Matt Damon is an incredibly talented actor. His career has spanned over 30 years and he’s made a huge impression on the industry. From the Bourne series to classics like Good Will Hunting and Ocean’s Eleven, Damon has done it all. Even now, his career is on an upswing, with films Stillwater and The Last Duel in cinemas. Even with all his success, Damon hasn’t gotten every part he auditioned for.
The Role That Wasn’t
In a recent interview on Josh Horowitz’s podcast “Happy Sad Confused”, Damon explained that early in his career he had auditioned to play Robin. Not only that, he auditioned for the role more than once! Which films did he try for?
There’s two stories there… There’s the Robin role, we went down to New York. 1987 maybe – ’87, 88′. I would have been 16 or 17…
In this segment, Damon is describing his audition to play Robin in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989). The role would later be cut, but Damon further explained that even in the 1980s, actors were kept in the dark about what exactly they were signing up for.
I remember that we didn’t have sides – it wasn’t like you’re reading a scene with Batman. It was so secretive that you’re reading this other scene from some other movie.
The second time Damon auditioned to play the Boy Wonder was for Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever (1995). The role ultimately went to the up-and-coming Chris O’Donnell, but Damon explained more of what was happening behind the scenes.
Chris O’Donnell already had the part, but they were haggling over money… The studio was flexing, basically, by flying in two other people to screen test. They wanted Chris, but they just wanted him for a price… I remember at that stage in my career, you would go in and read, even if you knew you weren’t going to get the part.
Third Time’s the Charm?
Damon also recalled that in later years, he was offered a part in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008), which he ultimately turned down, but at least this time it was his choice.
I personally find it hard to see Matt Damon in any of these roles he described, even as a fan of his work. Luckily, even though he never got to be part of the Batman franchise, he has had an incredibly successful career.
Who knows? Maybe someday he will join the franchise and play Commissioner Gordon.
See Damon’s interview through Josh Horowitz’s Twitter:
Talk about a different timeline…Matt Damon auditioned to play Robin in 2 different BATMAN films! Here he is on nearly landing the role for Joel Schumacher’s.
Listen for free here: https://t.co/cquNdgIiDm
Or watch the whole thing at https://t.co/e84WokCDhq pic.twitter.com/XNNdkYYiWX
— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) July 29, 2021
Images may be subject to copyright
