Matt Damon said playing a controversial character in the 2015 film The Martian left him disappointed by the public reaction, describing the experience as a “fucking bummer”. He said he had expected viewers to recognise the complexity of the role, but was surprised that some interpreted the character more negatively, highlighting the difficulty actors can face when portraying morally ambiguous figures.

The article refers to Damon’s role in Ridley Scott’s 2015 science-fiction film, in which he played astronaut Mark Watney, who is stranded on Mars after being presumed dead. The film was commercially and critically successful, but Damon’s comments focused on the emotional impact of audience responses rather than the film’s reception or box-office performance.