There are a ton of prolific actors in the film industry, but only a handful of actors can rival the stardom of Matt Damon. The actor has worked in a number of films, which have left the audience mesmerized, and have led to a huge fan following all over the world. Damon has worked in films such as Good Will Hunting, Air, The Martian, Ocean’s Eleven, and many more, where he has proved his acting range.
Needless to say, working in films of various genres earned him the golden opportunity to work with names such as Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Robin Williams, and many more. However, he was quite close to working with Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg, until scheduling disagreements forced the filmmaker to find his replacement.
Scheduling Conflicts Made Matt Damon Lose Out on His Only Opportunity to Work With Tom Cruise
Since Good Will Hunting, his breakout film, Matt Damon has gone on to work with a number of big names in the entertainment industry. With diverse filmography and multiple modern classics that too, with high ratings on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, make him have no regrets in his career.
Except for one, Damon lost his only opportunity to work with Tom Cruise due to scheduling conflicts with Steven Spielberg. During an exclusive interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Colin Farrell opened up about how things changed for him after his 2000 war film Tigerland. He said,
“When Tigerland came out, and the film was pretty well received and I got some decent notices, it kind of all went ape s*** after that. It went mad.”
He mentioned how he had “these opportunities” being offered to him, making him go “insane.” One such chance was when Steven Spielberg wanted him in his sci-fi thriller, Minority Report.
Farrell added,
“I had these opportunities that were just being thrown at me. It was insane. It was something that I don’t know if you can ever be prepared for the kind of success that was being offered to me so fast, you know?”
He recalled that he got a call from his agent stating how the Jaws filmmaker wanted to see him for the role of Danny Witwer after Spielberg and Damon could not come to a mutual agreement date.
Collin Farrell said,
I got a call from my agent saying, ‘Steven Spielberg wants to meet you.’ Which was a shocker. You know, ’cause I’d grown up watching Jaws and Close Encounters [of the Third Kind] and Indiana Jones.
And we sat down and we talked, and I shared a sardine sandwich with him, which was enough for me. If I didn’t get the role, just to share a sardine sandwich with Steven Spielberg — I’d nailed the day.
Nevertheless, sharing a sandwich with his childhood idol was enough for the actor, and he could not believe that he was going to be a part of his sci-fi flick.
Collin Farrell On Working with Tom Cruise in Minority Report
In the same interview, The Batman actor was taken aback by the experience of working with the Top Gun actor, as he felt that the actor gets “very competitive and very physically engaged,” when he is working in his films. He said,
I was 24 or 25 and it was my third or fourth film, and I was just going ‘What the hell?’ You know, he’s very competitive and very physically engaged.
However, he recalls that working in the film got him fired up and he could not believe that he was going to be featured in the same film as Cruise.
He added,
I remember him walking on the set and screaming, ‘Are we making an action movie? Then why don’t I hear action?’
Nevertheless, he was thrilled to work alongside the actor, and how dedicated Cruise is towards his role in the film. As a result, the film did outstanding because as per The Numbers, Minority Report grossed $358.8 million at the worldwide box office.
Minority Report can be streamed on Paramount+.
