“The suit did not fit.”
James Cameron’s 2009 Avatar became a breakout success for Australian actor Sam Worthington. But before that, he was one of the top contenders for the iconic role of James Bond in Casino Royale after Pierce Brosnan wrapped his four-film run. He was also offered the role of Green Lantern that Ryan Reynolds finally bagged and got hilariously (in)famous for. In a new interview with Variety Worthington recalled his experience of auditioning for the roles.
After Brosnan’s retirement, Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson were looking for a young actor to take over. Along with Worthington, Henry Cavill and Goran Visnjic were the top contenders in the running. Worthington flew to London for his screen test, he recalled, “I could play Bond as a killer, but I couldn’t get the debonair down for the life of me. The suit did not fit.”
The actor further admitted that he had “no idea what I was doing.” He further revealed that the makers were highly “detailed and meticulous. He went on to compare their process to that of Avatar creator Cameron, “They are protective and passionate about this series. And what I learned is that you listen to these people. It’s the same thing with [Avatar director] James Cameron. He’s done all the research and there’s nothing you can’t ask him that he doesn’t have an answer for.” And that was the end of his run for the 007 character, the role finally went to Daniel Craig, who recently concluded his stint with No Time to Die.
After the massive success of Avatar, Worthington rose to Hollywood A list, and in 2011 Casino Royale director Martin Campbell offered him the role of Green Lantern. Worthington admitted the superhero concept “didn’t make much sense to me — the suit comes out of his skin?” Worthington remembers asking. He added, “And I was like, ‘He’s got this powerful ring that can create anything. Well, what can beat the ring?’ The answer was nothing. I was like, ‘Well, something needs to beat it, or it won’t be very interesting.’” The role finally went to Reynolds who made it his own, in his own way.
