James Cameron rubbishes Matt Damon’s claim about rejecting ‘Avatar’
James Cameron has refuted a viral claim Matt Damon made about rejecting the lead role in Avatar and losing out on a huge payday.
Two years ago, The Martian star shared in an interview that Cameron offered him the role of Jake Sully in 2009 for 10 per cent of the film’s gross. However, Damon was forced to decline.
“Jim Cameron called me — he offered me 10 per cent of Avatar,” Damon shared at the time.
He went on, “You will never meet an actor who turned down more money than me … I was in the middle of shooting the Bourne movie and I would have to leave the movie kind of early and leave them in the lurch a little bit and I didn’t want to do that.”
Damon praised Cameron, continuing, “He was really lovely, he said: ‘If you don’t do this, this movie doesn’t really need you. It doesn’t need a movie star at all. The movie is the star, the idea is the star, and it’s going to work. But if you do it, I’ll give you 10 percent of the movie.'”
Unlucky for Damon, the movie went on to gross around $2.9 billion, suggesting he lost out on hundreds of millions by rejecting the role, which eventually went to Sam Worthington.
Nevertheless, Cameron has since rubbished this claim in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. He revealed that Damon was “never offered the part.”
Cameron added, “I can’t remember if I sent him the script or not. I don’t think I did? Then we wound up on a call and he said, ‘I love to explore doing a movie with you. I have a lot of respect for you as a filmmaker. [Avatar] sounds intriguing. But I really have to do this Jason Bourne movie. I’ve agreed to it, it’s a direct conflict, and so, regretfully, I have to turn it down.’”
Cameron then made an important distinction in his conversation with Damon: “But he was never offered. There was never a deal. We never talked about the character. We never got to that level. It was simply an availability issue.”
As for the question of profit? Cameron revealed: “Now what he’s done is he’s extrapolated ‘I get 10 percent of the gross on all my films.’ And if, in his mind, that’s what it would’ve taken for him to do Avatar, then it wouldn’t have happened. Trust me on that.”
With a smile, Cameron finished, “So he’s off the hook and doesn’t have to beat himself up anymore. Matt, it’s okay, buddy! You didn’t miss anything.”
The next installment in Cameron’s beloved franchise, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is now in cinemas.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.