Is ‘Clash of the Titans’ star Sam Worthington the Luckiest Guy in Hollywood?
One year ago, nobody knew Sam Worthington from Chris Pine. Then along came a little movie called Avatar, which became the biggest film in history, and Worthington, the male lead, became king of the world overnight.
Well, not exactly.
Unlike Titanic, which sent the already-established Leonardo DiCaprio into the celebrity stratosphere, Avatar was a solid triumph of spectacle over star power. Zoe Saldana, Avatar’s Kate Winslet, scored two for two last year, with the James Cameron-directed film and her role as Lt. Uhura in Star Trek (alongside the aforementioned Pine), but is anyone calling her the next Sandra Bullock? Although she won’t have to worry about finding work for a while, no one is accusing her of carrying either film on her slender shoulders.
It’s a story as ancient as Hollywood — or at least as old as the blockbuster event movie. To the victorious male stars go the spoils. But for the female stars (when there are female stars), the bounty is significantly tinier. Post Titanic, Winslet may have scored multiple Oscar nods, but she didn’t exactly become heir apparent to Julia Roberts and Bullock. Cameron Diaz, who headlined There’s Something About Mary the following year, did. From Roberts to Bullock to Diaz to Reese Witherspoon, female stars are made by romantic comedies, not action flicks.
It’s a similar situation with Kristen Stewart, whose biggest claim to post-Twilight fame has been the are-they-or-aren’t-they-dating tabloid headlines that she shares with costar Robert Pattinson. Meanwhile, Pattinson, like Twilight’s other main man, Taylor Lautner, has been promoted to next-big-thing status, with a payday to match.
As for Sam Worthington, he’s in the enviable position of headlining this weekend’s guaranteed blockbuster-to-be Clash of the Titans, like Avatar, an event movie in 3-D. He’s playing the Greek hero Perseus — son of Zeus, conqueror of Medusa — so although Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson both put in appearances, this one is all about Worthington. I can already see the post-opening weekend headlines: A “New Action Star Is Born!”
But will he make it to the toddler years? I doubt that many people are going to see Clash of the Titans because they are dying to spend two more hours with Sam Worthington. The film is a remake of a 1981 classic, so it has built-in interest. And it’s in 3-D!
Worthington, though, still will end up getting all the credit. And for at least the next year or two, like Lautner and Pattinson, he will be the next Leo. But will he live up to his multi-million dollar paycheck? I wouldn’t bet Titans’s opening-weekend gross on it.
UPDATE Clash of the Titans pulled in $61.4 million over Easter weekend and has already earned back more than half of its reported $125 million budget. Matt Damon, star of the relatively underperforming Green Zone (gross: $33 million, price tag: $100 million), must be so jealous.
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Sure there’s a little childhood nostalgia involved, but yes – I, at least, did go to see Clash of the Titans *exactly* because I was “dying to spend two more hours with Sam Worthington”.
Sam is lucky to have you as a fan. But I suspect that the box-office potential would be the same with Chris Pine — or me! — as Perseus.
In response to another comment. See in context »[...] Is 'Clash of the Titans' star Sam Worthington the Lu… [...]
I just wanted you to know that I just discovered Sam Worthington from Terminator 4 in 2009. I really like him A LOT and have looked for, and now seen, most of his earlier work starting as far back as Bootmen in 2000. The ONLY reason I went to see the remake of Clash of the Titans was to watch Sam.
Just curious, Nancha. Are you male or female? I suspect female. If so, I’m not surprised that you would go to an action movie because of who is in it. Traditionally, action movies appeal more to men, regardless of who is in it. Women would generally need a little more incentive, like a star whom they particularly like. It would be interesting to hear the motivation for more guys.
In response to another comment. See in context »Yep, I’m female. I’m 47, been married for 20 years and also love action movies. I have a weird Mom who loves car chases and took me to the dirty Harry and Karate movies when I was a kid. I also saw the first Clash of the Titans at the movies in 1981. It was OK, but my favorites that year were, “Excaliber”(my favorite thing in it was the music from Carmina Burana) and “Time after Time” (my favorite thing from this movie was establishing David Warner as my favorite villain for the next few years) Anyway, my point, if I actually have one LOL, is I watch(ed) bazillions of movies and for some reason Sam Worthington is has “it” all to me.
In response to another comment. See in context »Wow, you are bringing back a lot of memories! I loved Clash of the Titans as a kid because I’m obsessed with Greek mythology. From what I hear, the remake alters a goddess-centric story to put the focus more on Zues and Hades and probably lure more male customers who might not have been as inclined to go based on Sam’s presence alone. My big brother forced me to see both Excalibur and Time After Time, which, for me, didn’t have the built in interest of Clash of the Titans.
In response to another comment. See in context »[...] of the past few weeks, a few things would be clear: Johnny Depp is the biggest star on the planet. Sam Worthington, now rocking the town, thanks to Clash of the Titans‘ record-breaking opening weekend, [...]
[...] Is ‘Clash of the Titans’ star Sam Worthington the Luckiest Guy in Hollywood? – Jer… [...]
You perhaps didn’t see “Moon”.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/
Sam Worthington was incredible in this deeply thoughtful scifi movie. He showed a full and appropriate gamut of emotions (near-insanity to cynical logic, rage & compassion… and curiosity) without chewing the scenery the way too many celebrities do. His performance was far more oscar-worthy than most of the men nominated.
He’s an actor, and, yes, I prefer to see movies with actors and actresses rather than overpaid celebrities.
“Moon”? That would be a Sam Rockwell movie.
No one is saying that Worthington is not a good actor. But there are plenty of great actors, like Rockwell, who cannot open movies and do not earn huge paychecks. Had Worthington gone the Rockwell route and chosen smaller films rather than two blockbusters in a row, we wouldn’t be talking about him right now.
In response to another comment. See in context »[...] comic brought out the tablet to read his Top 10 list, only to have “Clash of the Titans” star Sam Worthington rest his coffee mug on top of it later in the show. Categories : Entertainment & [...]