Matt Damon today: Why ‘The Odyssey’ became his hardest role

Matt Damon spent three days tied to a ship’s mast, pushed through months of combat training and practiced loading arrows thousands of times in his Brooklyn apartment. The result is his first leading role for Christopher Nolan, playing Odysseus in “The Odyssey,” which opens in theaters July 17. Damon, 55, calls it the best role he has been offered and the hardest movie he has made.

How Events Unfolded

Damon’s preparation began long before filming. Nolan wanted Odysseus to handle a bow without relying on visual effects or obvious substitutions, so Damon repeatedly practiced nocking and speed-loading arrows while sitting at home. He estimated that he rehearsed the movement thousands of times.

The physical work extended far beyond archery. Damon trained with stunt coordinator George Cottle, learned elaborate sword choreography and filmed across beaches, mountaintops and boats in unstable conditions. He described the shoot as closer to an expedition than a conventional production.

One sequence became especially demanding. For the Sirens scene, Nolan strapped Damon to a mast for three days while the actor performed a prolonged emotional breakdown. Nolan said the scene required Damon to give everything, while Damon described the performance as having to “go have an existential crisis.”

The production also recreated major elements practically. At the New York premiere, a 40-foot Trojan Horse stood outside the theater. John Leguizamo said Nolan climbed inside the structure with about 20 actors, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema and an IMAX camera to work out the cramped sequence as it was being filmed.

Digging Deeper

The role demanded a different kind of transformation from the weight swings Damon accepted earlier in his career. He said he no longer wants to put his body through changes he considers dangerous after turning 50. Instead, the goal was to become lean and strong through training and a tightly controlled diet.

Damon said he stopped eating gluten while working with his doctor and completed the film at 167 pounds, down from his usual range of 185 to 200 pounds. Nolan monitored the transformation closely and eventually told him to maintain that weight rather than lose more.

The preparation served the story’s emotional core. Nolan’s version presents Odysseus as a warrior carrying guilt over the destruction of Troy and the killing of civilians. Damon said the character’s sense of responsibility and fear about civilization gave the role a depth that connected it thematically with “Oppenheimer.”

Practical effects

Physical sets, props and stunts created during filming instead of being added entirely through computer-generated imagery.

IMAX camera

A large-format camera system used to capture highly detailed images for large theater screens.

Speed-loading

The rapid process of placing an arrow on a bowstring and preparing to fire.

What People Are Saying

I felt like this was the best role I'd ever been offered.

Damon said the attraction was both physical and psychological. Odysseus fights, sails and survives, but he also questions humanity and his own role in violence. That combination gave Damon more room than his supporting appearances in Nolan’s “Interstellar” and “Oppenheimer.”

I felt pretty guilty, actually. I mean, I strapped him to a mast for three days and he was just putting himself through it. But he got it.

Leguizamo also pointed to Nolan’s willingness to share the discomfort of the production. Seeing the director squeezed inside the Trojan Horse with the cast and camera crew, he said, demonstrated that Nolan would not ask performers to attempt something he would not try himself.

Putting It in Perspective

For moviegoers, the scale of “The Odyssey” is part of the selling point. The production used large physical sets, demanding locations and extensive actor preparation at a time when Damon says studios are increasingly reluctant to finance films that carry this level of risk.

Damon argued that shrinking revenue opportunities have made both mid-budget dramas and giant epics harder to produce. Without the dependable secondary income that home-video sales once supplied, studios have become more cautious about projects requiring enormous upfront investment.

That gives the film a broader significance beyond its adaptation of Homer’s poem. Its performance could influence how studios assess expensive director-led movies built around theatrical spectacle. Damon does not expect a wave of similar productions even if the film succeeds, because the financial commitment is difficult to repeat.

Looking Ahead

“The Odyssey” is scheduled to reach theaters on Friday, July 17. The immediate focus will be whether audiences respond to Nolan’s large-format, practical approach and Damon’s physically intense performance.

The cast has continued promoting the film in New York, while the original Trojan Horse from the production is on display outside the AMC theater at Universal Studios Hollywood’s CityWalk. No follow-up project of comparable scale has been confirmed.