One Avatar Actor Came Close To Being In An Earlier James Cameron Sci-Fi Movie

James Cameron is the unquestioned king of the box office. Three of the biggest movies of all time, "Avatar," "Avatar: The Way of Water," and "Titanic," were all directed by him. Were it not for 2019's "Avengers: Endgame," he would own the top three all by his lonesome. But it's his 2009 sci-fi epic "Avatar" that stands alone as the biggest box office hit in cinema history, with $2.92 billion to its name. So, if you were in that movie, it did wonders for our career. Stephen Lang was one of those lucky cast members, playing the evil military man Quaritch. It turns out, this wasn't his first brush with one of Cameron's sci-fi masterpieces.

In a 2022 oral history on Cameron's career by The Ringer, Lang explained that he had first auditioned for the director when he was making 1987's "Aliens." At the time, Lang was just getting his start, having starred in films such as "Twice in a Lifetime" and "Manhunter." Undoubtedly, getting a role in the sequel to Ridley Scott's seminal smash hit "Alien" would have been a big deal. That didn't pan out, but it did build a bridge for something much, much bigger decades later.

"My very first meeting with Jim was an audition for Aliens many, many years ago, and he recently reminded me of it. I knew that I had done the audition, and I kind of put it in the past because I didn't get the part. What I found out years later was I came pretty close to getting the part, but I didn't get it. And he always remembered my audition, which is very Cameron-like, you know what I mean? That's like total Jim. He chapter and versed me my audition years later."

"Aliens" was a big hit in its day, and it was evident to actors like Paul Reiser just from the script that it would be. That's not to say that Lang's career wouldn't have benefited greatly from being in that film. It's not hard to imagine him as Bill Paxton's character, for example. But the audition stuck in Cameron's brain for roughly 20 years — long enough for him to remember Lang by the time "Avatar" came around. That proved to be far more valuable in the long run.

While it's not clear how much Lang himself made from the film, Matt Damon famously walked away from an untold fortune when he turned down "Avatar." More importantly for Lang, he got to star in "The Way of Water," and will presumably be back for at least "Avatar 3." Keep in mind, Cameron is planning to make a total of five of these films if he can. So, Lang could have crazy paychecks coming his way for years to come. Speaking in that same Ringer piece, the actor explained that even though there was a 13-year gap between the sequels, "Avatar" was ever-present in his life.

"The Avatar factor was always there in my life. Now and again there'd be a call from Jim or there'd be a call from Landau saying, 'OK, we're going to send a courier with a script, and he'll sit there while you read it and then give it back to him.' Finally, sometime around 2015 or '16, we actually started getting together and preparing, schooling ourselves and rehearsing and underwater training."

"The Way of Water" was itself an astonishing success, pulling in $2.32 billion worldwide. One imagines Lang was able to negotiate himself a fine payday for his participation, and he seems to have enjoyed the process.

"Avatar 3" is currently expected to hit theaters on December 9, 2025.