Matt Damon turned down Ted — and he still can’t believe he let Mark Wahlberg have it

If you've ever wondered whether Matt Damon actually gets jealous of Mark Wahlberg, here's a bit to chew on: apparently, Damon still kicks himself for turning down the lead in Ted. Yes, the talking teddy bear film from 2012 that managed to get stoner comedy and heartfelt bromance into the same sentence—and, apparently, into a script so funny Damon was cackling over it in public.

How Damon Lost Ted

This all came out in a recent chat with GQ, where they put Damon on the spot about any big movie regrets. Damon played it cool at first, but couldn't help admitting that the Ted script actually had him in tears before filming was ever on the cards. He was so amused, he carted the pages along to dinner and kept reading bits aloud to his mates at the table.

Here's how Damon explained his decision-making disaster to GQ: 'I never like to say that, because I don't want to live with the regret, but I can tell you that I passed on Ted, and I've never had this experience where I laughed so hard reading a script. Then I just got too clever by half. I don't know what I was thinking. I was like, Well, maybe the teddy bear's actually the best part…So I overthought it, and I talked myself out of it.'

Classic case of overthinking it, isn't it? He reckoned the bear itself—voiced by Seth MacFarlane—might just upstage everyone else, and convinced himself to skip it. Whether he pictured himself getting overshadowed by a swearing toy is anyone's guess.

What Makes It Sting

If you're thinking this is just typical Hollywood what-if stuff, there's another layer: Ted was filmed in Boston. Yep, Damon's hometown. He would've had the chance to work from home for a good six months, spend time with family, the lot. His dad has since passed away, which now makes the missed chance a bit more poignant for him. Damon reflected, that would have been half a year back home, a chance he can't get back now.

Damon put it like this about Wahlberg taking the role: 'But, again, the right actor got the part. Mark's great, and the movie's great, and I wouldn't have made it any better.'

• If Damon had said yes, he'd have played John Bennett (instead of Wahlberg): the guy who wishes his childhood teddy to life and spends his adulthood smoking pot and being lazy with it.
• The movie launched in 2012 and has since become one of Seth MacFarlane's most recognisable projects.
• Some Damon diehards reckon it could've been even bigger with him—but even he says Wahlberg did the job properly.

Not that it matters for anyone wanting to revisit it now: Ted is still streaming on Prime Video.