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Hollywood has a habit of repeating itself in interesting ways. The '90s gave us multiple examples of movies with similar concepts being released in the same year, such as 1997's Volcano vs. Dante's Peak, 1998's Antz vs. A Bug's Life, or, also in 1998, Deep Impact vs. Armageddon. Other times, though, it's not an entire concept but an actor who stars in very similar outings. If you can't keep Jason Statham or Liam Neeson movies straight, then you're not alone.
A decade ago, however, we got two sci-fi movies from auteurs, with Christopher Nolan releasing Interstellar in 2014 and Sir Ridley Scott releasing The Martianin 2015. The former was about a quest to save humanity from the pollution on Earth, resulting in a time-traveling and physics-defying epic. The latter was about how to rescue a scientist who was accidentally left behind on Mars. The biggest connection they have is that Matt Damon starred in both of them, and both required him to play an astronaut stranded in space. Audiences picked up on the similarities, as did Damon himself, which actually almost prevented him from starring in The Martian.
While speaking with his The Odyssey costar Anne Hathaway for Harper's Bazaar UK, Damon admitted he also passed on the part, which would have resulted in a much different experience, because of the plot similarities. The actor recalled, "I had just done that part in Interstellar ... I got so in my head, I said, 'Well, I just played a guy stranded on a planet, I can’t then go play a guy stranded on a planet [again].'"
Scott didn't mince words about the situation, as Damon confessed, "I said that out loud to Ridley and without missing a beat, he goes, 'Oh, no one gives a sh*t,' ... And I was like, 'Alright, I’ll do it.' And it was one of the great decisions I've made in my life, because it was a great role with Ridley and I had a ball doing it."
Scott's advice salvaged what could have been a major disappointment, especially given how the experience turned out for all parties involved. The movie sits at 91% positive reviews on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, while going on to earn $630.6 million at the global box office.
The movie's accolades didn't end with its release, however, as it would win a number of prestigious awards and was nominated for seven Oscars. Damon himself earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy while the movie itself earned the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy award. That second accolade has been a bit of a punchline for the past decade, with audiences still having a hard time recognizing how a movie about a guy trying to survive on Mars could be considered a "comedy." However, it could be argued that it's exactly because of the charm that Damon brought to the role that caused so many lighthearted moments, while another performer may have made the experience a bit more harrowing.
