After serving audiences with a number of acclaimed movies like Gladiator (2000) and Black Hawk Down (2001), Ridley Scott broke records with his 2015 movie The Martian. Featuring Matt Damon in the titular role, the movie that was adapted from Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, also starred Donald Glover as a naive NASA employee.
While Matt Damon played the pivotal character Mark Watney, around whom the story revolved, Donald Glover’s character was equally important during the crisis that shaped the story. However, Glover’s character was a clumsy but brilliant and adored one who apparently delivered one major mishap in the movie, that Ridley Scott didn’t have the heart to edit out.
Donald Glover’s Unplanned Accident in The Martian
While shooting films, actors often face minor accidents or blurt unscripted dialogues that later get scrapped during post-production and editing. But Ridley Scott’s 2015 movie The Martian left one unscripted scene intact to add a humanizing element. In one scene with Donald Glover, who played the naive NASA employee, the actor had an unplanned accident that made it to the final cut.
According to the scene, Donald Glover’s character was spotted sitting up on the bed and taking a sip of stale coffee only to immediately spit it out in a meshed wire dustbin. Now since the coffee dripped onto the floor from the wired dustbin, the actor unexpectedly faced a slip-and-fall accident. But he quickly pulled himself up and stayed in character to finish the scene.
Later on, the actor believed that Ridley Scott would eventually edit out the unplanned scene during post-production. But, shockingly, the director left it as it was, and the accident made it to the final cut. The unscripted scene played well in the movie since Donald Glover’s character was indeed a clumsy one, and audiences bought the unscripted version as a part of the movie.
Ridley Scott Didn’t Delete the Unscripted Scene
During his appearance on The Conan Show, Donald Glover recalled the accident from when he was shooting The Martian with Matt Damon. Speaking of the unscripted scene, Glover discussed how it all happened and why Ridley Scott didn’t edit it out. The actor claimed that the director left it in the movie to add a humanizing element.
“I had a scene where…it was my first take and I was really nervous and it was the first time and then I got up, I spit in the wastebasket and I do the thing and I like slipped so hard and I was like ‘wow’. And then I get up and keep going.”
Narrating the accident he had that stunned everyone on set, Donald Glover discussed why he kept going. Stating how Ridley Scott often prefers a few takes over multiple shots, the actor mentioned he didn’t have many options but to play it cool and keep going.
“I keep going in the scene, and after the scene was done he comes up and he’s like ‘that was great’”.
Shocked to learn how Ridley Scott appreciated Donald Glover’s accidental fall, Conan O’Brien asked if they really added it to the movie. To which the actor replied, “that’s in the movie”.
“When you see me in the movie and I eat it, that’s really eating it…he was like ‘oh that’s always the realest stuff’ and I’m just like, got an ice pack and nod ‘yes’”.
The actor later revealed how Ridley Scott often does things like this in his movies. Keeping the authenticity alive, the filmmaker rarely edits out unscripted and accidental scenes from his films.
