August 2, 1976 Godalming, Surrey, England, United Kingdom
Age
49 years
Overview
Samuel Henry John Worthington (born 2 August 1976) is an Australian actor and producer whose career spans acclaimed Australian dramas and global blockbusters. Best known as Jake Sully in James Cameron’s Avatar films, he has also anchored major franchises, led award-winning television, and continued to champion Australian stories on both sides of the camera.
Early Life and Background
Worthington was born in Godalming, Surrey, England, and moved with his family to Western Australia when he was an infant. He grew up in the coastal suburb of Warnbro near Perth, where surfing and trades work were early constants. After attending John Curtin College of the Arts in Fremantle, he supported himself with laboring jobs before pursuing formal acting training.
Training and Early Career
He was accepted into the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney and graduated in 1998. Stage work and a steady run of Australian film and television roles followed, including Bootmen (2000), Dirty Deeds (2002), Gettin’ Square (2003), and a standout performance in Cate Shortland’s Somersault (2004), which won him the Australian Film Institute (now AACTA) Award for Best Lead Actor. He also took on a gritty, modern-screen adaptation of Macbeth (2006), signaling his taste for physically intense, morally complicated characters.
Breakthrough in Australia
By the mid-2000s, Worthington had become one of Australia’s most in-demand young leads, alternating between independent features and commercial fare. His early collaborators during this period included directors like Cate Shortland and Greg McLean (Rogue, 2007), and actors such as Abbie Cornish, David Wenham, and Bryan Brown. He briefly tested for high-profile international roles, including a widely reported screen test for James Bond, before his global breakthrough arrived.
International Breakthrough
Worthington’s international profile rose sharply in 2009 through two major releases:
- Terminator Salvation (2009), opposite Christian Bale, in which he played hybrid human-machine Marcus Wright.
- Avatar (2009), as paraplegic Marine Jake Sully, launching a long-term collaboration with director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau. The film became the highest-grossing movie of all time and cemented his standing as a global leading man.
Career Highlights
- Franchise and action: Clash of the Titans (2010) and Wrath of the Titans (2012) as Perseus alongside Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes; Man on a Ledge (2012) with Elizabeth Banks and Ed Harris; Texas Killing Fields (2011) with Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Jessica Chastain.
- Drama and thriller: The Debt (2010/2011) with Helen Mirren and Jessica Chastain; Last Night (2010) with Keira Knightley and Eva Mendes; Everest (2015) as guide Guy Cotter with Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, and Jake Gyllenhaal; The Titan (2018) with Taylor Schilling; Fractured (2019), a Netflix psychological thriller.
- Australian projects: Paper Planes (2014), a family drama directed by Robert Connolly; the miniseries Deadline Gallipoli (2015), which he executive-produced and in which he portrayed war correspondent Phillip Schuler.
- Prestige television: Manhunt: Unabomber (2017), playing FBI profiler Jim Fitzgerald opposite Paul Bettany; Under the Banner of Heaven (2022), the Jon Krakauer–inspired series led by Andrew Garfield, where Worthington’s performance as Ron Lafferty drew strong notices.
- Awards and recognition: In addition to his AFI/AACTA win for Somersault, Worthington has received various nominations and honors across Australian and international awards bodies tied to his film and television work.
- Voice and video games: He voiced protagonist Alex Mason in Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) and Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012), further expanding his action-thriller profile.
Avatar and Ongoing Collaboration with James Cameron
Worthington returned as Jake Sully in Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), reuniting with Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang, and working with new ensemble members including Kate Winslet and Cliff Curtis. He continues in the role for subsequent sequels under Cameron’s evolving performance-capture and underwater-filming innovations, with the next installment slated for release in 2025.
Personal Life
Worthington married Australian model and entrepreneur Lara (née Bingle) in 2014. The couple has three sons, Rocket (2015), Racer (2016), and River (2020), and has divided time between Australia and the United States. Worthington has spoken candidly in interviews about periods of financial precarity early in his career (including living out of his car before landing Avatar) and about reassessing his relationship with alcohol as family life and career matured.
People Around Him
- Family: Lara Worthington (wife); their three sons.
- Key collaborators: James Cameron (director), Jon Landau (producer), Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang (Avatar ensemble); Christian Bale (Terminator Salvation); Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes (Titans films); Helen Mirren and Jessica Chastain (The Debt); Jason Clarke and Jake Gyllenhaal (Everest); Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones (Under the Banner of Heaven); Paul Bettany (Manhunt: Unabomber).
- Australian creative circle: Frequent intersections with filmmakers and actors such as Cate Shortland, Greg McLean, David Wenham, and Robert Connolly reflect his ongoing ties to the Australian screen community.
Approach and Reputation
Worthington is often associated with grounded, physically committed performances, protagonists wrestling with identity, loyalty, and survival. Colleagues describe him as direct and unpretentious, traits that align with his blue-collar beginnings and with the underdog arcs of many of his characters. He has balanced tentpole spectacle with character-driven work, leveraging global visibility to support Australian productions as an actor and producer.
Recent and Upcoming Work
Following Avatar: The Way of Water, Worthington starred in the Australian crime drama Transfusion (2023), which he also produced, and continued television work that leans into complex, real-world stories. He is set to continue as Jake Sully in the forthcoming Avatar sequels, while remaining active in film and limited series that capitalize on his blend of physicality and introspective intensity.
Legacy
From an award-winning start in Australian cinema to the face of one of film’s most ambitious franchises, Sam Worthington built a career on persistence and versatility. He remains a prominent figure linking Australia’s screen industry with Hollywood, known as much for his blockbuster leads as for his ongoing commitment to character-driven storytelling and to the collaborators, on both continents, who helped shape his path.
Our collection contains 7 quotes who is written / told by Sam.
Q: Sam Worthington age A: 49 (born August 2, 1976).
Q: Sam Worthington wife A: Lara Worthington (née Bingle).
Q: Sam Worthington Avatar A: Plays Jake Sully in Avatar (2009), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), and sequels.
Q: Sam Worthington height A: Approx. 5 ft 10 in (178 cm).
Q: Sam Worthington tv shows A: Manhunt: Unabomber; Deadline Gallipoli; The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart.
Q: What is Sam Worthington net worth? A: Estimated around $30 million (varies by source).
Q: Sam Worthington movies A: Avatar series; Terminator Salvation; Clash/Wrath of the Titans; Man on a Ledge; Everest; Hacksaw Ridge; Fractured; The Shack.
Q: Lara Worthington A: Australian model and entrepreneur; Sam Worthington’s wife (m. 2014).
Q: How old is Sam Worthington? A: He is 49 years old
