In James Cameron’s Avatar, which actor plays the human marine Jake Sully on Pandora?

In James Cameron’s Avatar, Sam Worthington plays the human marine Jake Sully on Pandora. Jake is the film’s central viewpoint character and becomes involved with the Na’vi after joining the Avatar Program.

Avatar takes place largely on Pandora, a fictional moon inhabited by the Na’vi. Jake operates a remotely controlled avatar body designed to resemble the local species, allowing him to move through the environment and communicate with Na’vi communities. The story follows his changing loyalties as he learns about Pandora’s ecology and the effects of human extraction efforts.

Worthington’s performance is sometimes confused with the film’s other major male roles. Stephen Lang plays Colonel Miles Quaritch, the military commander opposing Jake, while Giovanni Ribisi plays administrator Parker Selfridge. Joel David Moore portrays scientist Norm Spellman.

Released in 2009, Avatar became known for its extensive use of performance capture, stereoscopic 3D, and computer-generated environments. Pandora’s name connects the film to the older myth only symbolically; the moon is not the mythological vessel, and Jake is not a character from Hesiod’s story.