Hollywood loves a good “what-if” story about roles actors almost take. Like how Leonardo DiCaprio almost took the role in Boogie Nights, or how Will Smith passed on the Matrix. However, few stories are bigger than Matt Damon’s long-told tale about nearly starring in Avatar and supposedly walking away from what would’ve been a huge payday. However, James Cameron himself recently challenged key parts of that narrative.
During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cameron seemed to want to set the record straight about what he and Matt Damon was really discussed when they talked about him potentially starring in Avatar. Cameron said that Damon was never actually offered the role in the film, so conversations surrounding financial conversations didn’t even start to happen, as he explained:
He was never offered the part. 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.’ 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.
If this was the case, this is certainly not how Damon remembered everything going down. The Oscar winner previously talked about initial conversations involving a slice of the profits, which would’ve been an insane amount of money considering that Avatar ended up becoming the most profitable movie of all time.
Even if it wasn’t exactly “10 percent” as Matt Damon said, any slice of that box office would’ve been an extreme pay day. However, Cameron seemed set on revealing that Damon would never have gotten that kind of a pay day, even if he had agreed to do the movie:
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. 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.
Even if Cameron is right, and no money was actually talked about, I’m kinda bummed out that the Titanic director felt compelled to “set the record straight.” It’s a great story that's definitely served as a solid piece of Hollywood lore. And, as the saying goes, “never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”
While Cameron essentially ruined what may or may not be Damon’s best dinner party story, he did have a lot of positive things to say about the Good Will Hunting actor. Apparently, Damon turned down Avatar in a very classy way and, based on Cameron's comments, he's very appreciative of how the star handled that. He said:
He felt compelled to call me personally and tell me; he said he didn’t want it to come from the agent — that’s an honorable guy. So all respect to Matt. I’d love to work with him someday. But that never happened. It was a conflation of different things that were happening.
Well, maybe after James Cameron’s Avatar saga comes to a close, these two will find a way to work together someday. Whether or not Cameron’s version of this story is accurate, or Matt Damon truly was offered the amount of money he thought he was, I'd say everything worked out well.
As John Krasinski once said about the Avatar debacle, Damon is already a huge movie star. Considering Damon's star status, I can't imagine much would have changed if he had a few million more dollars. Damon was actually able to star in a lot of great movies we wouldn’t have gotten to see if the Avatar movies ended up being a conflict, so I think him passing on the project was ultimately for the best.
Fans can see the Matt Damon-less Avatar: Fire and Ash in theaters nationwide. Also, revisit the previous two Avatar films now with a Disney+ subscription. Those who love the Jason Bourne star can see him in his own big Hollywood blockbuster, The Odyssey, which heads to cinemas on July 17 amid the 2026 movie schedule.
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