Matt Damon, synonymous with Hollywood success, has had a career filled with hit films and memorable roles. But behind the glitz and glamour lies a story of missed opportunities. Damon passed on some of the biggest films in recent history that went on to become cinematic treasures and defined the careers of actors who took on those roles. From James Cameron’s Avatar to David Fincher’s critically acclaimed drama The Social Network, Damon has passed on roles that could have cemented his status as one of the greatest actors of our time.
The missed opportunity that stands out the most is his decision to turn down a chance to join the ranks of Batman’s iconic rogues’ gallery in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Imagine the possibilities of Damon bringing his unique style and gravitas to the role of Two-Face, a role that Aaron Eckhart made his own. It’s a tantalizing thought that will forever leave us wondering what could have been.
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Matt Damon Chose To Take On Roles For Bigger Movies
In an interview with The Playlist, Matt Damon recounted a story about missing out on a small role in The Dark Knight. According to Damon, he was offered the role but had to decline due to scheduling conflicts with another project. He stated that although it was not a major role, he was already committed to headlining another film and could not take on the part.
“Well, ‘Dark Knight’ was a small role that I was offered… It wasn’t Heath or Christian’s part. There was some other big movie, some big part that I was doing where I was like, ‘Well, I can’t play Harvey Dent, this is a relatively small role, but I am headlining this other thing.'”
Despite this, Damon expressed a positive outlook, saying that he had already “passed on the biggest payday” in cinema history and couldn’t “do worse financially.” He also added that he “could never commit a worse financial error.”:
“But you gotta be sanguine about it and go, ‘It all works out.’ At this point, I passed on the biggest payday in the history [of cinema] accidentally, so I could never do worse financially, I could never commit a worse financial error.”
Many would think that after missing out on such a big opportunity, Damon would shy away from working with Nolan again, but the actor had a different mindset.
A Good Role In A Good Movie
Matt Damon stated that sometimes he looks at a role and it’s good, then “it’s a good role in a great movie.” However, the Hollywood star revealed that the opportunity to work with Nolan and be a part of his “troupe” of actors was too good to pass up.
“Sometimes you look at a role, it’s good, it’s a good role in a great movie— I subsequently did a small role in one of Christopher Nolan’s movies in ‘Interstellar.’ I wanted to be part of that troupe, he works with the same actors over and over again, but I wanted to be on that ride.”
Another film Damon had to pass on due to scheduling conflicts was Quentin Tarantino’s hit Django Unchained (the role went to Christoph Waltz, who won an Oscar for his performance). The actor was filming another project and couldn’t take on the part.
The missed opportunities don’t take away from Damon’s impressive career, but it’s interesting to think about how different things could have been if he had taken on some of these roles. With a long list of successful films under his belt, Damon has solidified his place in Hollywood, but it’s hard not to wonder what could have been.
Source: The Playlist
