Sam Worthington: Being an actor is “a shitload of hard work. It wasn’t as if I woke up one day and was doing movies”

How does one go from a bit player in Australian films and television series and being broke to being a major star of action films?  Ask Sam Worthington, who in the last several years has starred in Terminator Salvation, Clash of the Titans, and most notably, Avatar, the highest grossest film in history. 

Yet Worthington admits his life story cannot possibly be summed up by a two sentences conveying a rags-to-riches story because, as he tells Celebrity Fitness in Men’s Health, it misses out on “A shitload of hard work.  It wasn’t as if I woke up one day and was doing movies.”

It would be easy to dismiss Worthington as an easily replaceable action star, but James Cameron certainly did not think so: according to the article, Cameron’s hiring process for Worthington to star in what became one of the most expensive films of all time lasted eight months.  At that time, Worthington had already lost out on becoming the new James Bond after Daniel Craig was given the part.  Still, Worthington didn’t let that stop him but instead allowed that to fuel him.  In his mind, “If I’m given a negative review, then I’ll take that and work harder.  You just have to get through anything that’s irrelevant or a personal attack, and you might find the gold nugget that can take you to the next level and closer to what you want to achieve in life.”

Laughing, Worthington points out that he’s not the first Australian actor to find success after years and years of hard work, pointing out, “Naomi Watts says she’s a 10-years-in-the-business overnight success.  And what about Geoffrey Rush? He was almost 50 when Shine hit.”  Of course, Worthington believes that anyone trying to get into the arts because of the outside chance of massive success should look elsewhere, validly suggesting that “You can earn more money being a dental assistant than you can being an actor.  Go and do something where it’s guaranteed you’re going to be paid.”  With that in mind, in the end Worthington is quick to point out that despite all his recent success it’s important not to forget that what he does is still work.  “Ultimately that’s what it is, a job. A wonderful job that I’d never put down and I’m extremely lucky to have. But it’s a job.”

Sam Worthington next appears in The Debt, opening August 31.