20 Actors Who Turned Down Major Movie Roles
10. Matt Damon - Jake Sully (Avatar)
Avatar came out in 2009 and shook the world with its mesmerising effects and visuals. Though the narrative felt a bit hit and miss, it was also the highest grossing film ever until the recent Avengers: Endgame. Sam Worthington plays the lead (and is set to reprise his role in three sequels), but the part was first offered to Matt Damon.
Damon claims that he was not just offered the part, he was also offered a large portion of the film's profits. He turned it down in the end to film The Bourne Ultimatum, and after Avatar grossed nearly three billion at the box office, he joked: "Clearly my not participating cost the film a lot."
It's not the only big role Damon has turned down, though; he also turned down the role of Harvey Dent in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight due to a scheduling conflict. He can rest assured though that The Bourne Ultimatum was a better film than Avatar...