Sam Worthington on Man on a Ledge

James Cameron cast him in Avatar because he was a “real man”. The former bricklayer from Perth has also flexed his action muscles in the Terminator and Titans action franchises and even played a Mossad agent (in The Debt). What more can Sam Worthington do to prove his macho credentials? Shoot a movie on a ledge 100 metres above Madison Avenue, that’s what. In nail-biter Man on a Ledge, the NIDA grad plays a prison escapee who protests his innocence from a perch on the 25th floor of the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan.

Sam, how much of Man on a Ledge was actually shot on the hotel’s ledge?
Quite a bit. The idea was to do a lot in the studio, because you have no idea how much you can actually film on a ledge. [But] when I got out there I started to get a bit more confident, and before I knew it I was saying “let's do another scene” or “let's try this stunt.” Suddenly the camera movements are getting a bit crazy. The camera crew were swinging on ropes next to you. They had it worse than me.

Is it true you jumped into the project even though you’re afraid of heights?
I don’t think I had a fear of heights, I think I had a fear of falling and hitting the ground… Often I’ll read the story, get lost in it and then forget I have to actually do it. I said to myself, “it's called Man on a Ledge, dickhead, you have to get out there.” The first time I got on the ledge I said “just roll the camera and let's see what we get.” And that’s the first bit you see me doing in the movie, the first time I ever did it. So I was lucky I didn't burst into tears and go into a foetal position. It would've been a bit different for the film. You would have had to lure me back in with lollipops.

After Avatar and Clash of the Titans, are you looking for stuff like this that’s more performance-focused?
I pick a movie that I would go and see. I read it and I go, would I pay $16 to go and see it? Because my responsibility to an audience is to give them their money's worth.

When you were publicising Macbeth (2006) you said you'd rather Hollywood come to you than you conquer Hollywood. An Avatar later, mission accomplished?
I don't know whether I should use the word 'conquering' anymore. I was a bit arrogant back then. Now I'm just a very lucky boy to be able to do the job that I love to do.

You came home to Perth last year to do surfing drama The Drift with directors Morgan O’Neill and Ben Nott. Are you conscious that you want to support the Oz industry?
Yeah, it's a hard thing to do in what's available, to be honest. There's not as many options as there are in America. So when there is one, you grab it. The Drift was made by my mates and the only way they got their money was if bug-a-lugs put his hand up and said “I'll be in it.” And I said I'll do a small part – I don't want to do the big part, because that's not fair. Let's give another actor in Australia his opportunity.

Is there a bit of an ex-pats club over in LA, with you and Hugh and Nicole and all the others?
I spend most of my time in Hawaii. I just like getting out of the world.

Man on a Ledge screens from 2 Feb

 

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