Movies - TV
An Unsuspecting Poodle Was On The Wrong End Of Sam Worthington's Avatar Training
By MATTHEW BILODEAU
To acclimate his cast of the first “Avatar” to the world of Pandora, director James Cameron flew them down to Hawai’i, where they could explore the island’s jungles. Cameron told Variety in 2019 about how he had his stars get in touch with nature by making them do things such as preparing their own food out in the wild — but Sam Worthington took things a little too far.
Much like his big blue counterpart, 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," said 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.
Cameron shared the tale: "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!'" The director must have had the biggest grin watching his actor commit so fiercely to the role.