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Sam Worthington says that he could've handled things "very differently" on the set of Wrath of the Titans. In a recent Variety cover story, the Avatar: The Way Of Water actor revealed that his "arrogance" caused him to argue with the film's director, Jonathan Liebesman on the 2012 film. According to reports, Worthington also briefly did battle with the director of 2010's Clash of the Titans... here's hoping he got along with James Cameron on the Avatar movies. Then again, Cameron helped Worthington become an A-list actor and make an absolute fortune, so it's likely they did.
But back when Sam Worthington made the two Greek mythology movies, things were different. And he admits this. However, he has never spoken publicly about his alleged feud with an owl. Originally, Clash of the Titans, which is a remake of the 1981 flick of the same name, was set to feature a mechanical owl named Bubo. But according to Digital Spy, Worthington really didn't like working with it. Here's why...
What's The Deal With The Owl In Clash Of The Titans?
While Bubo the mechanical owl is relegated to a brief (but hilarious) cameo in 2010's Clash of the Titans, he actually plays a prominent role in the original 1981 film.
According to Fact Fiend, Bubo is sent down from the Gods to help Perseus on his quest to destroy various monsters from Greek mythology. While Athena didn't want to part with her real owl, a mechanical one is created to aid Persuses.
The bit in the movie is definitely odd but it's seemingly based on Greek mythology... well, sort of.
Athena definitely did have an owl in Greek mythology, but it wasn't mechanical and it certainly wasn't named Bubo. That was a new creation for the 1981 cult classic film which starred Harry Hamlin, who, not dissimilar to Sam Worthington, claimed that he acted like "a diva" on set.
Despite being created out of brass and iron by Hephaestus himself, the owl turns out to be far less than helpful. Seriously, he basically serves no purpose in the film. But Bubo has developed a bit of a cult following and was even referenced on Family Guy.
But not so much to be included in the 2010's remake. Aside from a hilarious cameo, that is.
Why Sam Worthington Hated Bubo The Owl In Clash Of The Titans
According to Digital Spy, Sam Worthington really didn't like working with the mechanical owl on the set of Clash of the Titans. In an interview with Vanity Fair, director Louis Leterrier said that adapting Bubo for the 2010 remake wasn't in the cards. But this seems to contradict reports that Bubo the owl was going to have a decently-sized role in the flick. What the truth is, we'll likely never know, but here's what various sources are saying about Sam Worthington's intense distaste for mechanical owls.
The publication Female First quoted director Louis Leterrier as the one ho actually broke the news about Worthington's feud with the owl during an interview with Entertainment Weekly. However, we can't confirm that this interview ever took place. But, according to them, Leterrier said, " Sam couldn't stand the owl.
He wanted to destroy it. He kept threatening to drop it. 'He'd say, 'This is ridiculous! This is a ridiculous thing to have in the movie! You're going to ruin my career with that owl!'"
They continue to say that Leterrier stated that Sam demanded the owl be cut from the movie entirely.
If this is true, part of the script had to be rewritten to suit Sam Worthington's wishes. In all likelihood, the inclusion of the owl beyond its brief cameo would have made the film far worse than critics stated it was. Still, it's pretty ridiculous to think of an actor being so angry about a prop. According to Fact Fiend, industry insiders said that the owl had a better screen presence than Worthington and this was one of the things he disliked. However, this too has not been confirmed by any reliable source and appears to be a detail used to simply badmouth the actor.
Of course, Bubo wasn't completely cut out of 2010's Clash of the Titans. There is a scene where Worthington's Perseus is searching around a room for various items he'll need on his quest. He ends up picking up an almost identical replica of Bubo from 1981's Clash of the Titans and asks, "What's this?" The response he gets from his companion is simply, "Just leave it".
Bubo is then tossed aside which is, according to reports, is exactly what Sam Worthington wanted.
