Jake Sully

Jake Sully is the main protagonist of the American science fiction film series Avatar. The character is portrayed by Sam Worthington. Cameron cast the Australian actor after a worldwide search for promising young actors, preferring relative unknowns to keep the budget down.^[1] Worthington, who was living in his car at the time,^[2] auditioned twice early in development,^[3] and he has signed on for possible sequels.^[4] Cameron felt that because Worthington had not done a major film, he would give the character "a quality that is really real". Cameron said he "has that quality of being a guy you'd want to have a beer with, and he ultimately becomes a leader who transforms the world".^[5]

Fictional biography[]

Background[]

Jake Sully was born in August 24, 2126 on Earth and spend his childhood, hearing stories about Pandora, a fictional inhabited Earth-like moon in Alpha Centauri. Upon reaching adulthood, Jake became a Marine and during a service in Venezuela he suffered a serve spinal injury, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.^[6] One night, during a bar brawl Jake was thrown out on the street and met the RDA agents, which told him that his twin brother, Ph.D. Tom Sully who previously trained as an avatar operator was murdered. They offered a opportunity to replace him because of their genetical identity, which Jake accepted and was sent for a trip to Pandora abroad the ISV Venture Star.

Avatar[]

When he arrives on Pandora, Dr. Grace Augustine, head of the Avatar Program, considers Sully an inadequate replacement but accepts his assignment as a bodyguard. While escorting the avatars of Grace and fellow scientist Dr. Norm Spellman, Jake's avatar is attacked by a thanator and flees into the forest, where he is rescued by Neytiri, a female Na'vi. Witnessing an auspicious sign, she takes him to her clan. Neytiri's mother Mo'at, the clan's spiritual leader, orders her daughter to initiate Jake into their society. Colonel Miles Quaritch, head of RDA's private security force, takes advantage of Jake's new position by promising Jake that in exchange for information about the Na'vi, the company will pay for an operation that would give Jake the ability to walk again. When Grace learns of this, she transfers herself, Jake, and Norm to an outpost.

Over the following three months, Jake and Neytiri fall in love as Jake grows to sympathize with the natives. Jake reveals his change of allegiance when he attempts to disable a bulldozer that threatens to destroy a sacred Na'vi site. When Quaritch shows a video recording of Jake's attack on the bulldozer to Administrator Parker Selfridge, and another in which Jake admits that the Na'vi will never abandon Hometree, Selfridge orders Hometree destroyed.

Jake then convinces Selfridge to give him one hour to convince the Na'vi to evacuate before commencing the attack. Jake confesses to the Na'vi that he was a spy, and they take him and Grace captive. Quaritch's men destroy Hometree. In the midst of the chaos, Mo'at frees Jake and Grace, but they are detached from their avatars and imprisoned by Quaritch's forces. Pilot Trudy Chacón, disgusted by Quaritch's brutality, frees Jake, Grace, and Norm, and airlifts them to Grace's outpost, but Grace is shot by Quaritch during the escape.

To regain the Na'vi's trust, Jake connects his mind to that of Toruk, a dragon-like predator feared and honored by the Na'vi. Jake finds the refugees at the sacred Tree of Souls and pleads with Mo'at to heal Grace. The clan attempts to transfer Grace from her human body into her avatar with the aid of the Tree of Souls, but she dies before the process can be completed. Supported by the new chief Tsu'tey, Jake unites the clan and tells them to gather all of the clans to battle the RDA.

During the subsequent battle, the Na'vi suffer heavy casualties, but are rescued when Pandoran wildlife unexpectedly join the attack and overwhelm the humans, which Neytiri interprets as Eywa's answer to Jake's prayer. Jake destroys a makeshift bomber before it can reach the Tree of Souls; Quaritch, wearing an AMP suit, escapes from his own damaged aircraft, then later finds and breaks open the avatar link unit containing Jake's human body, exposing it to Pandora's poisonous atmosphere. Quaritch prepares to slit the throat of Jake's avatar, but Neytiri kills Quaritch and saves Jake from suffocation, seeing his human form for the first time.

With the exceptions of Jake, Norm and a select few others, all humans are expelled from Pandora and sent back to Earth. Jake is permanently transferred into his avatar with the aid of the Tree of Souls.

Casting[]

James Cameron offered the role to Matt Damon, with a 10% stake in the film's profits, but Damon turned the film down because of his commitment to The Bourne Ultimatum.^[7] Other notable actors who auditioned for the part include Chris Pratt and Chris Pine with the studio pushing Jake Gyllenhaal to play the role.^[8][9][10] Ultimately, the three finalists for the role were Channing Tatum, Chris Evans, and Sam Worthington, with Cameron ultimately going with Worthington based on his read of the climactic speech, saying:^[11]

I really liked Channing’s appeal. I liked Chris’ appeal. They were both great guys. But Sam had a quality of voice and a quality of intensity. Everybody did about the same on all the material through the script, except for the final speech where he stands up and says, ‘This is our land, ride now, go as fast as the wind can carry you.’ That whole thing. I would have followed him into battle. And I wouldn’t have followed the other guys. They’ve since gone onto fantastic careers and all that, but Sam was ready. He was ready.

Reception[]

For his performance in Avatar, Worthington won Best Actor at the 36th Saturn Awards.

References[]