Matt Damon: Ridley’s a giggle

Matt Damon was surprised by how funny Ridley Scott is.

The director has a very specific way of working, which has given him a bit of a reputation in Hollywood. But when Matt made sci-fi flick The Martian with Ridley, he managed to see through his tough exterior and really enjoy the process.

"He's very funny! People say he's gruff but he's not; he's impatient in the right way, in a fun way!" Matt exclaimed to IGN. "He'll say: [puts on gruff voice] 'What am I waiting for?' and his department head will say: 'We've got to put a light there,' and he'll say: 'Oh... OK, I'll wait for that.'

"He uses four cameras at a time and I was quite a snob about that, I always said one camera at a time, but watching Ridley do it..."

In The Martian Matt plays Mark Watney, an astronaut who is presumed dead after a bad storm. But Mark actually survives, landing on a hostile planet where he must produce enough nourishment to survive until he's rescued.

It's not your average sci-fi thanks to the very human element.

"Any great sci-fi movie is, really the ones we all remember, are the ones where you're invested in the character," Matt reasoned. "This takes place just few years in the future, the very near future. From the time I read the book, it's a really great character, a very smart guy, very funny, who finds himself in this predicament and just has an entertaining way that he navigates this situation."