Matt Damon Turned Down a Role In "Avatar" and Missed Out on $250 Million

That would have been one massive payday.

We all have regrets. Whether it’s wishing you ordered the pepperoni pizza instead of ham and pineapple, or saying "no" to that extra shift during the week, we all have things that we wish we had done differently.

Take Matt Damon, for example. He turned down the lead role in one of the biggest films of all time, Avatar.

The Jason Bourne actor revealed in an interview with British GQ that James Cameron offered him the lead role of Jake Sully in the 2009 film, and that he regrets not having the opportunity to work with the critically acclaimed director.

"Jim Cameron offered me Avatar," Matt explained.

"And when he offered it to me, he goes, "Now, listen. I don’t need anybody. I don’t need a name for this, a named actor. If you don’t take this, I’m going to find an unknown actor and give it to him, because the movie doesn’t need you."

The Oscar winner highlighted that James Cameron also offered him 10 per cent of the box office grosses, which means Matt would have been a quarter of a billion dollars richer if he’d taken the role. Since Avatar made $US2.79 billion at the box office, he would have received a whopping $US278 million.

Yeah, it's pretty brutal. 

Avatar was the top-grossing film of all time until Disney and Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame knocked it off its podium earlier this year.

As to why he passed on the role, Matt said that shooting the flick would have conflicted with filming his Bourne series.

Of course, Matt Damon is not the only actor to have passed on massive roles. Leonardo DiCaprio turned down a role in Brokeback Mountain, which consequently went to Australia’s Heath Ledger. Plus, Sean Connery turned down the iconic role of Gandalf in The Lord of The Rings.

Ultimately, Australian actor Sam Worthington portrayed Jake Sully in Avatar, but it’s always interesting to contemplate what could have been.

Header Image: YouTube (20^th Century Fox)