Avatar: The Way of Water stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña might play an inter-terrestrial couple on the big screen, but the talented duo says their real-life relationship is more like that of siblings.
“…She’s like my sister. It’s very weird that we [film] these love affairs together,” Worthington, who is reprising his role as Jake Sully in the Avatar sequel, told People. Saldaña returns as Neytiri, a Na’vi princess and Jake’s mate.
But the actors tell the publication that their friendship began not unlike a date, with Worthington joking that he “wooed” his future co-star in a hotel bar while auditioning for the 2009 sci-fi epic, Avatar.
“We met at a hotel bar. I said to [director James Cameron], ‘Can I meet the person that you want to play Neytiri? Because I’d like to audition with them. I think that’ll help me get the part.’
So I met Zoe, wooed her, charmed her and then found out a bit later that she had no idea what I was saying. She couldn’t understand my accent,” the Australian actor recalled.
However, Saldaña remembers the meeting just a bit differently.
“Listen to him: ‘I talked to her, wooed her.’ I’m the one who’s the Chatty Cathy,” the actress interjected, admitting that there was some truth to the story.
“But it’s true—he would talk, and I had no idea what he was saying. The Australian accent was unfamiliar to me. And he spoke really fast.”
While a date might’ve gotten lost in translation, the connection was crystal clear to Cameron—the filmmaker cast his two leads, and the pair have been friends ever since.
