James Cameron is setting the record straight on Matt Damon’s long-running claim that he turned down the lead role in Avatar — and a massive payday.
For years, a viral clip has shown Damon saying he was offered the role of Jake Sully in the 2009 blockbuster with a deal that included 10 percent of the film’s gross. Damon explained he passed because of his commitment to the Bourne franchise.
“Jim Cameron called me — he offered me 10 percent of Avatar,” Damon says in the video. “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 didn’t want to do that.”
But Cameron says that version of events isn’t quite true.
“He was never offered the part,” Cameron tells The Hollywood Reporter. “There was never a deal. We never talked about the character. We never got to that level. It was simply an availability issue.”
Cameron added, “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,” Cameron joked. “Matt, it’s okay, buddy! You didn’t miss anything.”
Despite the confusion, Cameron praised Damon’s professionalism. “He felt compelled to call me personally and tell me… that’s an honourable guy,” he said.
The role ultimately went to Sam Worthington, who was relatively unknown at the time. Cameron fought to cast him, believing his intensity was right for the part.
Worthington now stars in the latest installment, Avatar: Fire and Ash, where Cameron says, “Sam’s character is challenged in ways he hasn’t been before.”
