When Matt Damon’s Sci-Fi Movie The Martian Was Secretly Promoted As A ‘Comedy’ At Golden Globe Awards
Starring Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain, Sir Ridley Scott's The Martian has rarely been deemed a comedy, but those few instances were enough for Damon to win a Golden Globe award.
Matt Damon & Ridley Scott’s The Martian Was Billed As A Comedy At The 73rd Golden Globe Awards (Photo Credit – Facebook)
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Starring Matt Damon in one of his greatest on-screen performances, The Martian was a cinematic sensation in 2015, mesmerizing fans, critics, and award committees alike. The sci-fi space adventure also featured Jessica Chastain, reuniting her with Damon after another space journey: Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.
Directed by Ridley Scott, The Martian collected $600 million back on Earth — the highest of the Gladiator II director’s career. Recently, Scott once again addressed whether The Martian should be categorized as a comedy, a subject that has received immense traction over the years. While the Alien filmmaker embraced its script’s humorous undertones from before the genesis, audiences were unanimously impressed by The Martian due to its touching themes, action-packed sequences, and artistic world-building rather than belly laughs in theaters.
The discussion surrounding The Martian’s genre status came to a head during the 73rd Golden Globe Awards, where the movie was unexpectedly placed in the Musical or Comedy category, inducing raised eyebrows. Host Ricky Gervais poked fun at the call, sarcastically dubbing The Martian a “hilarious comedy” and quipping that he “nearly died” laughing while watching it. Gervais also insinuated that there was ample incentive for the classification on the part of Matt Damon. Others noted that the Good Will Hunting star would have faced stiff competition against Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) in the drama category or might simply not have attended the event.
In a recent directors’ roundtable at The Hollywood Reporter, Scott reiterated his perspective, voluntarily labeling The Martian as a comedy — incidentally making it the only comedy among the 29 films he has directed. When RaMell Ross, director of Nickel Boys, inquired whether the movie cost more to produce than sending an actual rover to Mars, the Napoleon director shared a trivia.
Sitting alongside filmmakers like Blade Runner 2049’s Denis Villeneuve, the original Blade Runner director distanced the film’s budget from the ballpark of action cinema, stating, “I think we cost about $80 million.” He stated, “The studio didn’t realize it’s actually a comedy,” before adding, “I read it and said, ‘It’s really funny.’”
The Martian follows Matt Damon as astronaut Mark Watney, stranded on Mars and forced to survive alone while his team believes him dead. Despite its serious narrative of isolation, survival, and resilience, the film balances light-heartedness with drama and adventure. The tonal mix observed in The Martian fueled its appeal and viewer base, turning it into a success story that has stood the test of time. Not to mention, Damon did bag that Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
