Sam Worthington on ‘I Will Find You,’ Being the Show’s ‘Damsel in Distress’ and Pushing Back on a David and Rachel ‘Telenovela’ Romance
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- Sam Worthington stars as David Burroughs in Netflix's "I Will Find You," a Harlan Coben adaptation in which his character escapes prison to prove he didn't murder his young son and find the boy alive.
- Netflix reported the series drew 24 million views in its first four days, making it the streamer's biggest series debut of 2026.
- Worthington pushed producers to cut his dialogue and reframe David as a "damsel in distress" with Britt Lower's reporter Rachel as the true hero — an approach Coben and producers initially found "very odd."
- Worthington's wife, a Harlan Coben fan, convinced him to take the role by telling him, "You don't do stuff that I like to watch, and I'd like to watch this."
- James Cameron barred Worthington from doing his own stunts due to his Disney "Avatar" contract; producers told Worthington Cameron "won't let you."
- Worthington pushed back against a big romantic kiss between David and Rachel — his sister-in-law in the story — saying it would have turned the show into "a telenovela rather than a melodrama."
- Worthington floated Season 2 ideas centered on Matthew's transition from a wealthy life to working-class Boston and potential resentment toward David, joking "is the kid gonna have any resentment towards David?"
Why it matters: "I Will Find You" drew 24 million views in four days — Netflix's biggest 2026 series debut — and Worthington's success in pitching a "damsel in distress" reframing for his lead distinguishes a crowded Coben-adaptation pipeline and shows how an established franchise actor (Avatar) leveraged creative risk and an outsider's instinct to reshape a presumed action-hero role.
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