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The first question Matt Damon, who won the Golden Globe for best actor in a comedy or musical, was asked backstage was whether he thought “The Martian” was a comedy.

“No, it’s not a comedy, it’s a musical,” he said, “I think that’s what the 18-year gap was.” (A reference to the 18 years that have elapsed since he last won a Golden Globe.) “It was me working on my singing.”

That the Hollywood Foreign Press Association categorized “The Martian” as a comedy or musical raised many an eyebrow in Hollywood. While the film has many laugh lines, it is nonetheless a story about an astronaut marooned on Mars. Backstage, Mr. Damon didn’t address the comedy question again, talking instead, about all he’s learned in those 18 years.

“It just gives me more of a context. Having made so many movies. You work in the arts in the movies. You can’t do it unless you absolutely love it. And then the result is the result, and you don’t know what the audience is going to do. When something like this happens and people really respond to the movie, and critics really respond to the movie and there’s a perfect storm of reaction, it’s great.”

Asked what he’d do with the prize, he replied, “Ricky Gervais has some pretty good ideas.”