“I didn’t want to do that”: Matt Damon Lost $250 Million As He Chose to Respect His Contract With Jason Bourne Franchise
Academy Award winner Matt Damon is known for the numerous blockbuster movies he has starred in over the years. Named one of the most bankable stars by Forbes, he is one of the highest-grossing actors of all time with a net worth of about $180 million, most of which comes from his successful acting career. He also does endorsement deals and brand partnerships once in a while like his Nespresso ad, and his work with TD Ameritrade.
The movie that shot Matt Damon’s name to fame is 1997’s Good Will Hunting, which he wrote, directed, and starred in with his schoolmate and longtime best friend, Ben Affleck. An interesting fact about this movie is that Damon had written it as an exercise for his English class and later, developed it into a full-fledged screenplay with Affleck. This movie won Damon an Academy Award.
Matt Damon’s Dedication Has Brought Him a Long Way
It is common knowledge that if Matt Damon is attached to a project, it is going to be great. He has never aimed for anything less than the best. He debuted in the movie Mystic Pizza in 1988 at the age of just 18. After that, he starred in small roles such as TNT original film Rising Son and School Ties.
From leaving his Bachelor of Arts in English at Harvard incomplete to star in a movie, Damon has proved his dedication to acting more than once. It’s safe to say that all of his hard work and perseverance have proved fruitful if his superstar stature is anything to go by.
Matt Damon Refused James Cameron’s Avatar
Matt Damon refused James Cameron’s mega-blockbuster sci-fi movie Avatar, released in 2009. Reportedly, he was offered 10 percent of the movie’s total earnings only to decline it. Consequently, the role went to Sam Worthington who was the next person on Cameron’s mind for the role. Damon addressed this in an interview with Deadline, saying: “I will go down in history… you will never meet an actor who turned down more money.”
When former BBC radio host Chris Evans asked Damon if he realized how much money he had missed out on by declining Cameron’s offer. The Informant! star balked in disbelief upon learning that it was a rather hefty sum of money, given the movie grossed $2.5 billion worldwide.
Matt Damon Had a Valid Reason to Refuse Avatar
Matt Damon is definitely going down in history, if not for refusing Avatar, then for the reason he did so. In an interview on the TV series Who’s Talking To Chris Wallace, Damon said:
“I had a contract. I was in the middle of shooting the Bourne movie and I knew that we were going to need work at the end, and I had to get it all the way to the finish line and I would have to leave the movie kind of early and leave them in the lurch a little bit and I didn’t want to do that. I desperately wanted to work with Cameron.”
Going by the timeline, he was most probably shooting for The Bourne Supremacy at the time. He had previously said that he believes that his decision was “morally” right, which there is no denying that it was even if it probably cost him the only chance to star in a James Cameron movie.
Source: The Digital Fix
