{
  "id": 18381365,
  "title": "Matt Damon Nearly Starred in ‘Ted’ but ‘I Talked Myself Out of It’: ‘I Don’t Know What I Was Thinking’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/matt-damon-nearly-starred-in-ted-but-i-talked-myself-out-of-it-i-dont",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-05T21:54:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Variety",
    "slug": "variety",
    "url": "https://variety.com/2026/film/news/matt-damon-ted-passed-role-1236940731/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Matt Damon still can’t get “Ted” out of his head. Damon confirmed he passed on starring in the 2012 comedy as the foul-mouthed teddy bear’s best friend, John, who was later played by Mark Wahlberg “I don’t want to live with the regret, but I can tell you that I passed on ‘Ted’ and I’ve […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Deadline",
        "title": "Matt Damon On Why He Passed On ‘Ted’: “I Overthought It And Talked Myself Out Of It”",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/matt-damon-on-why-he-passed-on-ted-i-overthought-it-and-talked-myself",
        "published": "2026-11-05T18:16:47.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}