Matt Damon 'talked himself out of' starring in Ted

Matt Damon has admitted that he turned down the 2012 comedy Ted because he "overthought it".

The Odyssey actor told GQ he loved Seth MacFarlane's script but managed to "talk himself out" of playing John, the foul-mouthed teddy bear's human best friend.

"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," Damon said. "I literally took it to dinner and was reading parts of it out to my friends at dinner. And 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."

Damon sometimes wishes he accepted the role because he could have spent more time at home in Boston, Massachusetts.

"And because it shot in Boston, it would've been a chance for me to be home - my father's passed away now, and I look back and I go, 'Man, that would've been six months back (home),'" he continued.

The Bourne Identity star added that Mark Wahlberg, who was ultimately cast as John, was "the right actor" for the role, and he doesn't think he would have made the "great" movie "any better".

Ted, voiced by MacFarlane, is brought to life by John as a child, and the film follows their friendship after John becomes an adult, with Ted interfering with John's work and love life.

The comedy spawned a 2015 movie sequel and a 2024 prequel TV series.