The Oscar-winning part Matt Damon turned down: “The best role I’d seen in 20 years”
Ben Affleck has twice as many Oscars as Matt Damon, but things could have been different had the stars aligned, with the latter forced to turn down a role that won the Academy Award for ‘Best Actor’.
His best friend might have added another one to the collection after they shared a ‘Best Original Screenplay’ win for Good Will Hunting, but he’s never been nominated as an actor. Damon has, though, three times, in fact, for his performances in their breakout film, Clint Eastwood’s Invictus, and Ridley Scott’s The Martian.
Being unable to play a part that scooped the most prestigious performative accolade in the industry was a kick in the teeth, especially when it was a passion project. Damon may not have played the main character, but he remained keenly involved in the production from a distance, to such an extent that he was installed as the film’s principal decision-maker.
The original seed that developed into Manchester by the Sea came from Damon and John Krasinski, who brought it to Kenneth Lonergan. Initially, the former would direct, and the latter would star, but after three years of tinkering with the screenplay and Krasinski out of the picture, the Bourne figurehead was planning to play Lee Chandler, with Lonergan moving behind the camera.
An insurmountable obstacle arose when the proposed lead’s commitments to The Martian, Jason Bourne, and The Great Wall meant that he was unavailable when the film was due to enter production. He graciously dropped out, but remained on board as a producer, with Lonergan’s issues with his previous feature, Margaret, meaning that Damon was granted final cut.
What was the easiest way to overcome the crushing disappointment? Nepotism. “That was the best role that I’d seen in maybe 20 years,” he admitted to Parade. “But I couldn’t do it because I had The Martian and a big spate of work lined up. I told Kenny, ‘The only person in the world that I will give this role to is Casey’, because he was the only person who could do it the way it deserved to be done.”
If he couldn’t play the best part he’d read in two decades, then the only logical solution was one of his best friends. As a producer, he was allowed to make those kinds of calls, and handing it over to someone he’d known for most of his life was the only compromise he was willing to make if he couldn’t headline Manchester by the Sea himself.
“He’s one of the best actors in the world,” he added of the younger Affleck. “And he has been for a very long time.” The Martian was a box office success that earned plenty of praise and awards season recognition, but even though Affleck is almost like a brother to him, he must have been thinking of the ‘what-ifs’ when he took to the stage to collect his ‘Best Actor’ prize.
After all, it was a role he’d always envisioned playing himself, so it’s hard to imagine there wasn’t even the smallest little twinge of jealousy.
