"Avatar" Stole My Face: James Cameron and Disney Sued by Wonju Native Actor

*This content was translated by AI.

Director Cameron, in an interview, even mentioned the actor's name and acknowledged her as "inspiration," yet used her likeness without permission and provided no compensation or credit.

James Cameron, director of the all-time global box office No. 1 film "Avatar," is facing a lawsuit alleging he used the face of a 14-year-old Wonju girl without permission when creating the main character, Na'vi.

Actor Q'orianka Kilcher filed a lawsuit on the 5th against director James Cameron and Walt Disney in U.S. District Court in California. Kilcher, a native of the Wonju tribe in Peru, played the role of Pocahontas in Terrence Malick's 2005 film "The New World," and her photo was published in the Los Angeles Times. Cameron reportedly saw the photo, extracted Kilcher's facial features, and instructed his design team to use them as the basis for the Na'vi character.

The complaint states, "The most influential filmmaker in Hollywood achieved record-breaking box office success by using the face and cultural heritage of a young Wonju girl, yet gave her no credit or compensation."

In particular, the complaint directly accused the "Avatar" series, which outwardly appeared to empathize with the struggles of the Wonju people, of "secretly exploiting Wonju youth behind the scenes."

Kilcher remained unaware of this fact for decades. At an event in 2010, Cameron gave Kilcher a handwritten note along with a sketch of Na'vi, saying, "Your beauty was the initial inspiration for Na'vi. I was sorry I was filming another movie. Let's do it again next time." At the time, Kilcher viewed this merely as a gesture of gratitude.

The truth emerged late last year when an interview video of Cameron went viral on social media. In the video, standing before a Na'vi sketch, Cameron directly stated, "The actual source of this character is a photo of a young actor named Q'orianka Kilcher published in the Los Angeles Times. This is her lower face. It was a very interesting face."

Kilcher stated, "Millions of people resonated with the message of Avatar and opened their hearts, and I was one of them. I never imagined that someone I trusted would systematically use my face in the design process and insert it into the production process without my consent. This is a line that was crossed."

Kilcher's attorney criticized, "He took the unique facial biometric data of a 14-year-old Wonju girl, processed it through industrial production, and generated billions of dollars in revenue, yet never once sought the girl's permission. This is not filmmaking; it is theft."

Director Cameron and Disney have not yet issued an official statement.

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*This content was translated by AI.