‘Brothers Grimm’: the Matt Damon role he thought was meant for Johnny Depp
While many of us take years to figure out what we want to do in life, some people just know from the get-go, which certainly seemed to be the case for Matt Damon. The actor expressed an interest in acting as a teenager, and by the time he was in college, he’d landed himself a very minimal role in the Julia Roberts rom-com Mystic Pizza, released in 1988.
He continued acting into the early 1990s, but in his spare time, he was chipping away at a screenplay with his friend, Ben Affleck, which would become Good Will Hunting. The movie was eventually released in 1997, with Damon and Affleck appearing alongside Robin Williams, leading the pair to win a ‘Best Original Screenplay’ Oscar.
Damon cemented his talents early on, but as the 2000s rolled on, he became much more widely known for his acting than screenwriting, having only penned a handful of movies since, like Gerry and Promised Land. The actor has appeared in many popular movies over the years, cementing himself as one of Hollywood’s most popular stars. From The Talented Mr Ripley to Ocean’s Eleven, the Bourne series, The Departed, and Oppenheimer, Damon’s career has spanned genres and acclaimed directors.
Yet, this hasn’t stopped Damon from questioning his casting at times, like when he believed that one of his roles should’ve been given to Johnny Depp instead. Depp rose to fame years before Damon, and one of his most iconic roles from the ‘90s saw him appear alongside Benicio Del Toro in Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, adapted from the book of the same name by Hunter S Thompson. Thus, when Damon was cast in Gilliam’s Brothers Grimm, which was the director’s first project since Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, he wondered why Depp hadn’t been cast instead.
Talking to Phase 9 Entertainment, the actor explained, “I came on last. Terry was already on it. I was doing Stuck on You and I got this call. I couldn’t believe that the script was still available. The first thing I asked Terry when I spoke to him was why Johnny Depp was not doing this film. I was sitting with Chuck Roven and Terry and Chuck said, ‘No, we want you. We want you.’”
Damon was shocked. He continued, “Terry was just sitting there and asked him. He said that they wouldn’t let him do it with Johnny. Three months later Pirates of the Caribbean opened and I am sure they were kicking themselves because they could have had Johnny Depp. I was really amazed that a great role like this in a Terry Gilliam film was still available.”
Brothers Grimm gave Damon the chance to star opposite Heath Ledger, with the pair playing heavily fictionalised versions of the titular siblings who preserved countless fairy tales that have since become ingrained in popular culture. While the film wasn’t shrouded with acclaim compared to some of Gilliam’s other work, the film still managed to gross over $100 million.
