Matt Damon Calls Nolan’s The Odyssey His Last Epic Film

Matt Damon has opened up about his experience working on Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey, describing the project as possibly the last grand-scale film he’ll ever make. Chatting on Netflix’s Skip Intro podcast, Damon admitted he’s still processing the sheer magnitude of the production, having taken on a leading role after previously supporting Nolan’s other works.

The actor, best known for his turn as Jason Bourne, said the film left a deep mark on him. He didn’t shy away from calling it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, remarking,

Doing ‘The Odyssey’ this last year, it felt like my one chance in my life to make a David Lean movie, you know? That I was making the last big movie on film that I was ever going to get to make.

Damon reckons the timing was spot on for him to take on such a demanding part. He reflected that, had he been offered the role two decades earlier, he would have struggled. Instead, he found himself relishing every moment, despite the daily challenges. As he put it,

If I look objectively at what was required to do that job, I think it came at just the right time in my life. I think I would have been miserable 20 years ago, trying to do that job. You were uncomfortable every day. But I really enjoyed, like, deeply enjoyed every minute of it.

Gratitude for the Team and the Journey

After his role as Lt. General Leslie Groves in Nolan’s Oppenheimer, Damon was approached for The Odyssey. He brought some of that same authority to his new character, drawing on his previous experience. On the Skip Intro podcast, Damon expressed his appreciation for the director and the crew, saying the project stirred up a sense of nostalgia for his early days in the industry. He shared,

But to really feel gratitude — and I think because it was tied into not only the joy of being able to have a role that great with a director that great with a group of people that great and a story that great, but in that sense of nostalgia I had for how I started, how I came into the business, the feeling I had when I was shooting ‘School Ties’ and Freddie Francis was the cinematographer and I, you know, and I was like, ‘This is really happening.’

Damon also mentioned how lucky he felt to work alongside the cast, which includes Tom Holland. Holland, who plays a key part in the film, called it

the job of a lifetime

and

the best experience

, adding,

Matt Damon has always been a hero of mine, Anne Hathaway has always been a hero of mine. So to share scenes with them, to learn from them, to become friends with them, I couldn’t have asked for a better job.

Filming Innovations and Star-Studded Cast

The Odyssey stands out as the first Hollywood production shot entirely on IMAX film cameras, a feat Damon discussed on the New Heights podcast. He noted that Nolan was determined to shoot the whole thing in IMAX, and he pulled it off.

Alongside Damon and Holland, the ensemble features Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Himesh Patel, Elliot Page, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Jesse Garcia, and Will Yun Lee. Damon’s involvement was confirmed from the outset, marking his third collaboration with Nolan after Interstellar and Oppenheimer. This places him among a select group of actors who’ve worked with the director on three or more films.

Roles and Expectations

While much about the film remains under wraps, Empire Magazine has revealed the main cast’s roles. Damon takes on the central figure of Odysseus, with Holland as Telemachus, Zendaya as Athena, Hathaway as Penelope, Pattinson as Antinous, Safdie as Agamemnon, Bernthal as Menelaus, Theron as Circe, John Leguizamo as Eumaeus, and Mia Goth as Melantho. The roles for Lupita Nyong’o, Elliot Page, Samantha Morton, Ryan Hurst, and Bill Irwin are still a mystery. Universal is backing the film, with shooting locations in Morocco and Sicily.

Following the critical and commercial success of Oppenheimer, punters are expecting big things from Nolan’s latest epic. The Odyssey is set to hit cinemas on 17 July 2026.