10 Actors Who SAVED Their Careers By Turning Down Movie Roles

Though it's well known that Matt Damon turned down the lead role in Avatar that would've seen him net 10% of its $2.79 billion gross - that's $279 million - earlier in the decade he also passed on the role eventually accepted by his pal Ben Affleck, Daredevil.

Damon said of his decision to turn it down:

"That’s the comic we read when we were kids... But when that one came along I chickened out, because I couldn't tell. I hadn't seen the director's work and I didn't know. So I just said, 'no,' Ben was like, 'I gotta do it.'"

As we all know, Daredevil was a critical and commercial disappointment, and the first in a string of high-profile duds for Affleck throughout the early 2000s, also including the likes of Gigli, Paycheck, Jersey Girl, and Surviving Christmas. As a result, in 2010 he received a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor of the Decade.

Damon meanwhile enjoyed tremendous success reinventing himself as an action hero in the Bourne franchise, while also starring in the Ocean's franchise, working with acclaimed auteurs such as Terry Gilliam and Martin Scorsese, and even flexing his comedy chops in Stuck On You and that unforgettable Eurotrip cameo.

Affleck eventually bounced back, of course, but Damon spared himself quite the headache by letting his pal take the part instead.