Matt Damon's role in "Interstellar" almost wasn't the first time he'd star in a film helmed by Nolan. While working on the follow-up to "Batman Begins," Nolan offered a major part in the sequel to the "Jason Bourne" actor who was then fresh off a string of hits that included "Syriana," "The Departed," and "Ocean's 13."
Despite a lengthy search that included Paul Bettany and Adrien Brody, Damon wasn't considered for the part of The Joker. Instead, he was picked to play Harvey Dent, the Gotham DA who would become the villainous Two-Face, which was ultimately played by Aaron Eckhart. The revelation was made while Damon was a guest on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast (via The Playlist), though he at first tried to minimize the missed opportunity. "Well, 'Dark Knight' was a small role that I was offered," he said. But despite Harvey Dent being a major force in the film, it sounds like the actor may not have realized that fact when he turned it down.
"There was some other big movie, some big part that I was doing where I was like, 'Well, I can't play Harvey Dent, this is a relatively small role, but I am headlining this other thing.' But you gotta be sanguine about it and go, 'It all works out.'" Some six years later, Damon would accept a small role in "Interstellar," and re-teamed with the director for 2023's "Oppenheimer."
