Rise to Fame
Sam Worthington was sleeping in his car when James Cameron cast him in Avatar. Not metaphorically broke. Actually broke, living out of a $2,000 vehicle after selling nearly everything he owned. He'd swept the 2004 AFI Awards with Somersault, won Best Actor, and then watched the momentum evaporate. Cameron reportedly went to him after Jake Gyllenhaal passed. The audition process was reportedly so secretive he didn't even know what film he was auditioning for. That context tends to follow an actor around. Worthington doesn't seem to mind.
In the Spotlight
He spent most of the 2010s as a studio placeholder, cycling through Clash of the Titans and Wrath of the Titans while Hollywood waited to see if the Avatar franchise would actually happen. It did. The Way of Water (2022) hit $2.33 billion worldwide, locking him into Fire and Ash (2025) and two more planned sequels through 2031. He's released several films outside the franchise in recent years, but none of them moved the needle without Cameron's name attached. Jake Sully is the franchise. He's just the guy inside.
Side Notes
He's technically British (born in Godalming, Surrey) but grew up in working-class suburban Perth, which explains a certain stubbornness. He was a bricklayer before NIDA gave him a scholarship. He based Jake Sully's personality on his 9-year-old nephew Ridley. His kids are named Rocket Zot, Racer, and River. In a 2022 Variety interview he spoke openly about sobriety, the kind of candor that tends to arrive after the party's been over for a while.