Hollywood’s metaphorical attic is full of stories and rumors about legendary actors who refused or missed emblematic roles that could have directed their career in a completely different direction. Jake Gyllenhaal bombed his hearing “The Lord of the Rings”, Matthew McConaughey thought he had obtained the role of Jack in “Titanic” when he did not do it, and Russell Crowe had one of the worst table readings of all time (according to director PJ Hogan) who prevented him from doing the main part in the well-liked ” Friend’s wedding “. I am here to tell you about another scenario which, retrospectively, was probably not as painful or unhappy, taking into account the way in which the path of the life of the actor in question took place after having lacked a nominated role in the Oscars in one of the most memorable “films” of the 90s.
As you may have understood, I’m talking about “Primal Fear” by Gregory Hoblit, the 1996 psychological thriller led by Richard Gere, who won a young Edward Norton his first Oscar nomination. Norton played Aaron Stampler, a stuttering altar and stammered at 19, who was accused of the murder of his archbishop. Faced with a possible death penalty, his only hope resided in the great lawyer for the defense of Gere, Martin Vail, who took the case of the young boy pro Bono.
Given how much the film turned out to be Stellaire, it may be for the best than Matt Damon, 26, lost the role of Aaron against Norton. Although at the time, he naturally felt frustrated on this subject.
Matt Damon knew the impact of what this role could have had during his career, but he finally traced his own way to enter Hollywood
In a 2017 interview with Jetset Magazine, Damon reflected at the first days of his career and described attempts to find and win major roles of “fighting for tables”. He said, “You would enter and you fight, and if you have taken a role, you should make enough printing to get another job.” Regarding the role of Aaron in “Primal Fear”, Damon “knew that it was an instant career change for anyone who obtained it”. This certainly resisted later, but despite the loss of this part, Damon has already started to build a fairly prestigious CV in the previous years.
In 1992, he played in Robert Mandel’s period drama “School Ties” alongside Brendan Fraser, Chris O’Donnell and Ben Affleck. A year later, he was thrown into the Western epic of Walter Hill “Geronimo: An American Legend”, and in 1996, he acted alongside Denzel Washington in the plot of Edward Zwick “courage under fire”. And in the legal drama of Francis Ford Coppola in 1997 “The Rainmaker”, a fantastic audience room film which is not mentioned enough, he already felt as a more promising actor on the edge of the celebrity of the film.
But as we know, the really role that changes his career that instantly pulled him in the Hollywood heavens was created and written by Damon and his nearby friend, Ben Affleck. “Good Will Hunting”, one of the best films of the 90s, brought him the kind of renown he wanted and not only won him an Oscar nomination for the best actor, but also the real prize for the best original scenario. It was just a year after the release of “Primal Fear”, and I’m sure to lose the role of Aaron was the last thing in mind at the time. In the end, everything worked better than he could have imagined.
