Matt Damon Explained Why He Really Regrets Turning Down "Avatar," And I Get It

    We already knew that Matt had passed on the role and a big payday — and now we know how he feels about it.

    Matt Damon has been in tons of movies...

    A closeup of Matt Damon

    ...But he wasn't in Avatar.

    A member of the Na'vi in a scene from Avatar

    But he very much almost was! Last year, Avatar director James Cameron revealed that Matt turned down the role of Jake Sully, which eventually went to Sam Worthington — and he missed out on a $250 million payday in the process.

    A closeup of Jake Sully in Avatar

    In a recent Entertainment Tonight interview alongside actor Zoe Saldana — who is in the Avatar film series — Matt admitted that turning down Avatar was, in hindsight, not the best business decision.

    Zoe Saldana in Avatar

    "It’s the dumbest thing an actor ever did in the history of acting," he admitted, even as Zoe pointed out that his career didn't exactly "suffer" as a result.

    "Do you know what kind of movie that would’ve been if I would have been in it?" he replied.

    "I've probably done, like, 50 movies," he went on. "I've never been in a movie that made $1 billion."

    Let this be a lesson to all: If life offers you Avatar, take it.