Matt Damon is once again revisiting one of the biggest missed opportunities of his career; saying no to Avatar.
In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, the Oscar-winning actor reflected on his decision to turn down a role in James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi blockbuster, calling it “the dumbest thing an actor ever did in the history of acting.”
Damon, 54, made the comment while appearing alongside Avatar star Zoë Saldaña as the two promoted their latest project; a campaign for Stella Artois. Naturally, the topic of Avatar came up, given the film’s place in box office history. The epic currently ranks as the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, pulling in more than $3.5 billion worldwide.
“I don’t think your career suffered because of it, trust me,” Saldaña said reassuringly, to which Damon quipped: “Do you know what kind of movie that would’ve been if I had been in it?”
The lead role of Jake Sully famously went to Sam Worthington, a relative unknown at the time. Damon, meanwhile, has spent years joking (and sometimes lamenting) about his decision to pass on the part.
Saldaña, whose filmography includes not just Avatar but also Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame and Infinity War, has starred in multiple movies that earned over $2 billion. Damon praised her impressive run, saying: “I’ve probably done, like, 50 movies. I’ve never been in a movie that made $1 billion.”
Saldaña humbly replied: “I didn’t plan it, trust me. I’ve just always felt blessed that I was picked, that I worked really hard and auditioned. I’m not Matt Damon. I don’t get to turn down Avatars.”
This isn’t the first time Damon has opened up about what might be the most expensive “no” of his career. In a 2019 interview with British GQ, he recalled Cameron’s direct pitch.
“Jim Cameron offered me Avatar,” Damon said. “And when he offered it to me, he goes, ‘Now, listen. I don’t need anybody. I don’t need a name for this. If you don’t take this, I’m going to find an unknown actor and give it to him, because the movie doesn’t really need you.’”
Cameron then sweetened the offer: “But if you take the part, I’ll give you 10 percent.”
That 10 percent, had Damon accepted, could have earned him over $250 million... a figure that clearly continues to haunt him.