Podcasts are continuously proving to be fountains of new information when it comes to actor’s “almosts” and “coulda, woulda,’ shouldas,” and Matt Damon is the latest star to join in on the craze. In an interview with Happy Sad Confused Podcast host Josh Horowitz, Damon confessed to having auditioned for the role of Batman’s trusted sidekick and ward Robin not once, but twice. According to Damon, he attempted to land a role in both Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, as well as Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever.
The first of these two auditions was for Tim Burton’s Batman, the cool-yet-campy take on Gotham’s dark knight that featured Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Kim Basinger, and helped elevate the hero to new heights. Damon said he auditioned for the role sometime in 1987 or 1988 as a teenager and the whole process was “so secretive,” they had him read parts that felt as if they were from another movie rather than the upcoming comic book film.
While Robin’s role was ultimately cut in Tim Burton’s take on the brooding superhero — and thus the casting process wasn’t very extensive or long-lived — Damon did have a bit more to say about his audition for Schumacher. According to Damon, he auditioned for the part of Robin in Batman Forever back in 1993, despite stating he knew he wouldn’t get the part because the studio had already chosen Chris O’Donnell.
“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.”
If reading all this has you feeling a bit bad for the actor, rest assured the Academy award-winning star is still considered one of the Hollywood’s more profitable actors. You can catch Damon in the upcoming “American tragedy” Stillwater, which hits theaters July 30.