[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] “I thought it was just a heartwarming father-son dynamic…”

A humorous behind-the-scenes story involving Matt Damon and Tom Holland—who played father and son in director Christopher Nolan’s film *The Martian*—is drawing attention. It’s the story of how Matt Damon, who had been impressed by his younger co-star’s subtle emotional portrayal, later realized that it was all a “misunderstanding.”
Matt Damon recently appeared on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and shared an anecdote about his experience with Tom Holland during the filming of “The Odyssey.” In *The Odyssey*, Matt Damon played Odysseus, returning home after the Trojan War, while Tom Holland portrayed his son, Telemachus. The two portrayed a father-son relationship that had been separated for a long time in the film.
The scene in question was one where the two gazed at each other from a distance. Matt Damon was on a boat, while Tom Holland was on the shore. After filming all day on the boat, Matt Damon noticed Tom Holland, who was far away, bringing his hand to his chest.
Matt Damon interpreted this as a heartfelt gesture from Telemachus toward his father, Odysseus. Believing that Tom Holland had spontaneously added an emotional touch to the scene, Matt Damon placed his own hand over his heart in response. And just like that, a “bond between father and son”—unwritten in the script—was born. At least, that’s what Matt Damon believed.
The twist came after filming wrapped. Matt Damon asked Tom Holland something along the lines of, “Did Director Christopher Nolan tell you to do that?” He was curious whether it was part of Christopher Nolan’s direction or Tom Holland’s improvisation.
However, Tom Holland’s answer was completely unexpected. It wasn’t emotional acting, nor was it direction from Christopher Nolan. The outfit he was wearing at the time was constricting his neck, making it difficult to breathe, so he was simply pulling at the collar.
Suddenly, Tom Holland found himself struggling with his costume, while Matt Damon was left alone in the distance, “acting rich.”
There was one more reason Matt Damon was completely fooled: because he is nearsighted, he couldn’t see Tom Holland’s actions clearly from a distance. To Matt Damon, the sight of Tom Holland pulling at his shirt to catch his breath looked like he was placing his hand on his chest to convey his feelings to his father.
This little mishap is also tied to director Christopher Nolan’s distinctive filming style. *The Martian* made extensive use of real ships, large-scale sets, and natural locations. There were quite a few scenes where the actors had to fully endure the distances and environments of those real spaces during filming.
Unfortunately, the take in which Matt Damon responded so earnestly was cut from the final cut. Behind the scenes of *The Martian*, a film brimming with grand scale and a solemn narrative, such small misunderstandings were also taking place.