London, Oct 16 (IANS): Actor Matt Damon admits he wanted to play the lead role in new film "Argo" but his friend Ben Affleck, who is also directing it, cast himself.

"Ben's making a great movie now called 'Argo'. It's really, really good. I can't get him to put me in it because he took the best role. He took the lead," Damon said.

"I called him and was like, 'Dude, why don't you fire yourself and put me in it man? I'd be great in this,'" femalefirst.co.uk quoted him as saying.

However, Damon is still looking forward to working with Affleck again.

"We really want to work together again," said Damon, who co-wrote "Good Will Hunting" with Affleck. Both the actors won an Academy Award for it.

Affleck's career stalled a decade ago with a string of flop movies, and Damon feels "vindicated" that his friend has now got his professional life back on track.

He said: "That was really hard for me to watch as his friend because I didn't think it was fair to him."