Australian actor Sam Worthington was handcuffed and left sitting on the footpath for more than 30 minutes following a drunken scuffle with a security guard who had refused him entry to a bar in the US, according to witnesses.

The 36-year-old was ‘‘handcuffed aggressively’’ and was clearly in pain after he was pepper sprayed in the face outside the Vortex bar and grill in Midtown Atlanta on Saturday night, said a Melbourne man who was having dinner at the bar on the night.

But despite pleading with security guards - politely - to wipe his eyes, Worthington’s request was denied, and when a friend arrived a short time later the Avatar star yelled: ‘‘Call everyone!’’

The security guard who handcuffed him, Jerry Links, says that Worthington claimed he was a Drug Enforcement Administration officer at the time.