THE SHACK

SAM WORTHINGTON (Mackenzie 'Mack' Phillips) graduated from Sydney's prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1998. Upon graduation, he continued in the theater with a production of Judas Kiss, directed by Neil Armfield, for Company B at the Belvoir Street Theatre.

Worthington made his feature film debut with the Australian film, Bootmen. His performance garnered him an Australian Film Institute (AFI) Award nomination for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role" in 2000. Additional Australian film credits include Dirty Deeds with John Goodman, Toni Collette and Sam Neill; Gettin' Square with David Wenham; and Geoffrey Wright's (Romper Stomper) contemporary adaptation of Macbeth in which he played the title character. It was Worthington's layered performance in Cate Shortland's critically-acclaimed and commercially successful Somersault which distinguished him from his peers. He earned an AFI Award for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" and a Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) nomination for "Best Actor - Male" in 2004. The film made a clean sweep of the AFI Awards, winning in all 13 film categories - the first time this had ever occurred in the awards' history.

With smaller roles in international films such as Hart's War, The Great Raid and Rogue under his belt, Worthington screen tested opposite Daniel Craig for the role of "James Bond" in Casino Royale. Although he did not land the much-coveted part, it proved to be the perfect dress rehearsal for the following year when James Cameron hand-picked Worthington to star in Avatar - Cameron's first narrative film since his 1997 Oscar winning blockbuster Titanic. Avatar is the #1 highest grossing film of all time at over $2.7 billion worldwide. Avatar received several nominations for the 2010 Academy Awards including "Best Picture." The film won 2010 Golden Globe Awards in the "Best Motion Picture - Drama" category as well as for "Best Director." Worthington is scheduled to shoot the Avatar sequels next year. Additional film credits include: Everest, The  Keeping Room, Cake, the Australian box office hit Paper Planes, Clash Of The Titans, Wrath Of The Titans, Man On A Ledge, Last Night, Terminator Salvation and The Debt.

Worthington's television credits include some of Australia's most acclaimed productions: "Love My Way", which won an AFI for "Best Television Drama Series," and The Surgeon, which was nominated for an AFI for  Best Telefeature or Miniseries." Last year, he starred in and produced (with his company Full Clip Productions) the well-received Australian period miniseries "Deadline GallipolI" alongside a cast which includes Hugh Dancy and Rachel Griffiths.

Worthington can be seen in Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge with Andrew Garfield and Vince Vaughn as well as THE SHACK, which is based on the best-selling book. He begins shooting the much-anticipated Avatar sequels next year.

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