- - Matt Damon Reveals the One Movie That Got Away, Says Josh Brolin Landed the Part Instead: 'He Was Amazing'

Tereza ShkurtajJanuary 17, 2026 at 10:30 PM

0

Cindy Ord/Getty

Matt Damon. -

In an interview with USA Today on Jan. 15, 2026, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck opened up about their decades-long friendship and careers

During the discussion, Damon revealed the "one movie that got away" and the actor who ultimately landed the role

He and Affleck also promoted their latest collaboration, The Rip, which is now streaming on Netflix

Matt Damon admitted there is one movie he wishes was in his filmography.

When asked during an interview with USA Today if there was a particular project from the last three decades that Damon felt was the one "that got away," the 55-year-old actor revealed it was a part in the 2008 biographical film Milk, directed by Gus Van Sant.

“I was supposed to do Milk with Gus,” Damon told USA Today. “Then Sean [Penn] had something happen to his schedule, and he had to push the movie, which made it a conflict for me, so I got recast with Josh Brolin.”

Focus Features

Josh Brolin in 'Milk.'

The film tells the story of Harvey Milk, a pioneering activist who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, played by Penn, who won an Academy Award for the role.

Brolin, meanwhile, played politician Dan White, who assassinated Milk and Mayor George Moscone in November 1978. Brolin was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards for his performance.

“I loved the script and I’d already done research on it. But as much as I wanted to be in that, it was probably better served by Josh. He was amazing,” Damon admitted. “It was a moment in my 30s when I was like, ‘That must’ve happened for a reason.’ So I was sanguine about it at the end,” he added.

Warrick Page/Netflix

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in 'The Rip.'

While Damon missed that opportunity, his career has continued to flourish, leading to new collaborations – most recently with his longtime friend, Ben Affleck, in The Rip.

In the Netflix film, Damon and Affleck play Miami police officers Lt. Dane Dumars and Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne, whose loyalties are tested after discovering a large sum of cash.

The action thriller, written and directed by Joe Carnahan, is inspired by a personal experience of one of Carnahan’s friends.

"The Rip came out of a deeply personal experience that my friend went through, both as a father and as head of tactical narcotics for the Miami-Dade police department,” Carnahan previously told Tudum.

The film is now available to stream on Netflix.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”