Sam Worthington was positioned to be a major Hollywood star following his leading role in James Cameron's Avatar—more than a decade later, what has the actor appeared in since, and where will he be seen next? Worthington grew up in Perth, Western Australia and after failing to finish the drama program at John Curtin College of the Arts, his father sent him to Queensland with $400 to his name. He worked odd jobs to survive, and was accepted into the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney while working as a bricklayer, graduating from the program in 1998. Worthington is set to return as Jake Sully in Avatar 2, but in the 13 years between films his career has taken quite a few twists and turns.
Worthington’s film debut involved a minor part in the 2000 Australian-American rom-com Bootmen. In the same year, he appeared in several episodes of the police dramas JAG, Water Rats, and Blue Heelers. He then began to bag leading roles in films like the 2003 crime caper Gettin’ Square, the 2004 romantic drama Somersault, and Geoffrey Wright's 2006 retelling of Macbeth. Worthington's career hit a new high in 2009 with his lead role in Avatar, while also portraying the human terminator Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation after being personally recommended for the role by Terminator franchise creator James Cameron.
At that point, Worthington’s biggest break was his portrayal of Jake Sully in Avatar, which still holds a narrow lead over Avengers: Endgame as the highest-grossing film of all time. Following the financial success of the film, his career should have taken off as a bankable leading man and one of Hollywood's biggest action stars. While he did still establish himself with the film, and has gone on to feature in several critically successful projects since, his roles mostly include independent films and TV miniseries. In fact, aside from Avatar, Worthington only got involved in one other franchise: the action-fantasy Clash of the Titans series.
Over the next decade, Worthington starred in the romantic film Last Night opposite Keira Knightley, and in the crime thrillers The Debt, Texas Killing Fields, Man on a Ledge, Sabotage, Kidnapping Mr. Heineken, and The Hunter's Prayer—none of which were exceptionally high rated. The actor's role as Captain Glover in Mel Gibson's Academy Award-winning World War II biopic Hacksaw Ridge stands among Worthington's most celebrated performances. Additionally, he starred and produced the 2015 miniseries Deadline Gallipoli, and two years later, he returned to the small screen for a main role in the anthology series Manhunt: Unabomber.
Nevertheless, Worthington is set to reprise his role in the Avatar sequels. After more than a decade of waiting, Avatar 2 is finally slated to premiere on December 16, 2022, while Avatar 3 is scheduled for release on December 20, 2024. Both were filmed simultaneously. Although there are two additional Avatar sequels in development—for a total of five films in the franchise—Worthington’s extent of participation remains unknown. He will, however, continue his streak of thriller films by joining The Georgetown Project alongside Russel Crowe. Sam Worthington will also be reunited with Tick, Tick… Boom! star Andrew Garfield in the upcoming Hulu crime miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven.