Sam Worthington grunts his way through a Details cover profile

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I’ve never really been a fan of Sam Worthington. There was like a split second last year when I thought he could be a Gerard Butler-esque contender on my top ten “Hot Man Buffet For the Ages” but it died a swift death when I actually read a few interviews with him. The man is dumb as a box of hair. And as for his looks… well, he’s attractive in some ways (CB certainly thinks so), but he’s a lot smaller than you realize. He’s, like, barely taller than Ryan Seacrest. But CB thinks he’s hot and Lainey thinks he’s hot, so maybe there’s something wrong with me.

Anyway, Sam is the cover boy for the April Details Magazine (full piece here), all to promote his role in the upcoming Clash of the Titans. Now, maybe it’s because I’m so jaded about this dude that I can actually see through the exceptionally bad writing over at Details, but this is not a dude with anything of significance to say. And hand him off to a bad interviewer, and you have to slog through 1000 words before you even get to one full quote from Worthington. Here are some of the highlights, from what I could understand of this drivel and assorted grunts:

On why he comes across like an idiot: Talking about himself, laying himself bare for some notepad-wielding stranger, speaking his mind only to see “the stupid things I say” come boomeranging back at him in 12-point type—he hates it. “I’m still a very boisterous young man,” he says, in his bristly Aussie accent. “And I swear a bit more than I should. So I’m learning to temper it, you know?”

He likes to work: “I hate downtime. This is the first time I’ve had time off. I hate it.”

His childhood: “I’m not a great fan of people who say they put a sheet up in the backyard when they were 7 and entertained all the neighbors,” he says. “When I was 7, I thought I was a f-cking fire truck. Growing up, you tended to just go through school to get out… then figure out what you want to do in this big ball of mud.”

So how did the Fire Truck grow up to be an actor? A dreadlocked Worthington tagged along with a girlfriend, an aspiring actress, to her audition at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. For “moral support,” he says, he auditioned alongside her. He got in; she didn’t—and promptly dumped him.

James Cameron on Worthington: “It’s hard to find a guy who works for women and for men,” Cameron says. “With a lot of actors, women love them, but they don’t inspire men. I needed someone who could lead men into battle.” Worthington, he says, “was the one who went full Shakespeare.” They met, they clicked. “He impressed me as a tough guy,” Cameron says. “He had a flintiness about him.”

Why Sam doesn‘t like the word “art”: “Artistry has a kind of weird connotation,” he says, “because you can sound like you’re going straight up your f-cking ass if you say that.”

Living in hotels: “I like room service,” he admits. “They put a chocolate on my pillow. It’s kinda cool.”

What? “Most people could say, ‘I want to be on magazine covers. I want to have enough money to buy a house,'” he says. For Worthington, however, the goal isn’t nearly so tangible. “If it was tangible,” he says, “hopefully I wouldn’t be doing it, to be honest.”

On fame: “If you start walking around in a red chinchilla, thinking you’re better than everybody,” Worthington says, “you’re going to look like a dickhead.”

Is he a diva? “Well, I demand a lot,” he says, then backtracks, not wanting to position himself as some kind of diva. “I demand excellence in myself. I’m up front and quite outspoken, but I’ll give you everything.”

[From Details]

Ugh. I mean, I get it. The guy doesn’t want to wax on and on about “the craft” or his “method”. And I applaud that, truly. I get tired of reading interviews with actors when they won’t shut up about their craft. But, it just seems like Sam doesn’t have much to say beyond that. He’s just a working actor, happy to have a job, but not really experiencing anything beyond the work. He just doesn’t have anything to say. The majority of the article is quotes from other people talking about his “simplicity” (which is code for “stupid”) and his rugged-ness (which is code for “he’s straight”).

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Details photos of Sam courtesy of Details online.

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29 Responses to “Sam Worthington grunts his way through a Details cover profile”

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  1. hatsumomo says:

    I like him. Not in the way alot of women-swoon way, but in a way that I like seeing his face in action movies. He has that ‘look’ for it, a bit like the next Arnold.

    And one of the best marks of an actor is to create a memorable performance or look and he did just that in Terminator, does anyone remember the look he gave Kyle Reese when they were confronted at the gas station by the group drawing weapons on them and Kyle quips ‘if your going to point that gun, you better be ready to use it’? I busted out laughing in the theater and again when we watched it again for movie night last night. It was a one glance-sigh look, but I still remember it when I see his face. Too good!

  2. buckley says:

    Yea, I don’t get the appeal at all.

  3. meme says:

    meh. does nothing for me. lainey can have him.

  4. annaloo says:

    I like him too! he’s plain worded, but he comes off as pretty genuine.

  5. SolitaryAngel says:

    Lay off the guy already–Jesus. He’s a new actor, he doesn’t have a lot of experience, and obviously hasn’t learned how to get through interviews yet! Give the guy a freaking chance. I like him.

  6. CB Rawks says:

    Ohmygod, he is the worst kind of monosyllabic grunting Ocker Ozzy. Whenever we see him on the red carpet or being interviewed (not to mention his godawful turn at presenting/grunting at the Oscars), we are so mortified. We have family that sound like that, but in his case we practically need a decoder book.

  7. Izzie says:

    Kaiser, I am convinced you have a thing for the Brit lorry driver/dock workman look! I do, too!

  8. Iggles says:

    Yea, he’s smaller than I realized. He’s like 5’8 or something.

    I know, I’m only 5’3 so I don’t have room to talk about height. But I will anyway — for an action guy height matters..

  9. jess says:

    WOW Harsh Kaiser

    I’m an Aussie and even I find his ‘Aussieness’ a bit grating at times, but a funny thing happens when you move away from Australia – you cling to that accent like a long lost teddy bear! my guess is his will even out.

    That said he doesn’t come across simple at all to me If you want so see his acting chops, dig yourself up a copy of the Australian Drama ‘Love My Way’ apart from being, IMHO, the best drama series ever put to television (life-changing) Sam shows he’s actually a pretty decent drama actor.

    Yes I like an actor to be able to act, But I couldn’t give a toss if they can wax poetic about it a la Russel Crowe…

  10. Jess says:

    I think he is Yummy!! Plain and simple.

  11. Meg says:

    I think he’s hilarious and quite intelligent. What he’s really saying is he’s there to do a job, not sound like a wanker about ‘art and craft’. His plain spoken approach is a bit too dry for the E Network crowd, eh? That’s cool

  12. Icecat says:

    I heard he was living out of his car when he got cast in Avatar?

    I absolutely thought he was sooo freaken hot in that movie, but looking at these pics.. not so much. It’s like they accentuated his nose. I didn’t notice his nose in the movie….
    NOT that I am offended by it. My BF has a huge nose.. Don’t hate on me 😛

  13. nikki says:

    i’m so-so about him:he’s a correct actor but his american interviews always are “i’m a real badass guy!” and very “gerald butler”

  14. bellaluna says:

    I liked his character in Terminator, and I agree it was a memorable performance. More so, I think, than what’s-his-face who played the adult John Connor…I know who he is, I’ve seen him tons of things, but his name escapes me at the moment.

    He’s new to Hollywood, so he’ll probably polish up his speech and become more comfortable as he’s been around longer. I’d imagine the relatively instant exposure would be overwhelming to anyone, if they were honest.

    Wow, is he really only 5’8″? I guess he’s on my “look but don’t touch” list. I’m 5’8″, so I have a height requirement. My husband’s 6’6″. It’s a beautiful thing. 😉

  15. Pont Neuf says:

    I think he is very attractive, but looks and sounds a bit like a chav… You know, one of those men who think that “romantic” means having sex after eating a greasy Wellington steak or a large portion of fish and chips from the paper wrapping.

    Hunky-looking, but with a tatty content would be a good way to describe him. Innit? (snicker).

  16. Mistral says:

    I dunno, he’s kind of cute. Your last sentence had me laughing out loud, though.

  17. noonoo says:

    Disagree completely Kaiser. Sure he is no oprah-ellen-gosshound..but he doesn’t WANT to rivet you with fascinating interview stories..he just wants to do his job and have a nice life. Dumb? Sounds pretty SMART to me.

  18. ruru says:

    Ugh. Bogan.

  19. Granger says:

    According to imdb, he’s 5’10”, which isn’t really THAT short (unless, I suppose, you’re 5’10”, too. I, on the other hand, am 5’4″, so he’d still dwarf me).

    I haven’t seen him in a live interview, but he doesn’t come across as dumb to me in this print interview. Like others have already said, he just seems kinda blunt.

  20. amanda says:

    But Kaiser, you like Gerry the Manwhore! He doesn’t have anything good to say in interviews, either…same old “I’m a big manwhore” bit…
    I don’t know, I thought this dude was totally hot in Terminator Salvation…but he didn’t seem like that great an actor. I haven’t seen Avatar yet. He might be dumb as a box of hair…but I wouldn’t kick him out of bed!

  21. RimStar says:

    Sam graduated from NIDA and is therefore a tertiary trained actor. NIDA is the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Arts. This is the number one in Australia. You don’t get through NIDA if you are stupid.

    I like him. He is a guy’s guy. Not smarmy and sickeningly sweet.

  22. SpreadLove says:

    CB Rawks – Its Aussie not Ozzie! Ozzie is an ostrich. 🙂
    He sounds like most Aussie blokes over here. Thats how we talk over here. He certainly does not sound stupid nor sounds like he’s gunting to me.
    I don’t see what the “story” is.

  23. Celebitchy says:

    I still think he’s hot and he didn’t say anything exceptionally dumb! I agree that he’s just trying to get through the interview and not seem like an ass. I’m going to see if I can find any videos of interviews with him. For research, you know. 😉

  24. cedar falls says:

    Watch him in Bootmen. Best. Film. Ever.

    OK, so maybe not, but it is my best “guilty pleasure” film ever.

  25. Kaiser says:

    bellaluna – Nick Stahl.

    *sniffs*

    Maybe he isn’t dumb. Maybe he just wants to come across a certain way (dumb, rugged, straight).

  26. Bec says:

    True blue aussie guys, just don’t translate in hollywood. I’m glad he isn’t trying to be something he isn’t, or be like everyone else. He’s just a normal aussie guy who happened to make it big.

  27. Ann says:

    Dumb as a ROCK.

    and not attractive @ all.

  28. sarah huckerby says:

    Hes a typical aussie…but he as stated he was a bricklayer and just got lucky..hes a simple living kinda guy..not hollywood!! so what!! so what if he doesnt sound like hes swallowed a dictionary! hes just a normal aussie bloke..i think he will do well..james cameron thinks hes amazing..he is very very gorgeous too,,and blokes who say he isnt are just jealous!! he as a massive following as im in his fanclub and thousands of women adore him..so do i!!! he cant do no wrong…hes hot!

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