Matt Damon Had To Record The Best Part Of This Oscar-Nominated Performance Alone

This post contains spoilers for "The Martian."

"The Martian" culminates in a brave rescue mission after Dr. Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is accidentally left behind on Mars during a dust storm. This Ridley Scott sci-fi adventure revolves around Watney's dogged determination to return home while battling near-impossible odds, where human perseverance and optimism emerge victorious in the face of adversity. Towards the end of Watney's arc, he's able to establish contact with NASA, which prompts his crew to spearhead his rescue mission. Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) speaks to Watney and assures him that help is on the way, and we watch a medley of emotions on Watney's exhausted face: gratitude, anxious anticipation, relief, and a curious bittersweetness.

In an interview with GQ, Damon broke down his biggest roles, explaining that he had performed the above-mentioned scene alone, as every scene involving his castmates had already been filmed at that point. While Watney was supposed to "break down" in a different scripted moment, neither Damon nor Scott thought that it felt organic, which is why Damon decided that this pre-union scene was the one that demanded such a strong emotional reaction:

"We'd shot stuff with the other actors months earlier, but they'd all gone home, and Ridley and I had made all those scenes, but just together, where it was just me on camera. And so, suddenly, I hear in my helmet as the gimbal starts to shudder, as if this thing is going to take off, the light effects start to happen, and you really feel like you're about to take off. Suddenly, I heard the voices of all of these actors who were my buddies, you know? It dawned on me, thinking through the kind of filter of this character: he [Watney] hadn't heard a voice in a year, and that these people had made this sacrifice to come back for him."

This makes sense, as Watney's frantic communications with NASA were purely digital (or signal-based) up until this point, which explains why he was overcome with emotion after hearing his crewmates' voices. This is a truly cathartic moment for our protagonist, and we share his mixed emotions while the risk-laden rescue is underway.

This isn't the first time Damon has played a scientist stranded on an unknown planet, as he also played the treacherous Dr. Mann in "Interstellar." However, these roles are significantly different, as Watney's altruistic outlook is in stark contrast with Mann's nihilistic view on humanity, and these differences directly influence their eventual fates. While Mann's narrow-minded selfishness dooms him, Watney's faith in humanity pushes him to achieve the impossible, including the fact that he manages to grow potatoes on Martian soil.

Moreover, the failed Mars mission leaves us completely alone with Watney for extended sequences, which are used to painstakingly document his game plan for survival. Video logs are used to take note of every triumph and failure, where Watney uses a mix of technical jargon and easy-to-understand metaphors to convey the complexity of the situation at hand. Some of the science might feel a bit inaccessible at times, but Watney's enthusiasm shines through and makes his efforts feel deeply human. So when Watney makes use of a convoluted hexadecimal system to contact NASA, we are not too caught up in the science, as the focus is on the human responses, which underline how we tend to react as a species when asked to take accountability for our unintended actions.

None of these emotional aspects would've been as prominent without Damon's measured performance as Watney, who uses wit, humor, and vulnerability to push through acute loneliness. He is able to endure such misery because he hopes to be reunited with his loved ones on Earth someday, which fuels his decision to do everything he can to survive. Seeing his crew take major risks and return just for his sake has a major emotional effect on him — in this moment, he knows that he's in good hands, and that they will make sure that he comes home.