Australian actor Sam Worthington shares how he sold everything he owned and began living in his car in a bid to 'clear his head'

Sam Worthington has revealed he once became deliberately homeless in order to work on his mental health. 

The Australian actor, 49, made the comments in a resurfaced interview with The Wall Street Journal, where he discussed his days as a struggling actor. 

Worthington rose to international celebrity in James Cameron's Avatar trilogy, but there was a time when he was not sure what the future would hold. 

The I Will Find You actor was 28 at the time, and had just won a gong at a major Australian film festival after his starring role in the indie drama Somersault.  

'After Somersault came out in 2004, we won all 13 categories in which it was nominated at the Australian Film Institute Awards. I was 28 and had won best actor,' Sam explained. 

Rather than celebrate his success, Sam chose to 'find himself' by selling his possessions and loading what was left into his red Toyota hatchback. 

'About a year later, I looked in my mirror and didn't feel fulfilled,' he said. 

'I sold everything, including the mirror. I lived in my red Toyota hatchback by choice, to clear my head.' 

Sam said he was struggling with his growing success and was being recognised in public. 

'I needed to get the heck out. I was living in Sydney, and every time I would go to the bar, people would recognise me. I was rebelling against that,' he said. 

Worthington continued to land acting work before his breakout role in Avatar in 2009. 

He now lives in New York with his wife, Lara Worthington (née Bingle) and their children.    

Worthington is well known for protecting his privacy - and his family - from the glare of the limelight. 

He shares three sons, Rocket Zot, 11, Racer, nine, and River, five, with his model wife, 38. 

The couple keep their family life veiled in secrecy and did not disclose the names or ages of their children for some time. 

'I'm quite an introverted guy,' Sam told The Washington Post. 

'When you do interviews, it seems to be about you, but I'm still learning who that is. I always like anonymity. Having a blue Avatar face, it may not get you nearly as recognised. But I'm not in it for that.'

Sam has also stressed that it's important that his sons know a normal life full of sports and cartoons like any other child, far from the trappings of fame.

'Now I've got kids, it's more a case of protecting my kids from [attention],' he previously told Stellar magazine.

'At the moment, my kids don't care what their dad does. They don't look at my job in any spectacular way.

'They just want me to take them to soccer practice and hang out and watch Paw Patrol. You're doing your best to have this balance, and that's all you can do.'

Lara and Sam began dating in 2013 and married secretly in 2014.