Ryan Gosling felt more than a cosmic connection to Project Hail Mary.

After all, the actor shared insight into how being dad to his and wife Eva Mendes‘ daughters Esmeralda, 11, and Amada, 9, made the Andy Weir-adapted film a hopeful reminder of a better future.

“Being a dad, having two young kids, and I feel like everything is designed to scare them,” Ryan told Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce on the March 18 episode of their New Heights podcast. “I was so grateful just as a father to get to make a story for my kids—maybe, not to be too lofty—for their generation, that reminds you of what we’re capable of as human beings.”

“It doesn’t pretend that there’s not gonna be problems,” he emphasized, “but that we can solve them.”

Indeed, it was the author’s perspective on humanity that became a much-needed reminder for the 45-year-old, who stars as science teacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace.