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Matt Damon has a handful of unforgettable roles in his filmography, but his work in theBournefranchise will always remain the most iconic. With the three films based on the novels by Robert Ludlum, Matt Damon revamped the action genre before finally saying goodbye to the franchise after the fifth film,Jason Bourne(2016). He was not a part of the fourth installment,Jason Bourne.
Needless to say, filming theBournefilms was a one-of-a-kind experience for Matt Damon, but he went on to do another film that reminded him of his time on the action franchise –The Martian(2015). Since the films belong to totally different genres, it was not the story that took Matt Damon back toBourne.Rather,it was the experience he had on the sets.
HowThe MartianReminded Matt Damon of theBourneFilms
In theBournefilms,Matt Damonhad to shoot a lot of scenes where he was on his own with no other actor near him. Then, when he shotThe Martian,he had to do something similar all over again, which is why the film reminded him ofBourne.
In an interview withSmithsonianmagazine, Damon was asked if there was any other film that had some similarity toThe Martianin terms of these“one-man show”-like scenes.
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To this, the actor replied,
The closest thing would probably be the Bourne movies. I end up on my own, usually, in those, at least in the second two. But that was the appeal of this. It was so different from anything I’d ever done before. I have these long monologues to nobody.
Despite this, Damon was a little hesitant to joinThe Martianas he had done a very similar role just one year ago. The only reason he said yes to playing Dr. Mark Watney was the film’s director,Ridley Scott.
I never would’ve considered doing it had it not been for a world-class director. It’s a very risky thing to do, but I had faith in Ridley being able to strike the right tone for it.
The film, which had Damon getting trapped in a dilemma about whether or not to be a part ofThe Martian,was none other thanChristopher Nolan’sInterstellar.
Matt Damon Almost Said No toThe MartianBecause ofInterstellar
In Scott’s space epic, Damon’s character gets stranded on Mars after a mission gone wrong. After being hit by debris, Mark is presumed dead, and the rest of his teammates leave the planet without him. Later, it is revealed that Mark is alive and thus begins his journey of surviving on a strange planet all alone.
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Just a year before, Damon played a similar role of a stranded astronaut inInterstellar,Dr. Mann. Thus, worried about playing two similar roles back-to-back, theOppenheimeractor would have said no toThe Martianif it wasn’t for Scott.
He told Smithsonian,
Two great directors came to me within a year of each other. They’re very different movies, but the circumstances of the characters I play are exactly the same! [Laughs] That irony wasn’t lost on me. Luckily, they’re very different in feel and tone and theme. I just couldn’t say no to Ridley.
When he voiced his dilemma to Scott, the filmmaker had just one thing tosay to him:“Nobody gives a **** about that!”And thus, Damon became a part ofThe Martian,a film that gave him his sixth Oscar nomination. He also won a Golden Globe for Best Actor for the role.
Stream the first fourBournefilms on Peacock Premium and Max.Jason Bourneis available to rent/buy on Prime Video.
you’re able to also rent/buyThe Martianon Prime Video and streamInterstellaron Paramount+ as well as Prime Video.
Mishkaat Khan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2258
A connoisseur of all things horror, fantasy, and the occasional chick flick, Mishkaat has been penning pieces for FandomWire since 2022. She started off as an intern and has worked her way up to a Senior Writer with over 2000 articles to her name.Outside of entertainment, she has also written well-researched medical content as a freelance writer and has experience in social media management.When not writing, you can find her relaxing with a romance novel and a tall glass of iced coffee in her hand or watching re-runs of ‘Supernatural’ and ‘The Office.’
