Entertainment

The Oscars Best Picture mishap, as told by the many faces of Matt Damon

The Cambridge native experienced so many emotions in so little time.

By Kevin Slane

1 minute to read

The Oscars dissolved into craziness Sunday night when La La Land was mistakenly announced as the Best Picture winner even though Moonlight had actually won.

One particular photo shows that the reactions of stars like Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the audience mirrored America’s own collective shock.

A deeper dive into the photos and footage from the ceremony demonstrates that Matt Damon in particular experienced a fascinating range of emotions in that seriously short time period. And so, without further ado, here’s the most ridiculous, unexpected moment in Academy Awards history, as told by the face of Matt Damon.

Feeling: Unaware

Audience reacts to ‘Moonlight’ being announced as best picture winner.

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We don’t know the order in which these photos and GIFs were taken, but if we had to guess, this nonplussed look from Damon came before the Cambridge native had fully registered what was happening. Minus a few people in the front row, such as Michelle Williams and Busy Philipps, most audience members don’t seem to have fully broken out their “wow” faces yet.

Feeling: Shock

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRBjblTgP16/

In this widely-shared photo from the Los Angeles Times, Damon appears to grasp what’s taking place, giving a classic “Is this really happening right now?” look. This might be around the time viewers at home started yelling, “Wait… WHAT?!?” at their TVs.

Feeling: OMG!

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Here, we see Damon glancing at a fellow audience member to validate that everything happening at that moment is real. It’s the Hollywood version of when you shouted for your spouse to come into the room or texted your BFF, “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?!” on Sunday night.

Feeling: Bemused amazement

While Damon’s fellow Oscar winner Meryl Streep is still wearing her shocked face, Damon has moved into the puzzled smile phase of his reaction. If that face looks familiar, it’s probably because that’s the look every Patriots fan wore for at least 24 hours following Super Bowl 51.