During the mid to late 2000s, Sam Worthington was the go-to actor for leading male action roles. On top of Avatar and Terminator: Salvation, Worthington was eyed for roles like Green Lantern and, of course, James Bond. Obviously, Daniel Craig walked away with the coveted part and went on to star in Casino Royale, but Worthington actually got a chance to audition as the iconic British agent. It didn’t go great.
While promoting Avatar: The Way of Water, Worthington opened to an Australian radio show about bombing the audition for director Martin Campbell. Apparently, a major issue was converting his own Australian accent to British, which was easier said than done. Via New York Post:
“I said, ‘If I do an Australian I’m gonna be the next George Lazenby,’” he said, referencing the Australian actor who only starred in one Bond film. “He only did one and I didn’t want to be like that. So I tried British. It was awful.”
Worthington said the accent that came out of his mouth was nothing short of “laughable.”
“I sounded like Dick Van Dyke from Mary Poppins. I remember [director] Martin [Campbell] going, ‘Just do your normal voice. It’s all cool man,’” he added.
Worthington also had trouble nailing a key part of the Bond role: Wooing the ladies.
“So you [have to] walk in, and there’s the girl in the bed,” Worthington explained. “You charm her… And I couldn’t get the killer of Bond down, I just couldn’t get the charm, I couldn’t charm her. The suit didn’t fit man.”
(Via New York Post)