Matt Damon and Tom Holland both tried to earn as much of Christopher Nolan’s praise as Zendaya got on “The Odyssey,” but never managed it.
In a larger profile with Elle, Damon talked about working with the star-studded cast on the upcoming blockbuster of Homer’s epic. While on set, both he and Holland bonded over the fact that no matter what they did they could not earn the same praise from Nolan that Zendaya received.
“Chris is known for being very circumspect. So when you do a take, it’s not like he says, ‘That was great.’ He’ll go, ‘Yep, good. Okay.’ And that is the equivalent of the greatest praise you could ever get,” Damon said. “Zendaya, on the other hand – there were takes where she did one thing, she did this amazing scene, and he said, ‘Cut.’ And then he went, ‘Perfect.’”
He continued: “And literally, Tom [Holland] and I were obsessed with this. She got a ‘perfect’? I’ve never even gotten a ‘great.’ She got a ‘perfect’? He and I bitched about it for the entire rest of the film. ‘Did you get anything today?’ ‘No, I got a ‘good – moving on.’ ‘Yeah, me too.’”
Damon then showered Zendaya with his own praise, adding,”So it was this amazing ability she had to come in and really put herself in there and blow everybody away, and then just go back to shooting ‘Euphoria.’”
Zendaya was cast as the Greek goddess Athena in Nolan’s upcoming film. The director said that Zendaya would come onto set from shooting “Euphoria” Season 3 and exude her “movie star” energy and nail every scene she was given – which is why he cast her.
“We would be in the maddest, craziest situations, just all of us fighting the elements, tearing our hair out, all these things going on, and she would sort of parachute in from her other job with this sense of true grace and poise,” Nolan explained. “I mean, she’s literally playing a goddess; it’s a tall order. She’s a true movie star, but also an incredible actor.”
Damon plays Odysseus and Holland stars as his son Telemachus in the summer blockbuster adapting the Greek myth.
“The Odyssey” releases in theaters on July 17, 2026. The film already sold out several opening screenings in IMAX 70mm a year ahead of its release.
