Los Angeles, Dec. 18 -- Filmmaker James Cameron has addressed actor Matt Damon's long-circulating claim that he turned down the lead role in Avatar along with a lucrative share of the film's profits, saying the version widely believed online is "not exactly true."

For years, Damon has spoken publicly about being offered the role of Jake Sully in the 2009 blockbuster in exchange for 10 per cent of the film's gross, a deal that would have translated into hundreds of millions of dollars given Avatar's global earnings of USD 2.9 billion. The role eventually went to Australian actor Sam Worthington, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Jim Cameron called me -- he offered me 10 per cent of Avatar," Damon says in the clips. "You will never me...