Sam Worthington’s scariest performance: Ron Lafferty in Hulu’s Under the Banner of Heaven

In a Collider piece published Jan. 30, 2026, Carolyn Jenkins argues Sam Worthington’s scariest and most underrated performance appears in the 2022 Hulu miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven rather than his work in James Cameron’s Avatar franchise. Under the Banner of Heaven, a seven-episode adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s book, follows Detective Jeb Pyre (Andrew Garfield) as he investigates the murders of Brenda (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her infant.

The series uses flashbacks to explore Brenda’s life and the origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, context Jenkins says is key to understanding the crime. The article outlines the Lafferty family dynamics: brothers Ron (Worthington), Dan (Wyatt Russell), and Sam (Rory Culkin) are raised in conservative 1980s Utah and become radicalized by a fundamentalist group called the School of the Prophets.

That group supports polygamy — disavowed by the church in the 1890s — and the brothers adopt increasingly extreme beliefs. Jenkins describes Worthington’s Ron as cold and cruel: he becomes convinced he is a prophet, embraces the doctrine of blood atonement, beats his wife Dianna (Denise Gough) until she flees with their children, and, with Dan, resolves that Brenda must die; Ron even attempts to murder his brother Dan.

The piece calls Worthington’s portrayal a stirring, underrated turn that contrasts with his family-man image from Avatar.

sam worthington, ron lafferty, under the banner of heaven, hulu miniseries, jon krakauer adaptation, detective jeb pyre, brenda murder, lafferty family dynamics, school of the prophets, blood atonement doctrine, polygamy controversy, sam worthington performance