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Sam Worthington portrays a Union soldier in Kevin Costner’s new Western, “Horizon: An American Saga,” but it’s his Aussie roots that the actor says helped him while shooting the movie in the far reaches of southern Utah.
“I’m from Australia. Heat and desert doesn’t really bother me,” the actor tells TODAY.com in a sit-down interview.
That’s good news, considering Worthington spent months in the remote location while shooting the first and second “Horizon” films, part of Costner’s ambitious four-part series. The first movie, out June 28, chronicles the lives of pioneers settling in the West and their clashes with Native Americans and rogue outlaws, among other conflicts.
Though Worthington didn’t have a problem shooting in the desert heat, he tells TODAY.com that the vastness of the region occasionally left him feeling unsettled.
“It’s a very expansive place, (but) even though it’s expansive, it can feel claustrophobic. I know that sounds so weird, but just in how vast and monumental that area is, it can feel a little bit daunting, and so you kind of shrink from it,” he explains.
Starring alongside Sienna Miller and Luke Wilson, Worthington portrays Trent Gephart in Costner’s sweeping new saga, an honorable U.S. Army lieutenant who helps a band of settlers relocate after a brutal attack leaves their town, Horizon, in ruins.
Fans of Costner, who wrote, directed and stars in “Horizon,” will likely find similarities between Worthington’s character and some of Costner’s notable roles, including John Dunbar in “Dances With Wolves” and Frank Farmer in “The Bodyguard.”
“The parts Kevin’s played in the past have these moral codes. If you look at ‘The Bodyguard’ or any of his movies, it’s about characters that have codes and ways of living and ways of being, having integrity in themselves. So, that was one thing (Costner) gave me for this character,” says Worthington. “He said, ‘(Gephart) believes in what he’s there for.'”
The same can be said of Costner who’s invested nearly $40 million of his own money into making the “Horizon” series, a passion project he’s been pursuing for more than three decades.
“It was something that started in 1988. So, if you just look at the scope of time, you can realize that it’s obviously been a journey,” Costner told TODAY.com during a sit-down interview earlier this month.
And the journey hasn’t always been an easy one: It’s taken years of determination to bring Costner’s vision to the big screen, not to mention a few misgivings.
“No one was going to make it and it’s like, ‘Do I stop? Do I give up at this?'” asked Costner. “‘Do I not believe that something I thought was good is good?’”
It’s Costner’s faith in “Horizon” that Worthington says attracted him to the role.
“I love working with guys that take big risks,” Worthington explains.
“Kevin has put so much of himself and so much of his time and money and everything and all that he talks about into this project,” he continues. “So, I like that passion and I like the sense of a guy doing it his own way. That was the appeal: to work with a guy that’s trying just to tell his story, no matter what.”
It wouldn’t be the first time Worthington has signed on to a risky, big-budget film.
The actor was cast as Jake Sully, the principal character in James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster “Avatar,” a feature that Cameron spent years and millions of dollars making.
The gamble more than paid off. Since its release, “Avatar” has gone on to become the No. 1 highest-grossing movie of all time and the 2022 sequel, “The Way of Water,” isn’t far behind at No. 3.
Worthington says a third “Avatar” is well into production and that he’s been dividing his time between shooting “Horizon” and the latest installment of the “Avatar” series.
“We get to go in and out and we keep filming continually. We don’t have a set period,” he explains of filming the upcoming “Avatar” movie.
And there are more to come, says Worthington, who’s attached to Cameron’s series for the foreseeable future.
“I started when I was 29 and I’m 47 now, so it’s a long time,” he says. “We’re finishing up the third (“Avatar” film) and that hopefully comes out next year and then we’ll start on four and five. I love that movie. I love being part of that world.”
But for the moment, he’s firmly planted in the Southwest and vastness aside, is enjoying it. “It’s awesome,” says Worthington. “It’s very peaceful, it’s amazing land.”
It also reminds him that compared to the 1800s pioneers depicted in “Horizon,” he’s got it pretty good.
“I’m in a car with air conditioning and a radio, why am I struggling? Whereas, these guys were on wagons and on foot and horseback and it kind of puts things into perspective: the story we’re telling.”