Matt Damon had merely regained his footing in Hollywood again when he decided to star in the 2005 film The Brothers Grimm. Starring alongside Heath Ledger and Lena Headey, Damon’s film wasn’t that much of a success but he found something else.
Calling a fellow co-star “the best actor”, Matt Damon was enamored by looking at Heath Ledger’s performance in the 2005 film. Although Damon had very high respect for Ledger, the actor still refused to star in a movie alongside him which went on to earn big!
When Matt Damon And Heath Ledger Shared The Screen
Back in 2002, Matt Damon resuscitated his career by starring in the iconic film The Bourne Identity. Portraying the titular assassin on the run, Damon regained his footing in Hollywood after a slump for some time.
In 2005, Damon decided to star alongside Heath Ledger and Lena Headey in the fantasy film The Brothers Grimm. With a fantasy twist to the tale of two brothers faking their way to money, the film wasn’t that much of a success but Damon found Heath Ledger as just the best. In a clip, the actor talked about Ledger and stated that he is the best actor that Damon has ever worked with!
“It was great [working with him]. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say this, but he is the best actor that I have ever worked with. [His death] isn’t something that I will ever get over. He was a really special guy whose light was just too bright for this place”.
Despite calling Heath Ledger the best that he had ever worked with, Matt Damon declined an opportunity to star alongside the actor again when he was given a chance.
Matt Damon Declined Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight
Back in 2008, Heath Ledger starred in the iconic role of Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Starring alongside the Joker was Harvey Dent aka Two-Face. The role of Two-Face was initially given to Matt Damon but due to a reason, Damon revealed on the Happy Sad Confused podcast why he rejected the role.
“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.”
If Damon had agreed to the role, he would have gotten the chance to work alongside Heath Ledger once again and see the actor in one of his finest performances. Following the role, Heath Ledger passed away due to a drug overdose and posthumously won an Oscar for his performance as Joker.
