In file photo taken on Sept 3, 2011, US actor Matt Damon (left) and British actress Gwyneth Paltrow arrive for the screening of Contagion during the 68th Venice International Film Festival. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AFP)

LOS ANGELES - The stars of the movie Contagion, which has seen a surge in popularity as the coronavirus has spread across the globe, on Friday urged fans to listen to experts, wash their hands frequently and practice social distancing.

Rentals, sales and downloads of Contagion have soared in recent weeks

“That was a movie. This is real life,” said Matt Damon, who played someone who was immune to the virus featured in the 2011 film about a pandemic.

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Damon, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, and Jennifer Ehle teamed up with scientists from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health to release public service announcements on ways to contain the virus.

Rentals, sales and downloads of Contagion have soared in recent weeks. On Friday, it was in 10th place on the iTunes movie charts for the United States, one spot above the newly-released Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

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The thriller follows a mysterious deadly infection that spreads quickly around the world, causing a breakdown in society, and efforts by US scientists to find a cure.

Ehle, who in the movie played a scientist who helped discover a vaccine, urged people to heed the advice of scientists and medical experts “and that means tuning out the voices with other agendas, no matter how powerful they might be.”