An Unsuspecting Poodle Was On The Wrong End Of Sam Worthington's Avatar Training
When Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) arrives on Pandora, he has to go through a rigorous training process involving dragon birds, clean hunts, and floating rocks in order to gain the trust of the Na'vi. James Cameron's regimen to star in "Avatar" isn't nearly as fantastical, but it's probably just as difficult nonetheless. The 2009 sci-fi adventure cost over $237 million to bring to the screen, so if you're the lead star of such a hefty production, it would help to make sure you know your stuff.
A large portion of the first "Avatar" was shot on sound stages, which allowed the team at Wētā FX the freedom to build the glimmering world of Pandora around the actors. But therein lies a dilemma, as it can be difficult for the actors to know what they're acting against if you can't see it right in front of you. In order to help the stars of "Avatar" get a feel of this incredible world he's constructed, Cameron flew the cast down to Hawai'i, where they would explore the island's jungles.
In a 2019 retrospective for Variety, Cameron talked about how he had them get in touch with nature by making his team do things such as preparing their own food out in the wild. "I think it was just invaluable for the actors to get a feeling of just how to move and what it would be like to live that close to nature," says Cameron. It appears that during this excursion, Worthington got a little too into his inner Na'vi.
'We're making a movie, mate!'
Much like his big blue counterpart, Sam Worthington dressed in the kind of minimalistic clothes Na'vi Jake wore in the film. "Sam Worthington was literally running around in kind of like a jockstrap, like a loincloth, and I mean he's pure white," says James Cameron. Worthington was so in tune with being in his element that he nearly impaled a poodle with the bow and arrow he was given (via Variety):
"He comes out onto the path and there's a guy walking his poodle. And Sam just instinctively draws his bow and almost shoots the poodle. He was so in character. And the guy said, 'What are you doing?' and Sam says, 'We're making a movie, mate!'"
I don't think Eywa would have approved of that. Obviously, it's terrible that an innocent poodle was nearly impaled by an actor who would go on to star in the highest-grossing movie ever made, but what gets me is Worthington's reaction. I just imagine Cameron with the biggest grin on his face watching his actors finding themselves in the boughs of nature, only to realize that one of his most important performers is about to inadvertently become Cruella de Vil.
After hearing this story, I want to see the "Tropic Thunder" version of "Avatar" where Cameron strands his Na'vi actors on an actual alien planet, and before he can start shooting guerrilla style, the filmmaker gets eaten by a Thanator that they all believe is just a really great animatronic.
"Avatar" is currently streaming on Disney+.