LONDON?The actor who could be the next big star was relaxed as he sat on a director?s chair perched on a small dais, confidently facing the press in his toga or short skirt costume. With Aussie bravado, Sam Worthington simply folded the skirt to cover himself, but at one point in the interview, he cheerfully lifted the toga that answered the age-old question: What do men wear or not wear under those togas?
We visited Sam at the Longcross Studios in Surrey, England, where he?s filming ?Clash of the Titans,? one of two big films he stars in; the other is ?Avatar,? James Cameron?s much-anticipated feature film after ?Titanic.? The bulk of our interviews with Sam, who impressed critics and moviegoers in ?Terminator Salvation,? his director Louis Leterrier (?The Incredible Hulk?) and others will appear later.
Asked about the two potential blockbusters that may catapult him from a relative unknown to Hollywood?s hottest male star, Sam, who just turned 33, answered, ??Avatar? is its own juggernaut, and its own beast. It was filmed for 14 months, so I don?t think anything can compare to that. In regards to ?Clash of the Titans,? it?s a big, epic rollercoaster of a film. We are under no illusion. It?s a fun ride.?
Remake
From what we saw on the set visit, ?Clash?,? which is a remake of the 1981 film, could be one of the must-see movies next year. The action-drama-fantasy also stars Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Danny Huston and Mads Mikkelsen.
Earlier in LA, James told us why he took a chance on Sam as the star of his visual effects-laden ?Avatar,? which will be shown in December. ?He was good,? said the
director of ?Titanic.? ?It?s that simple. I saw a guy who I thought could play the character?he had real inner strength. Sam had some deficits, because he has a very thick accent, but I just had to know him! I worked with him through the audition process. He came back several times and read with Zoe (Saldana), then he read for the studio. The studio wanted to put him on film (as an audition). Of course, that was HD stereoscopic 3D, but we had him act scenes from the film for the camera. And, he proved himself.?
James added, ?We even did a bake-off against other young actors whom the studio thought might be more marketable. But, Sam blew them away. He was the best actor. I also felt he was somebody who would be there for the journey, because the making of the film was one. It was a journey of discovery. I couldn?t say, ?Alright, this is exactly what it?s going to be.? You have to just sign on, and it?s going to take us somewhere. We didn?t even know exactly how the facial capture was going to be done.?
Asked if his impending stardom is starting to impact his life, Sam replied, ?The biggest thing that I?ve noticed is my silly head rolling around on the buses in London. That actually takes a bit of getting used to, but apart from that, life hasn?t really changed much. I still have to come to work and do my job. I know that sounds hard to believe, but people tend to leave me alone. If you want fame, you can go and get it. I?ve always said that I?d come to work, do my job, go home and do the washing. We?ll soon see what happens after ?Avatar,? because it is its own beast, and Jim?s very protective of us at the moment, so we don?t get hit by the full force of it.?
Of his toga costume, the man talked about it with typical Down Under humor. ?I?m Australian,? he began with a smile. ?I don?t know if that helps. I?m trying to wear a skirt, and I keep hoisting it up higher.? He demonstrated it by briefly lifting it.
?I?ve gotten used to the skirt,? he admitted. ?I dig it,? he said to laughter from the visiting journalists. ?It?s definitely airy on hot days, and it takes a while when you?re doing stunts to stop it from coming up all the time?but it depends on your legs. Mads Mikkelsen has very slim chicken legs, so he hates wearing it. My Christmas hams are doing okay, so it should be okay.?
So, what was this dude wearing under his toga? Briefs.
Email rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com, and read his blog, ?The Nepales Report,? on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.
