While Matt Damon has spoken about turning down Avatar, director James Cameron has now revealed that it came down to three young actors, and that Sam Worthington was the least-favored by the studio. In an hour-long interview for Vanity Fair, Cameron reflected on his career and recalled the fight he had to put up for Worthington when he was casting Avatar. He said that Zoë Saldaña was the first to be cast because she was a trained ballet dancer, and had the requisite physicality and emotional range to play Neytiri. Worthington's "thick Australian accent," however, needed some work, according to the director. In the interview, Cameron revealed the name of one other up-and-comer vying for the lead role in Avatar, and said that the studio was really gunning for him.
Cameron said that he even tested various actors, including Worthington, in separate jungle and lab sets along with Saldaña. He saw an intensity in Worthington's eyes that convinced him that he'd be the perfect actor to play Jake Sully in the first Avatar. The movie was released in 2009 to record-breaking box office numbers; it remains the highest-grossing film in history, with a global haul of nearly $3 billion. Both Worthington and Saldaña returned for the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, and are all set to reprise their roles in the upcoming third installment, Avatar: Fire and Ash. But instead of Worthington, the role of Jake Sully could've been played by another young star known for their physicality. In Cameron's words:
“There were three young actors that were really nowhere in their careers at the time. All three of them went on to be movie stars. I had to choose between them, and I did a series of screen tests. First, it was a straight audition. Then I set up real screen tests, on sets. There was a lab set, a jungle set. Zoë came in and tested with everybody, and Sam was the one I kept going back to. The studio disagreed. The Fox guys liked the other guys better. I’ll say, one of them was Channing Tatum. It could’ve been Channing Tatum! (Sam) is the guy I would follow into battle, I would follow him into hell. He spoke in a way that resonated. "
Both Damon and Tatum Are Doing Just Fine
Cameron said jokingly that Tatum went on to do just fine in his career without starring in Avatar. Previously, Damon said that by turning down the movie, he probably lost $250 million, including all the back-end profits he'd have likely made. He told GQ UK, “Jim Cameron offered me Avatar. And when he offered it to me, he goes, ‘Now, listen. I don’t need anybody. I don’t need a name for this, a named actor. If you don’t take this, I’m going to find an unknown actor and give it to him, because the movie doesn’t really need you. But if you take the part, I’ll give you ten percent of…’ So, on the subject of money…”
Avatar: Fire and Ash will be released next month, and Damon will star in possibly his biggest movie — Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey — next year. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
