How ‘Project Hail Mary’ Author Andy Weir, 53, Went From a Computer Engineer to a Best-Selling Novelist

Is it true what I’ve read, that you based the main character in The Martian on yourself?

Mark Watney is me. He’s my exact personality, with all of my good qualities magnified and all of my bad qualities erased. He’s the idealized version of me. Project Hail Mary was the first time I said, “All right, enough of this just making things me. Let’s try to create a character from whole cloth that is not based on my own personality.”

You make science feel entertaining rather than intimidating. How do you pull that off?

I’m a dork, and I like the scientific and space stuff. But I try not to overwhelm the reader with unnecessary scientific information. I try to give just the information the reader needs to understand the plot. They want to understand the science when it relates to a character they like and whether or not he’s going to survive or succeed in whatever he’s trying to do. The other thing is that readers will forgive any amount of exposition if you make them laugh. If there’s humor, they’ll read anything.

Describe what the actual work of writing feels like for you.

I’m not one of those people who get a cathartic joy from the actual process of writing. I really envy those people. For me, writing is like gardening. You don’t enjoy being out in the hot sun, being bitten by bugs or pulling roots out of the ground. Your back hurts, you’re dirty, you’re grimy, you’re sweaty. You’re not doing that for fun. You’re doing it because at the end, you have a very nice garden that you can look at and enjoy.

I’m already behind on the deadline for my next book. It just whizzed by, and I’m nowhere near ready.

Weir on the “Project Hail Mary” set

Jonathan Olley/Amazon MGM Studios/Courtesy Everett Collection

How involved were you in the making of the two movies?

On The Martian, my only role was to cash the check. They basically said, “We’re buying the film rights from you. Here you go. Here’s our contract. Have a nice day.” With Project Hail Mary, it’s completely the opposite. I’m a producer, so I was involved in all the decisions, including casting Ryan and choosing Chris [Miller] and Phil [Lord] to direct. But, of course, I [mostly] just stood back and let the real producers do their job. I was on set, making sure all the science was correct. That was kind of my role. And it was really cool.

How did you feel about having Ryan Gosling in the starring role?

This is an award-worthy performance from Ryan. It is amazing. He just absolutely nailed it. Everybody nailed it. It’s just neat to see all these people who are so good at what they do doing what they do.

Ryan Gosling stars in “Project Hail Mary,” based on Weir’s book.

Jonathan Olley/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Courtesy Everett Collection

What authors have inspired your writing, and do you have any book recommendations?

My holy trinity is Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. If I had to pick just one of them, I would say Asimov. For books I’ve read recently, I would generally recommend anything by Blake Crouch. I think his most popular book is Dark Matter, which also became an Apple TV series, but my personal favorite is [his 2019 sci-fi thriller] Recursion.

What’s your life like now? What’s fame like?

Being a successful writer is the exact right amount of fame. Like when I go to a book signing and everyone’s adoring me — yay. And then when I go to the grocery store the next day, nobody knows who I am. It’s great. I get the benefits without the drawbacks.