Exclusive Interview: Sam Worthington on Drift

You’ve talked about how you started your whole life over a few years ago. Did you relate to JB’s free spirit?

Yeah, yeah. I’ve got an uncle that is exactly the same. I based the character on my uncle because that’s how my uncle lives. He lives by that philosophy of just drifting through life and I think that’s in my makeup as well so there’s definitely some parallels.

 

After starting your life over, are you satisfied with where you are now?

Yup, absolutely.

 

Good. Was there a real JB and did you meet the real brothers?

Well, I think the whole story is an amalgamation of stories and myths that we heard growing up. You talk to any group of surfers sitting around a campfire, you’re going to hear about all these people who started businesses in their backyards and the hippies that rolled through town. So I think it was just more of these surfer stories that we heard.

 

What can we expect from Ten [now titled Sabotage]?

That thing’s going to be amazing if Dave [Ayer] can pull it off. It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had shooting. Arnold was fantastic and I think that David Ayer is a genius. If that comes together it would be something completely different. He puts complete trust in you and it was a chance to be completely different yet again.

 

Besides what I’m about to say, did anyone but me make a lame Terminator vs. Terminator joke on that movie?

Arnold said, “I like you because between us we’ve made four Terminator movies” which is true, but he’s done the majority.

 

Did you shoot the Phillip Noyce movie or is that still in the works?

Yeah, I’m going to do that later in the year.

 

How different is that going to be for you?

Well, I’ve known Phil for a while. I’ve always wanted to work with him. I knew him from way back in Australia. I used to meet him at parties and stuff like that, so to work with a guy of that caliber is going to be great fun.

 

I was also excited you just signed to do The Keeping Room with my favorite actress Brit Marling.

Yeah, yeah, she’s terrific. I saw Sound of My Voice the other day and I think it’s great. Man, her and Hailee [Steinfeld], I think it was a no brainer when you’re working with women of that caliber.

 

What will you get to play?

I get to play a Civil War soldier who comes in. It’s really different. That was the appeal. The character is just completely different to anything I’ve played before which is nice. I think that’s the thing. I’ve done all these heroic movies and those experiences are great, but I’d like to kind of just extend the repertoire a bit more.

 

Have you seen any pages on the Avatar sequel yet?

I know the stories. I know what he’s writing, yeah.

 

But has it gotten to any stage where the script is starting to come in?

I talk to Jim all the time. I talk to him at least once a week and he just fills me in on where he’s at. We’ve been in different parts of the world so it’s not like he’s going to fax them through.

 

Does that make the waiting easier, when you can be in touch every week?

Well, he changed my life, that man, so it’s not about waiting or getting anxious to do it. I could be 50, 60 years old and I’d still be wanting to work with him because I just love him. I love how he works. I love his work ethic and I love what he’s done for me.

 

Are you gratified that that took off to become not only a trilogy, but a possible fourth that he’s talked about now?

Yeah, but when you work with Jim, it could be anything. It could be filming the phone book for all I care. That man is genius and to work along side that guy, the fact that we’re still getting to be in the world that we created before is great but I’d do anything with him.

 

Are you ready to go underwater with James Cameron? Because that’s kind of a big deal.

Yeah. That’s the thing. I’ve heard all the stories from The Abyss and things like that because I worked with Ed Harris but the thing about Jim is you’ve got to trust him. The biggest thing that we have in common is we just dive in and do it. You don’t sit around whinging about it. You don’t sit there complaining and being scared. You just be a trailblazer. That’s what I love about him. He gives you the confidence to just do anything.

 

Talk about doing something different, you’ve also been in some of the Call of Duty games. How is video game work for you?

Oh, it’s great. It’s very liberating. It’s funny that those video games have become the biggest video games of all time and it’s good to be a part of them. The people who do all the Black Ops games are just very nice guys and they give you freedom. They’re very talented men.

 

Is it ultimately just like any acting job, or is it different because of the needs of the game and instructions to the player?

You get to go in and act in the sound box and do the script that they’ve given you. 

William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.