I’ve been baffled by recent interviews with Sam Worthington. Sometimes he comes across as one of the biggest dolts to ever become a working actor. Other times he seems rather funny and engaging. Is this all a plot to keep people guessing? I have no idea. And I’m starting to care less and less about the whole business, quite honestly. Worthington sat down for an interview in Parade to promote Clash of the Titans, and he comes across as… full of himself, I think. He mentions that he thought Harry Hamlin (star of the original Clash of the Titans) was “fey” and “could have butched it up more”. He also laments actors complaining about their on-set injuries, saying: “You have to watch actors that talk up getting hurt. I think any actor that talks up the amount of bruises they got is a bit soft.” Eh. I guess he’s trying not to be jaded and “Hollywood”. But he comes across as bitchy, in my opinion. As I was reading this, I honestly wondered what my reaction would be if some of this stuff came out of Jessica Biel’s mouth. I would probably rip her a new one. So is Sam the male Jessica Biel?

Wearing a skirt into battle.
“The upside is that it’s very well ventilated. Look, Russell Crowe wore one for Gladiator, Eric Bana wore one for Troy, Mel wore one for Braveheart. I think it was the next logical step in my career. I think it’s something every young Australian actor has to do, isn’t it? You earn your chops for putting on the dress.”

That’s about all he took from the star of the original Clash.
“No disrespect to Harry Hamlin, but I think he was a bit fey and he could have butched it up a bit for want of a better word. I’d never seen any other ancient kind of movie in which the star has a buzz cut. I just wanted to look a bit different since my character’s been on a boat all his life as a fisherman where he doesn’t have a chance to get his hair done. So I just shaved my head.”

Classics for the young.
“I looked on Perseus as like a troublesome teenager. Teenagers kind of have problems with their parents. He’s got the biggest parent of all time, his dad is Zeus, the god of gods and he’s got a bit of beef with him. I thought that’s something that every kid that goes to see the movie can relate to because it’s a growing up kind of thing. I have a nine-year-old nephew and the message to him is, you don’t have to be a god to succeed. You get together with a group of people who are like minded and fight for a common cause.”

Pass the Band-Aids.
“We did quite a bit of stunt work, but you have to watch actors that talk up getting hurt. I think any actor that talks up the amount of bruises they got is a bit soft. I’ve got a nephew that gets more bruised than most actors when he plays in the back yard. But we had our days when we might be limping a bit. I play tough guys but I’m not a tough guy in real life.”

Time for actors to understand that being blue and animated is still acting.
“There was kind of an ignorance as to how we did it in Avatar. Now Jim Cameron is showing a lot of behind-the-scenes footage. Even though it’s animated with motion capture, it is our performance a hundred percent. So actors don’t have to fear being replaced by technology. Motion capture is just a tool. Acting is essentially just using your imagination to find the truth in imaginary circumstances. The special effects just take you back to the essence of what acting is.”

There will be an Avatar 2.
“Jim has talked to me about different story points. I can’t tell you more than that because the security guys would come flying through the window. Jim has to find the challenge in the next story. It’s a bit like Clash of the Titans, you don’t just do it unless you can kind of improve on it. I think Jim is working to improve on Avatar and that’s where it’s at.”

And he’s not on a star trip either.
“I didn’t set out into this profession to become a star, but the ascent has been very rapid and I’m still pinching myself. I was at the Oscars with Jennifer Lopez and I felt like I was in a dream. But you just try to keep grounded. It’s the good thing about being Australian, I think. We have a sensibility to keep our feet on the deck. All the tinsel of Tinseltown doesn’t really bother me.”

The story behind those red sneakers he wore on the Oscar red carpet.
“The ones they gave me made me look like a hobgoblin. J-Lo would have tripped on them, and I would probably have fallen off the stage and ripped her dress. It would have been ridiculous, so I just kind of went with what was comfortable. I bought a pair of red ones for a few bucks at Payless, which was the closest store. I didn’t give a crap how they looked because they were comfy. But I guess the word spread, which is kind of cool. They sold every red pair they had. Now I guess I’m kind of the Payless poster boy.”

[From Parade]

So is he the male Jessica Biel? Not really. Jessica Biel would have found some way to mention how gorgeous she is and how she deserves an Oscar. Maybe the similarity is that both Biel and Worthington are trying too hard to sell a certain image of themselves – in Biel’s case, the too-beautiful Oscar hopeful just looking for the right part. In Worthington’s case, he’s trying to convince us he’s the truth-telling tough guy who never needs to “butch it up.” I stand by my assessment of Sam – there’s something off-putting about him – to me, at least. I know CB (and many others) enjoy him. But I did like the Payless story. And I’d really like to know how a man putting on dress shoes with a tuxedo somehow equals “hobgoblin”. Is he talking about how short he is?