Just two years ago, chances are the name Sam Worthington would have meant nothing to you. Yet after an annus fair dinkumus in 2009 which saw the Australian star in Terminator: Salvation and Avatar and complete filming on the Clash of the Titans re-make, it seems the 33 year old can do no wrong. The rumour mill has seen him linked to all the big new roles from Captain America to Flash Gordon. It’s lucky Morgan Freeman got his Mandela film in the can or they probably would linked Worthington to that too.
The most interesting story would see Worthington head up the cast of Alex Proyas’ Dracula: Year One. The film will take the form of an origin story, charting the transformation of Vlad the Impaler (already a nasty piece of work) into the biggest, baddest bloodsucker in the galaxy. No doubt with Worthington in the lead, it will make its lead a tortured figure, rather than a heartless (sorry) mass murderer. Add in some epic battles and some hot gypsy action to spice up the plot and the box office tills are already going ker-ching.
Proyas’ Hollywood career has been littered with interesting failures. Knowing and I Robot had fascinating concepts but got bogged down in the A list talent of Messrs Smith and Cage. For an example of his best work, re-visit Dark City, a superb sci-fi mystery that pre-dated The Matrix and featured a superb eclectic cast (Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Rufus Sewell) The question is can he remain keep to his vision under the gaze of a multi million pound budget?
