Jack Champion

Jack Champion
Born (2004-11-16) November 16, 2004 (age 20)[1]
Blacksburg, Virginia[2]
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActor
Years active2015–present

Jack Champion (born November 16, 2004) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Spider, a human teenager living on Pandora, who first appeared in Avatar: The Way of Water (2022).[3] He also played Ethan Landry in the slasher film Scream VI (2023).

Life and career

Champion was born in November 2004 and is a native of Blacksburg, Virginia.[1][4] He was raised by his mother, a microbiologist.[1] He has credited her for encouraging his interest in acting.[5] He began acting at age eight, starting in school theatre and eventually began working in short films.[1][5] In 2015, he had a small role in the documentary series American Genius.[6]

In 2017, Champion booked a screen test to join the cast of James Cameron's science fiction film Avatar: The Way of Water.[7] Before he was cast in the role, he filmed a small part in the superhero film Avengers: Endgame (2019).[7] He also had a leading role in the horror film The Night Sitter (2018).[8] Champion booked his part in Avatar at age 12, after four months of extensive auditions.[4] He was cast as Spider, a human teenager living amongst Na'vis on Pandora.[9][10][11] The nature of Champion's role meant that he had to film all his scenes twice;[12] his work involved two years of performance capture on a soundstage, followed by two and a half years of filming the same scenes in live-action in New Zealand.[7] To maintain a muscular physique over the duration of filming, as his character appears shirtless throughout the film, he exercised extensively with a personal trainer and consumed a high-protein diet. He also learned freediving and scuba diving for scenes that were filmed underwater.[13] After five years of production, the film was released in 2022, after Champion turned 18.[4] It earned over $2 billion worldwide, becoming the third highest-grossing film of all time.[14] Champion concurrently shot for the sequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash, which will release in 2025, and portions of Avatar 4, which will release in 2029. This was primarily done so that Champion would not age out of his role.[15][16][17]

In 2023, Champion appeared alongside an ensemble cast in the slasher film Scream VI, playing the part of Ethan Landry.[18] In contrast to his experience of working on Avatar, he described filming Scream VI as a "really fun summer vacation".[5] He then played the son of star Liam Neeson's character in the action thriller Retribution, a remake of the 2015 Spanish film of the same name.[19] Champion next appeared alongside an ensemble cast in Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's 1980s-set action drama film Freaky Tales, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.[20]

In addition to the Avatar sequels, Champion will next star in the family drama Everything's Going to Be Great and in the action thriller Trap House.[21][22]

Filmography

Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Title Role Notes
2015 The Divergent Series: Insurgent Abnegation Child Uncredited
2015, 2016 Legends & Lies Jesse James Jr. / Group of boys 2 episodes
2015 American Genius Kid Blink Episode: "Hearst vs. Pulitzer"
Under the Dome Aiden Tilden Episode: "Redux"
2018 The Night Sitter Kevin
2019 Avengers: Endgame Kid on Bike
2022 Avatar: The Way of Water Miles "Spider" Socorro
2023 Scream VI Ethan Landry
Retribution Zach Turner
2024 Freaky Tales Lucid
2025 Avatar: Fire and Ash † Miles "Spider" Socorro Post-production
2029 Avatar 4 † Miles "Spider" Socorro Filming
TBA Everything's Going to Be Great † TBA Post-production[21]
TBA Trap House † Cody Seale Post-production
Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released

References

  1. ^ a b c d Sproull, Patrick (March 14, 2023). "Jack Champion is the Scream franchise's next teen idol". i-D. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  2. ^ "Young Blacksburg actor Jack Champion cast in "Avatar" sequel". roanoke.com.
  3. ^ Rana, Erica (December 30, 2022). "Jack Champion". Wonderland. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Odman, Sydney (December 16, 2022). "Next Big Thing: Jack Champion, Who Spent His Entire Teens Filming 'Avatar: The Way of Water,' Says James Cameron Became a Father Figure". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Johnson, Benji (March 12, 2023). "Interview: Jack Champion". Man About Town. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  6. ^ Gilchrist, Todd (January 27, 2023). "'Avatar: The Way of Water' Star Jack Champion Talks Being 'Half Naked' as Pandora's Tarzan". Variety. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Lawrence, Derek (December 21, 2022). "Avatar: The Way of Water Breakout Jack Champion Is Prepared for You to Love and Hate Spider". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  8. ^ Pearson, Ben (January 5, 2018). "'The Night Sitter' Trailer: A Home Invasion Movie Dripping With Style". Slash Film. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  9. ^ "New 'Avatar 2' Photo Introduces Spider, a Human Adopted by Jake and Neytiri". Collider. December 20, 2021. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  10. ^ Goldberg, Matt (September 27, 2017). "'Avatar' Sequels Reveal First Look at the Young Cast". Collider. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  11. ^ Hibberd, James (September 27, 2017). "Avatar 2: First look at sequel's next generation cast". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  12. ^ Shanfeld, Ethan (January 19, 2023). "'Avatar: The Way of Water' Spider Scenes Had to Be Filmed Twice, Two Years Apart". Variety. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  13. ^ Rosa, Christian (December 15, 2022). "The Real-Life Diet of Jack Champion, Who Ate "Protein, Protein, Protein" to Get in Shape for Avatar". GQ. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  14. ^ Dellatto, Marisa. "'Avatar: The Way Of Water' Surpasses 'Titanic' As Third Highest-Grossing Movie Ever". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  15. ^ Sharf, Zack (December 21, 2021). "James Cameron Didn't Want 'Avatar' Teen Actors to Age Like the 'Stranger Things' Kids: High Schoolers 'That Look Like They're 27′". Variety. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  16. ^ Davids, Brian (December 20, 2022). "Avatar: The Way of Water' Star Jack Champion Talks Spider's Surprising Choice and the "Hard Left Turn" of 'Avatar 3'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  17. ^ Chitwood, Adam (June 13, 2023). "Avatar 3 Delayed a Year to 2025, Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 Pushed". TheWrap. Archived from the original on June 13, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  18. ^ Kroll, Justin (June 16, 2022). "Jack Champion, Liana Liberato, Devyn Nekoda and Josh Segarra Join Next Scream Pic For Spyglass And Paramount". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  19. ^ Anthony D'Alessandro (May 24, 2021). "Studiocanal Liam Neeson Thriller 'Retribution' Adds Jack Champion & Lilly Aspell". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  20. ^ Rooney, David (January 18, 2024). "'Freaky Tales' Review: Pedro Pascal and Ben Mendelsohn in an Electrifying Salute to Late '80s Oakland Pop Culture That's Hella Fun". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  21. ^ a b Vlessing, Etan (April 20, 2023). "Bryan Cranston, Allison Janney Board Drama 'Everything's Going to Be Great'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  22. ^ Vlessing, Etan (April 1, 2024). "Jack Champion, Bobby Cannavale, Sophia Lillis Join Dave Bautista in 'Trap House' Thriller". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 1, 2024.