Matt Damon could have been best friends with a foul-mouthed teddy bear! Seriously!
The Hollywood A-lister revealed as much in a new interview with GQ for its Men of the Year issue that was published Thursday.
In it, he admitted that once turned down the leading role in the 2012 comedy Ted! Yes, that Ted — the R-rated blockbuster starring Mark Wahlberg and a talking teddy bear! And the craziest part is that Damon absolutely LOVED the script!
The 56-year-old actor told the magazine:
“I never like to say that, because I don’t want to live with the regret, but I can tell you that I passed on Ted, and I’ve never had this experience where I laughed so hard reading a script. I literally took it to dinner and was reading parts of it out to my friends at dinner.”
So what happened?! Why would he turn down something that had him laughing THAT hard? Well, apparently he started getting inside his own head!
Damon explained:
“And then I just got too clever by half. I don’t know what I was thinking. I was like, ‘Well, maybe the teddy bear’s actually the best part. … So I overthought it and I talked myself out of it.”
Oof!
Of course, Wahlberg eventually took the role of John Bennett opposite Seth MacFarlane‘s outrageous talking teddy bear. The movie became a MASSIVE success, grossing more than $500 million worldwide and launching an entire franchise!
But for Damon, the biggest regret isn’t necessarily the lost box office glory. It’s something much more personal. He reflected:
“And because it shot in Boston, it would’ve been a chance for me to be home — my father’s passed away now, and I look back and I go, ‘Man, that would’ve been six months back [home].’ But, again, the right actor got the part. Mark’s great, and the movie’s great, and I wouldn’t have made it any better.”
Aww. That really puts things into perspective.
Related: Jimmy Kimmel Once Saved Matt Damon’s Life! This Story Is WILD!
Damon’s father, Kent, died in 2017 at age 74 following a battle with cancer. Looking back, the actor clearly wishes he’d had those extra months in his hometown with his dad.
Interestingly, Damon also admitted that he’d love to make more comedies, but opportunities don’t come around very often!
He told GQ:
“I don’t read a lot [of them]. I don’t think people think of me for comedies a lot. But I love them, and I love watching them, and I love doing them if I can get my hands on one. But they’re few and far between.”
Well, Matt, we’re thinking maybe you should’ve trusted your gut on this one! LOLz!
What do U think, Perezcious readers?! Could Matt have pulled off Ted as well as Mark did? Sound OFF (below)!
[Image via Apega/WENN]
