Matt Damon Regrets Turning Down ‘Avatar’ Role

Matt Damon is reflecting on a missed role in the highest-grossing film franchise of all time. The actor revealed to ET in a joint interview with Zoe Saldana this week that he had the chance to team up with her a long time ago. The 52-year-old Massachusetts native was offered the lead role in James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar, where he would have starred alongside Saldana and would have earned him around a whopping $250 million. The role instead went to Sam Worthington, who played Jake Sully, while Saldana portrayed Neytiri. The big-budget CGI movie [inlink id="avatar-the-way-of-water-trailer" text="follows former Marine Jake Sully"], who is recruited for a mission on Pandora, a distant moon where a corporate consortium is mining a rare mineral that is key to solving Earth’s energy crisis. To exist on Pandora, Jake must be reborn as an avatar, a remotely controlled biological body that can survive in the lethal air. After Neytiri, a female member of the Na’vi, the indigenous clan he was sent to infiltrate, saves Jake’s life, he finds himself drawn to the Na’vi’s ways. Soon, Jake becomes embroiled in a clash of civilizations and faces the ultimate test in a monumental battle that will decide the fate of an entire world. https://youtu.be/aVdO-cx-McA "It’s the dumbest thing an actor ever did in the history of acting," Damon told the publication Monday (May 22) of turning down the role. Saldana assured the award-winning actor, "I don’t think your career suffered because of it, trust me." Though Damon has been ranked by Forbes as one of the "most bankable stars," earning nearly $4 billion, the Oppenheimer actor still feels the sting of an opportunity lost. [inlink id="avatar-the-way-of-water-review" text="RELATED: ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Review: Water Connects All Things – Review"] Damon quipped, "Do you know what kind of movie that would’ve been if I would have been in it?" After praising Saldana for being in several films that have made over $2 billion, including Avatar, the 44-year-old actress joked, "I didn't plan it, trust me. I've just always felt blessed that I was picked, that I worked really hard and auditioned. I'm not Matt Damon. I don't get to turn down Avatars." Damon noted, "I've probably done, like, 50 movies. I've never been in a movie that made $1 billion." [select-gallery gallery_id="501386" syndication_name="sexiest-men-alive-from-the-last-20-years" description="yes"]