As Marcus in Terminator Salvation, Sam Worthington is the lynchpin of the future of the franchise. The actor tells Roll Credits just how he shouldered such an important role.

"To be honest, I looked at [Marcus] as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.  And, he’s going to Skynet, which is Oz, to ask the question, "Why am I not fuckin’ dead?"

Have you always been a fan of the Terminator franchise?

I reacquainted myself with it before we shot. I was maybe 14 or 15 when the second one came out, so I remember the liquid man because it was pretty revolutionary. Seeing them again, you realize just how talented Jim Cameron is, as a storyteller.

How did you find the stunt work on the film?

Well, you get beaten up. It’s Terminator. It’s not fuckin’ Pride & Prejudice, is it? You know what you’re steppin’ into, so you take a few hits and you take a few knocks. Just putting an actor in those situations, the audience is seeing the character gettin’ blown up, running through minefields and gettin’ shot at, and it draws them in a bit more. We’re not bustin’ ‘em out going, "Oh, that’s a stunt man." It keeps them involved in the story. I think all of us tried to do as much as we could, before the insurance got involved.

Was it fun working with practical effects, rather than green screen?

Yeah. McG is very smart. Instead of looking at a tennis ball, the guys at Stan Winston’s would build an actual robot, as a point of reference. In this day and age, that’s the smart thing to do. With a lot of blue screen and green screen technology, audiences are tuned in. It’s good to have a point of reference.

You're also starring in Avatar; did James Cameron give you any advice on Terminator?

I told him that they wanted me to do it, and I said, "Here’s my take on the character and here’s what I want to do with it," and he told me, "Just don’t fuck it up!" That was about it. And then, he went back to filming Avatar. As Jim said, he wants to look at it, as a fan.

How did you look at the character of Marcus? He's pretty intense...

To be honest, I looked at him as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. That was always stuck in my head, about this person waking up in another world and finds himself as they go on this yellow brick road and find the heart, the brain, the sensitivity, and all these characters you meet. And, he’s going to Skynet, which is Oz, to ask the question, "Why am I not fuckin’ dead?" That’s how I looked at it. That’s why I’m wearing a blue coat. Dorothy wears a blue dress. Things like that were stuck into it. Alice in Wonderland, same thing. That’s how I approached the character. I also wanted to be a robot that felt pain, not only physical, mental and emotional, but here’s a guy who wanted to die for his sins and the irony is that he wakes up and he can’t die. He’s stuck and his penance is to suffer, until he transforms and becomes a better human being.

And what was director McG's reaction to your Dorothy fixation?

He thinks I’m mad as hell! He’s a good director. He lets you come in and do your job, and gives you little, subtle hints along the way, until you’re on the right path. That’s what any good director does. They don’t treat you like a monkey or a puppet. They implore you to bring in whatever you can bring in. My job is to bring in as much as I can, and then he goes and puts it together. That’s my job.

Now you've seen the finished movie, what do you think?

 think it’s fast. I think it’s the movie that McG told me he wanted to make, and that’s good. I get excited. You’re in it, so you can’t be too objective because you know what’s coming next.

Interviews by Judy Sloane

 READ MORE ON TERMINATOR SALVATION:

Read Interview With Director McG
Read Interview With Star Christian Bale
Read Interview With Stars Anton Yelchin and Bryce Dallas Howard
Watch Film Clips
Read Full Review
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