Sam worthy of epic role

AUSTRALIAN actor Sam Worthington has been given the biggest break of his career after being chosen to star in director James Cameron's first film since blockbuster Titanic.

The 30-year-old actor beat hundreds of hopefuls to win the lead in Avatar, a science-fiction adventure epic which Cameron has been developing for more than a decade.

Worthington, who has worked steadily in Australian films since his debut in Bootmen in 2000, is unknown in the US and was chosen after the legendary director held screen tests around the world to find a new face to play the lead.

It has been nine years since Cameron last directed, with Titanic becoming the biggest blockbuster of all time earning $1.8 billion worldwide and winning a record-breaking 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

He took a gamble on two unknown actors for Titanic - Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet - who became superstars after the movie.

Worthington plays Jake Sully, a wounded ex-marine unwillingly sent to settle and exploit a faraway planet before getting caught up in a battle for survival by the planet's inhabitants.

Worthington, who won an AFI Award in 2004 for Somersault, has signed on for future instalments. The film also marks a return for Cameron to the science-fiction genre following his cult classics Aliens and The Abyss, which both revolutionised visual effects technology.

Avatar is expected to make Worthington - who grew up on the outskirts of Perth and graduated from NIDA - a household name in the US. The film will be shot in LA and New Zealand from April and is set to be released in mid-2009.

Keep an eye out for this actor, he will be famous very quickly after this movie is released for sure.

[Source]