thought that he was a "stand-out", and he got nominated for the AFI Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He won Best Actor at the 2001 Tropfest for Jennifer Perrott's short film A Matter of Life (2001), about a man trying to save some dying flowers.

In 2002, Worthington appeared in the not-well-remembered war drama Hart's Warhis first American filmin the minor role of Corporal "Depot" Guidry. He then appeared in the Australian gangster film Dirty Deeds in the supporting role of right hand man Darcy. Reviewers thought that the newcomer successfully conveyed Darcy's naivete. Worthington's first lead role was in the Australian comedy film Gettin' Square (2003) opposite David Wenham, where he played Barry Wirth, a falsely convicted prisoner trying to avoid crime while on parole. Director Jonathan Teplitzky was uncertain if Worthington should be cast as Wirth, but decided to "go [with] Sam and then have David playing the older, slightly more streetwise accomplice." Critics praised his performance, and Variety 's David Stratton considered him "a likable hero and a convincing tough guy."

Worthington directed the short film Enzo (2004), which was a finalist at the 2004 Tropfest. After a brief appearance in Thunderstruck (2004), Worthington had a major role in Somersault (2004), for which he won the AFI Award for Best Lead Actor. He played Howard, the main love interest in the first season of Australian television series Love My Way.

In 2006, he played the lead in a modern Australian retelling of Macbeth. 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. He appeared as Neil in the Australian horror film Rogue (2007).

Avatar and Hollywood blockbusters (2009–2012)
In 2006, Worthington went to audition for a film, but got annoyed when he was not given any information about the script or the director. Having seen hundreds of auditions, casting director Margery Simkins contacted the filmmakers of the science-fiction film Avatar (2009) in June to recommend Worthington for the lead role of Jake Sully. The producers called him back, but Worthington felt "a bit pissed off" over the project's secrecy: "Well, here's another waste of my time." On his audition tape, he was indifferent, not reading out his lines properly and spitting gum at the camera. A week later, Worthington was told that the director, James Cameron, wanted him to fly to Los Angeles to meet him. In August, he did an informal screen test with co-star Zoe Saldaña.

Worthington auditioned for James Cameron-directed science-fiction film Avatar, in which he played 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 became the highest-grossing film of all time, grossing more than $2.8 billion ($0 billion adjusted for inflation) in box-office receipts worldwide. In November 2010, Worthington told GQ Australia that he auditioned but 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."After auditioning with James Cameron, Worthington landed the part in 2009's Terminator Salvation of Marcus Wright, who assists humans despite their suspicions of him, thanks to the director's friendship with fellow filmmaker McG.

He later said that James Cameron "changed his life" and he will always be grateful to him.

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 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 Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Also in 2012, Worthington starred as Nick Cassidy in Man on a Ledge, a suspense-thriller film directed by Asger Leth. Though the film received poor reviews from critics, Worthington's performance received praise, with The New Zealand Herald describing him as "suitably terrified".

Worthington starred as Nick Cassidy in Man on a Ledge (2012). Although a set was later built, most of his scenes were filmed on the actual ledge at the Roosevelt Hotel. The opening scene was the first he filmed. He insisted that his lifeline should be done loose enough that he could not feel it, later recalling the fear he felt in interviews. Critics felt that both the film and Worthington's performance were subpar and that he could not convincingly hide his accent. Time 's Mary Pols opined that while Worthington's "stolidity" worked with the vibrancy of his surroundings in Avatar,

Smaller roles (2009–2021)
Worthington portrayed Jim Fitzgerald in the Discovery Channel television series, Manhunt: Unabomber.

In 2019, Worthington starred as Ray Monroe in the Netflix thriller film Fractured.

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In fact, Worthington is his own harshest critic. He regrets how he behaved on the set of the romantic drama Last Night with Keira Knightley, deciding to be “method” and keep his co-star at a distance but instead acting like “a jerk”

Personal life


Worthington has reported that, when he was about 30, he sold most of his possessions, bought a car with the proceeds, and was living in it before he auditioned for Avatar.

On 18 October 2013, Worthington confirmed his relationship with model Lara (Bingle) Worthington. They married on 28 December 2014 and have three sons born in 2015; 2016; and 2020.

Worthington is a Christian and recovering alcoholic. He says that he began drinking heavily as a means to cope with his loss of privacy following his increase in popularity after Avatar release, and stopped after his wife Lara gave him an ultimatum. He has been sober since 2014.

Legal issues
On 23 February 2014, Worthington was arrested in New York City for assault, after punching a paparazzo, Sheng Li, who followed Bingle to get a "perfect picture". After the incident Worthington claimed that Sheng Li kicked Bingle and he had to step in. 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, thereby 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.