James Cameron has clarified the situation after Matt Damon suggested that he had to pass on a role in Avatar as well as a share of the film’s profits.
Damon had previously mentioned that during the production of one of the Bourne films, Cameron approached him. Though enticed by the supposed offer, Damon was committed to finishing the Bourne movie and felt compelled to decline.
“Jim Cameron called me. He offered me 10% of Avatar,” Damon revealed during a Q&A session some years back.
“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.
“[Cameron] 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% of the movie.'”
With Avatar amassing a staggering $2.9 billion, accepting 10 percent could have meant significant earnings for Damon.
In a recent discussion, Cameron countered these claims, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “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’d 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.”
Cameron also noted that if a cut of the film was a prerequisite, ‘then it wouldn’t have happened. Trust me on that.’
He did, however, commend Damon for personally declining the role due to prior commitments, rather than having an agent relay the message.
“He said he didn’t want it to come from the agent. That’s an honorable guy,” Cameron remarked. “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.”
Attempts have been made to reach out to Damon for his comments.