7. Eminem Turned Down Matt Damon's Role In Elysium
Believe it or not (though you should, because it's true), Elysium director Neill Blomkamp originally had his heart set on - yes - rap legend Eminem to play the lead role of Max Da Costa in his socially-minded sci-fi blockbuster, a part which eventually went to Bourne Identity star Matt Damon. Strange as it might seem at first, you can totally imagine what Blomkamp had in mind here. And in a lot of ways, Eminem does feel like he might have been better suited to the part. But the rapper and occasional actor turned down the role because the movie wasn't set to be shot in Detroit, which is where Eminem presumably has to do everything, for some reason. Still, it would have certainly have been cool - and interesting - to see how he would have tackled the lead in a science-fiction movie. There's definitely a lot of Eminem in the Max character on the page, and rapper would have nicely represented that former car thief and convict aspect. Matt Damon wasn't even Blomkamp's second choice for the role: the director also considered South African rapper Ninja of Die Antwoord, who we absolutely have never heard of, and thus had zero chance of finding his way into the leading role in a Hollywood flick. Eminem probably isn't losing any sleep over the fact that he passed on this on, then, but it would have certainly opened up his career in new ways, and given the final film an added "freshness." Bit of a shame, then.
