Back in the late 2000s, asJames Cameron’s upcoming sci-fi filmAvatarwas all set to begin shooting, the filmmaker approached, understandably, quite a few established names in the industry to carry his project. However, it just was not meant to be, and ultimately, Cameron went with then-newcomer (whom he admits he also had his heart set on)Sam Worthington, and safe to say — the gamble paid off! Now a household name, Worthington, along withZoe SaldañaandMichelle Rodriguez, has established himself as the very face of the Avatar franchise, yet it is always fun to speculate on “what-ifs.” So, here’s a list of actors that could have very well been inAvatar, likely playing the lead characterJake Sully himself.
Matt Damon
It is no secret that theJason Bourneactor, soaring in popularity at the time, wasone of Cameron’s top choices to playAvatarprotagonist Jake Sully.Matt Damonmost likely would have accepted as well if it weren’t for his commitment to an upcoming installment to the Bourne franchise. Nevertheless, Damon is not one to shy away from joking about the missed opportunity that would have earned him more than $200 million from just the firstAvatarmovie alone.Recently, Cameron has hinted at the possibility of giving Damon a cameo in a futureAvatarproject to soften the blow the latter reportedly “still regrets,” yet it still wouldn’t be Jake Sully he would play. Talk about missed chances!
Related:‘Avatar 3’: Release Date, Returning Cast, Filming Details, and Everything We Know So Far About James Cameron’s Threequel
Chris Pratt
Unlike Damon,Chris Prattactually auditioned forAvatar, andin the words of Pratt himselfon his guest appearance on the SmartLess podcast, “there was literally nothing about my audition that was compelling at all.“The Guardians of the Galaxyactor had a subpar audition at best and later opened up about how he wasn’t feeling his best in terms of his physical health at the time, remembering how he had started “sweating immediately” in front of theAvatarcasting assistant.
Chris Pine
Another failedAvataraudition story is that ofChris Pine. TheStar Trekactor actually had a chance at leading another sci-fi project inAvatarprior to his role inStar Trek. However, he couldn’t manage to put up a good enough performance, as he shared duringan interview withRed Eye Chicago, commenting that he actually had to stop midway through the audition. He said during the interview, “How dare I put that poor casting director through the experience of watching me?” He relayed how the story would “probably haunt me for the rest of my life.”
Jake Gyllenhaal
Following in Matt Damon’s footsteps,Jake Gyllenhaal, too, had to turn down Jake Sully’s role inAvatarwhen it was presented to him. With his heart set on the main character Dastan fromPrince of Persia,Gyllenhaal explained in an interview with French magazineFigaro, he felt he wasn’t ready for such a huge-scale projectsuch asAvatar. “In this business if you don’t listen to yourself, you’re going to meet serious trouble,” he toldFigaro, explaining how Dastan simply resonated more with him, hence his choice of pickingPrince of PersiaoverAvatar.
Chris Evans and Channing Tatum
A few years agoin an interview withEmpireMagazine, James Cameron himself revealed how he had ultimately shortlisted a total of 3 finalists for the role ofAvatar’s Jake Sully, namely Sam Worthington,Chris Evans, andChanning Tatum. He mentioned that although he liked both Evans’ and Tatum’s appeals and what they brought to the table, Worthington evidently stood out for him. “He had a quality of voice and a quality of intensity,” Cameron said of Worthington. “Sam was ready. He was ready.” Speaking in particular about the scene with the famous final speech inAvatar, Cameron gave further reasoning for his choice in backing a newbie over the other two tried actors: “I would have followed him [Sam] into battle and I wouldn’t have followed the other guys.”
Avatar: The Way of Wateris playing in theaters now.
