Actor Matt Damon has emphasized that on the set of Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic, The Odyssey, all cast and crew members were treated equally, regardless of their fame or status. He noted that there was no preferential treatment during the demanding production.
Damon explained that the experience was very much a shared one, saying, “If you’re out on a boat in the middle of the ocean and you get caught in a storm, you get wet with everybody else.” He added that no one received special comforts, including director Nolan, who endured the same cold and wet conditions as everyone else throughout filming.
This challenging environment, Damon said, fostered a strong sense of unity among the team. “It made it feel like we were really all in it together, because we were,” he remarked. He expressed a deep bond with both the cast and crew, forged through the difficulties they faced collectively.
Directed and written by Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey adapts Homer’s ancient Greek epic. Damon stars as Odysseus, the legendary king of Ithaca, whose ten-year journey home after the Trojan War involves encounters with mythical beings such as the Cyclops Polyphemus, the Sirens, and the nymph Calypso. Anne Hathaway plays Penelope, Odysseus’s wife, whom he strives to reunite with.
The film features a star-studded ensemble including Tom Holland, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Jesse Garcia, Will Yun Lee, Rafi Gavron, Shiloh Fernandez, and Mia Goth.
Produced by Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas through Syncopy, the movie was shot in diverse locations such as Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, Western Sahara, Malta, and at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. With a budget estimated at $250 million, it ranks among Nolan’s most expensive projects and is notable for being the first film he has shot entirely using IMAX 70mm cameras.
The Odyssey is set for theatrical release on July 17.
