Being typecast into certain roles is a spot many actors try to avoid, as doing the same thing over and over again can be exasperating for actors in the long term. This was the major reason why Oppenheimer Star Matt Damon avoided taking the lead role in John Woo’s Paycheck, which witnesses the lead character suffering from amnesia, kind of similar to Damon’s Jason Bourne.
But there has been one notable exception to all of this, as back in the mid-2010s, the actor decided to take a role similar to his one in Interstellar, just a year after Christopher Nolan’s film hit the big screens.
Matt Damon Took The Martian to Observe Ridley Scott’s Skills Behind the Camera
While Matt Damon has moistly avoided landing in the pitfalls of being typecast into a similar kind of role, his admiration for Ridley Scott once prevailed over his determination to stick to diverse roles. A year after playing Dr. Mann in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, an astronaut stuck all alone on a distant planet, he took the role of Matt Watney in The Martian, an astronaut stuck all alone on Mars.
With a determination to walk in his friend Ben Affleck’s footsteps and become an accomplished director, working with Ridley Scott helped Damon learn the intricacies of working behind the camera. Reflecting on the experience on The Martian sets, Damon recalled admitting to Scott that he aspires to be a director after Scott asked him point-blank. “I said, ‘You want to do this, don’t you?’ and he said, ‘Yeah.'” Damon said.
Matt Damon Had No Interest in the Science Behind The Martian
Apart from observing Ridley Scott’s mastery behind the lens, Matt Damon also delivered an immaculate performance in the role, resulting in The Martian scoring high among fans and critics. But unlike his inquisitiveness towards learning the art of directing, the actor had no interest in learning the science behind the sci-fi drama, as he believed it wasn’t necessary. He said to the L.A. Times,
“Not at all. You can if you want to, but it’s acting. If it’s done right, the audience should believe it. I think it’s always good when an actor knows what they’re saying.” Damon explained. “You can see when you watch an actor who’s talking and he literally doesn’t have any idea what they’re talking about, that comes across. But if you know in general terms what it is and what the obstacles are, then you don’t have to know.”
Thankfully, not having complete knowledge about The Martian‘s science didn’t impact Matt Damon’s performance, and his decision to take the project despite fears of being typecast did pay off.
The Martian is available to rent on Apple TV.
Source: L.A. Times
