When Avatar came out, it was expected to do gangbusters at the box office, as it was the first James Cameron movie since Titanic, and it was the first big movie to really be created from the ground-up for 3D. But it ended up hanging on to the title of highest-grossing movie worldwide for around a decade until it was finally unseated by Avengers: Endgame.

In retrospect, you’d be an idiot to turn that movie down, right? Heck, even at the time, considering it was a Cameron film, it seems you’d be pretty dumb, right? Well, that’s exactly what Damon did, as he revealed to GQ UK.

“Jim Cameron offered me Avatar. And when he offered it to me, he goes, ‘Now, listen. I don’t need anybody. I don’t need a name for this, a named actor. If you don’t take this, I’m going to find an unknown actor and give it to him, because the movie doesn’t really need you. But if you take the part, I’ll give you ten percent of…’ So, on the subject of money…”

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Based on how much the movie made, that means Damon would have made roughly $250 million. Of course, the role eventually went to Sam Worthington, and based on how things turned out, I think it was pretty much the best-case scenario for all involved. Sure, we can pour one out for Matt Damon, but I doubt he’s strapped for cash.

What do you think of this whole deal? Do you feel bad for Damon? Let us know down below!

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SOURCE: GQ UK (via IndieWire)