Matt Damon has appeared in several acclaimed projects throughout his lengthy career in Hollywood. Initially rising to fame with Good Will Hunting, the actor recently reprised his role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. However, recalling his decades-long journey in the entertainment industry Damon reflected upon his $653M film, The Martian.
Discussing Ridley Scott’s The Martian, which narrates the story of a man stranded alone on the desolate surface of Mars, Matt Damon expressed bringing an offbeat sensibility to his character, Mark Watney. However, while stating his work experience, the actor also mentioned whining a lot, while shooting.
Matt Damon Whined Too Much About His $653M Role
Over the decades, Hollywood has come up with several extraterrestrial and sci-fi movies that deal with space travel and astronomy. Thus, Ridley Scott’s 2015 movie The Martian, wasn’t something out of the box. This particular reason bugged the main actor, Matt Damon, beyond his control. Thus, during an interview with GQ, the actor mentioned trying to withdraw from the role.
Being scared of following in the footsteps of different space adventure movies, Matt Damon mentioned discussing his issue with the director of The Martian. Since the 2015 movie was about a man stranded alone on the desolate surface of Mars, Damon felt the urge to discuss his hesitation and concern with Ridley Scott. However, the actor was immediately silenced by the acclaimed filmmaker.
Thus, without holding back, Matt Damon mentioned how he initially whined a lot about his character in The Martian. “That was the first thing I said to Ridley Scott. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this’” Damon shared with GQ. To which Scott asked his reason, and the actor replied,
“Because literally I played…Interstellar hadn’t come out yet, and I go, ‘it’s not a big part, but I’m a guy alone on a planet, and I don’t know if I should follow it up’”.
Matt Damon Was Happy To Be Insulted For The Martian
Listening to Matt Damon’s reason, director Ridley Scott turned mad and forced the actor to appear in the 2015 movie. Addressing Damon’s fear and whines, Scott stated, “Nobody gives a sh*t about that”. And years later while discussing The Martian with GQ, the actor confessed being grateful for the opportunity. Happy to be insulted for his whining, Damon mentioned during the same interview with GQ,
“Yeah, I’m so glad he said that to me because I took the leap. And I’m really glad I did, honestly.”
Eventually, the movie turned out to be a massive hit that felt more like Robinson Crusoe in space rather than Interstellar. Taking some very serious turns at times, The Martian required the Oppenheimer actor to go to a darker and more somber place during those scenes. Thus, discussing one such scene with GQ, Matt Damon recalled the scripted moment where his character was supposed to go through a mental breakdown.
“When we got to it, it felt forced, and Ridley and I both looked at each other and we were like, ‘it doesn’t feel right, does it?’”
Thereafter, Damon mentioned how they got the extremely emotional scene through an unscripted moment when suddenly the actor heard all his fellow actor’s voices in his helmet. Soon, Matt Damon took the lead and acted just like his character would, after hearing his teammates’ voices after months. And there was the breakpoint that was done flawlessly.
Watch The Martian on Amazon Prime.
Source: GQ via YouTube
