I do movies that I would like to go and see. I think that's a good barometer of how I choose films. I like going to these movies. Our job is to make sure the audience gets their $16 worth. That's my job.
You spend five months filming in outer space and saving the world, and suddenly that kind of family unit and story disappears, and you come crashing back down to Earth, and you have to do your own washing... and most actors are insecure that the last job they did will be their last job ever.
You can write whatever you want about me in websites and newspapers, but no one really knows me. They get the idea that I'm a tough, heroic figure, but I'm a sensitive pussycat.
My dad had to work for everything in his life; so did my mum: she cleaned people's houses and looked after old people. You can be complacent and sit on the couch and complain about the dreams that you missed. Get off the couch!
The acting came about because of a girl. I was 19 and met a girl who wanted to go to the premiere drama school in Australia, the National Institute of Dramatic Arts, where Mel Gibson, Cate Blanchett and many others went. She had an audition, and I went with her for moral support - to cheer her on. I did an audition my way, and it kept going.
Starting out, they told me: 'You're a good-looking guy. We'll put you in this role, and you can be a conduit for the audience into this side of the story.' But I've grown up, and that's not what I want anymore. My concept of the job I do has evolved. And it is a job, nothing more.
Some actors can create characters and leave them at 'Cut!', but I work the opposite way and drag them out of me. For me, it's about fixing your fabric to fit the role.
When I was young, my parents were these titanic, infallible figures. But Mum's illness and Dad's battles with diabetes and heart attacks had a ripple effect on me - reminding me of my own mortality and that these illnesses are genetic.
I don't mind running; I don't mind taking a few knocks. But hopefully, it's just not 'Sam's an action dude.' That, to me, is not what I wanted. I wanted to bring a sense of weight and emotionality of doing Australian films and bring that into a bigger blockbuster, so you're not just kind of grunting and groaning and running around.
I don't have a real home. When I got 'Avatar,' I sold everything that I owned because I knew it was going to be a long journey. I've got two bags, and that was four years ago, and I've been working ever since, and I've still only got two bags - a bag of books and a bag of clothes. That's about it.
I installed anti-rust roofing into homes in Cairns. I packed boxes at Baby Barn. I was even a Manny! Mate, I know more about braiding hair and My Little Pony than most men, I can tell ya.
I also care that the public are getting their 12 dollars worth when they go to a movie, and that they're not coming out not wanting to ever see a movie with me in it again. I don't care what people think of me as a person, but I do care what people think of my work, and whether I'm investing enough into it.
Any actor wants their movies and their work to be seen. You don't make a movie or get into this profession for your work not to be seen and just to show them to your mates at home.
Any acting is a stretch of the imagination. That's your job. Acting is truth in imaginary circumstances. Acting with green screen or a motion capture stage, you're striving for absolute truth in absolutely imaginary circumstances.
