Did James Cameron Actually Offer Avatar Lead Role To Matt Damon? Fire And Ash Director Clears Air

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Fire And Ash brings back the world of Pandora, and the story of Jake and Neytiri, along with a new side to the Na'vi tribe. Ace filmmaker James Cameron's much-awaited mega production has been in the making for several years, and now that it's out in the theatres. The film is receiving mixed reactions from netizens as well as critics but has made quite a few headlines ever since its release. Despite the reviews and performances, fans are focused on Matt Damon's viral claim of rejecting the lead role in Avatar and finally, Cameron has reacted to it.

James Cameron Did NOT Offer Avatar Lead Role To Matt Damon

In one of the viral videos, Damon claimed being offered the role of Jake Sully in the 2009 blockbuster in exchange for a whopping 10 percent of the film's gross, a role that later went to Sam Worthington. He says in the clip, "Jim Cameron called me — he offered me 10 percent of Avatar. 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 percent of the movie.'"

When the director was asked about the whole truth behind actor's claims, James told 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 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: James Cameron

Further, he added, "There was never a deal. We never talked about the character. We never got to that level. It was simply an availability issue. 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. Matt, it’s okay, buddy! You didn’t miss anything." "He felt compelled to call me personally and tell me; he said he didn’t want it to come from the agent — that’s an honorable guy. 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," filmmaker concluded.