Matt Damon lost a million for saying no to ‘Avatar’: “Please, I don’t want to know”

The actor not only missed the opportunity to star in a legendary franchise. He lost an enormous amount of money.

Saying no to a franchise that has taken it by storm can happen to everyone. Losing 300 million dollars by rejecting it is already something less common. And Matt Damon has the (dis)honor of being the person he happened to. The actor decided not to participate in Avatar (2009), which turned out to be one of the worst decisions of his career. And not just because it was the highest grossing movie in history.

When James Cameron proposed the role of Jake Sully to Matt Damon, he did so with the salary that corresponded to him -there is no information about it- and with 10% of profits, as is usual in contracts in Hollywood. Avatar has turned out to be the highest grossing movie of all time and Damon is probably aware of that, but when he knew the exact figure of what he had lost he realized the magnitude of his mistake.

The reality check came during an interview with Chris Evans for his program The Chris Evans Breakfast Show. Evans delved deeper into Damon’s wounds when he asked if he had done the math on everything he had lost. “Please, I don’t want to know, I don’t want to hear it. If you do the math, keep it to yourself”the Jason Bourne actor pleaded.

Evans, of course, ignored him and gave him the exact figure: $603 million. We do not know very well how the actor did the calculations, but 10% of the 2,900 million that the film has raised so far is 290 million, not 600. In any case, it is not a small figure, but it does not reach the impressive sum Which suggests Captain America. “Really? Fuck you! My God!”Damon replied between laughs.

‘Avatar’ arose from a dream of James Cameron’s mother and encountered all kinds of challenges to shape it

‘Avatar’ got Sam Worthington off the street

One good thing about Matt Damon turning down the lead role in the film is that it went to Sam Worthington, an actor who, until now, had been living out of his car.

After Damon turned down the offer, James Cameron decided to go with a less popular face. Worthington was a well-known face on Australian television, but nobody in America knew him. We don’t really know what he did in the audition, but he impressed Cameron, who signed him up for his adventure on Pandora and even had him for Terminator Salvation.

“It is true [que vivía en mi coche] and there is nothing strange about it. I lived in my car before I signed for Avatar. what of [que tenía] $2,000 is not true. I was an established actor before I signed on for the movie. I admit that James has changed my life. I am extremely proud to be a part of this legendary film,” he stated in an interview with Times of India in 2010.

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Matt Damon lost a million for saying no to ‘Avatar’: “Please, I don’t want to know”