MATT DAMON leads a stellar cast in Ridley Scott’s eagerly anticipated space action adventure The Martian, which is based on Andy Weir’s best-selling novel of the same title.
Now in theaters around these parts from 20th Century Fox, The Martian is set in the near future and Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) and her crew on the Ares 3 are the first humans to land on Mars after an epic space voyage lasting months.
But when a fierce sandstorm strikes their base camp, Mark Watney (Damon) is badly injured and presumed dead and left behind, as Lewis is forced to abort their mission. Alone on a remote planet, Watney must use all his scientific knowledge to eke out his meager supplies—including planting and then harvesting his own potato crop.
When he finally works out a way to let National Aeronautics Space Administration (Nasa) know that he has survived, a team of international scientists work round the clock—and against all the odds—to try and bring “The Martian” home. They defy orders and risk their own lives to try and rescue him.
The Martian features a star-studded cast that includes Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Donald Glover and Mackenzie Davis, and was filmed in Budapest, Hungary, and on location in Jordan.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Damon first started acting in school. He attended Harvard University to study English and after college returned to acting, winning small roles in Mystic Pizza and School Ties.
His performance as a drug-addicted soldier in Courage Under Fire (1996), for which he had lost 40 lbs in body weight, earned him strong reviews. In 1997 he won the Oscar for Best Screenplay for Good Will Hunting, along with his childhood friend, Ben Affleck. He has parlayed that triumph into becoming one of the most bankable and most adventurous actors in Hollywood with a string of blockbuster hits, including the Bourne franchise.
Could you tell us how you came on board for The Martian?
I read the script and really liked it, and went to meet with Drew Goddard, who had written it and was going to direct it, but before we made a deal, he got offered another movie to direct that he had been waiting to do for years. So he stepped off the project and I kind of let it go. Then about a week later, I got a phone call saying that Ridley Scott wanted to do it, so I raced over to his office and that was that.
Which of Ridley’s films have you admired in the past?
Well, a lot of them. I think probably the most seminal in my life were Alien and Blade Runner. Those were movies that came along at an age for me where they made me want to make movies. They had a huge impact on my life.
What did you like about the story of The Martian?
It was really the character. What Andy does so well in the novel, and what Drew captured in the adaptation, was all the stakes and the tension of being in this horrible situation, but the sense of humor that the character has. There’s a lightness that makes it really entertaining and fun and funny, but without sacrificing any of the intensity.
For a large part of this movie, you’re on your own, with no other actors to bounce off. Is that something you discussed?
Yeah, we talked a lot about that, and that was really the central challenge for both of us. Not just for me—I think this was a challenge for Ridley because he’s got to balance the amount of solitude, and he’s got the other storylines to work. He’s got the Nasa storyline and then the other astronauts who are making the decision to come back for me. Yeah, that was our central challenge with this particular story.
That central theme of getting someone home is very powerful, isn’t it?
Yeah, it really is. It’s the importance of one life and the idea that this type of exploration could be greater than one life, perhaps. The idea that people are willing to sacrifice things for ideas that are bigger than them. I thought all of that stuff was really powerful.
What kind of personality do they need to do that remarkable job?
It’s that same spirit that the pioneers had. They crossed into the West, and many of them died doing it. It’s people who push the envelope. They’re explorers, and that’s what we need in order to keep going. Eventually, we need to figure out a way to get some of us off this planet to ensure the survival of the human race, and those are the people who are starting that journey for us.
This film doesn’t feel like science fiction, it feels like this will happen very soon. Do you think manned missions to Mars are within our reach?
Yeah. When Andy Weir wrote the novel he wanted it to be really firmly based in science, the idea that this is not so far away for us. And the ways in which this guy survives are all actually what one would have to do to survive in that situation. It’s all completely based in science, and that’s the fun of it, that it’s not science fiction—this really is right around the corner.
Ridley shot the film in 3D, which, for a story like this, adds another layer. Are you a fan of 3D?
I haven’t seen this in 3D yet, but Ridley was really bullish about it. He was excited about it, and we shot in 3D, with the 3D cameras, and he was really into it, so I’m reserving my judgment. I haven’t seen a lot of things in 3D, and I guess everyone is starting to think about shooting in 3D now, so hopefully the films will get better. I mean, I think we’re all still learning about it.
Is the next film The Great Wall? Have you finished that now?
Yeah, it’s done. I’m really happy with it, and again I was working with another great director (Yimou Zhang).
And is it true you’re going to do another Bourne movie?
Yeah, and I’m looking forward to it.
Could you sum up the experience of making The Martian?
It was great. Just selfishly, I got to go to two new countries that I haven’t been to, and I had a fantastic experience in both, and I’d go back to either and shoot in them in a New York minute. I really loved both places. But most of it is down to Ridley. He made it so fun, and I learned so much watching him. Just to work with a master is a blessing.
Image credits: Photographed by John Russo