Sam Worthington opens up about financial conditions before 'Avatar': ‘Sold everything I owned’

Before his Avatar success, Sam Worthington was living in a financially strapped condition.

The actor opened up about his struggles in a new interview with Variety. He shared that just before reading for the character of Jake Sully in director James Cameron's sci-fi blockbuster, Avatar, his life looked a lot different.

The outlet detailed that Worthington had auctioned off all his possessions and moved out of his studio apartment. He’d outfitted his car, a hatchback, with a mattress and had lived on the road.

“I sold everything I owned to my mates because I didn't like who I was,” Worthington said, “I needed to get the heck out. I was living in Sydney, and every time I would go to the bar, people would recognise me. I was rebelling against that.”

Since the actor didn’t have many things holding him back, he fully dedicated himself in to getting the role of Jake Sully. He never complained when the studio flew him to Los Angeles for myriad auditions.

Worthington added that he preferred staying in a hotel with a per diem over sleeping in the car. While he was working there, the actor grew close to director James Cameron, who would man the camera as they worked out scenes.

Cameron was soon convinced that Worthington would be the perfect fit for the role.

“It was a bit daunting because he had an accent like Crocodile Dundee,” Cameron told the outlet. “I saw a lot of actors, names you’d be quite impressed by. But Sam was the guy who made me want to follow him into battle. He was the guy who made me want to go into hell with him, and the other actors never quite pulled it off.”