Matt Damon says The Odyssey was the biggest challenge of his career
Matt Damon has portrayed dozens of characters throughout his career, from action hero Jason Bourne to a stranded astronaut on Mars, but he says playing the Greek king Odysseus was the most challenging role of his career, according to Reuters.
Director Christopher Nolan insisted on using practical, full-scale effects instead of digital visual effects for his adaptation of The Odyssey, which is set to premiere in theaters on July 17, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.
The nearly three-hour film, produced by Universal Pictures, is the first feature film shot entirely with IMAX cameras and brings one of humanity's oldest stories to the big screen.
"This is how a film would have been made 80 years ago," Damon said. "Everything happens in front of the camera. If you see a thousand people, there are actually a thousand people there. Those ships are real ships in the background."
The film was shot in six countries, including Morocco, Greece, and Iceland. Damon and his fellow cast members worked in extreme weather conditions, facing strong winds and heavy rain while filming aboard ships at sea.
"It was, without question, the most difficult and challenging film I've ever made," Damon said.
The epic poem The Odyssey dates in written form to around the seventh or eighth century BC and is believed to have been passed down through oral tradition before that. It follows Odysseus as he struggles to return home after the Greeks' victory in the Trojan War.
During his journey, Odysseus encounters witches, monsters, and gods before eventually reuniting with his wife, Penelope, played by Anne Hathaway, and his son, Telemachus, portrayed by Tom Holland.
"The text remains relevant because of the lessons we can all learn from it," Holland said. "It teaches the importance of love and loyalty, perseverance, failure, facing consequences, the power to distinguish right from wrong, and many other things. I think it's incredibly relevant today."
Nolan's film follows his 2023 blockbuster Oppenheimer, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Produced with a budget of $250 million, The Odyssey has already generated significant interest, with fans purchasing tickets at selected IMAX theaters a year before its release.
According to box office analysts, the film is expected to earn between $80 million and $100 million during its opening weekend in the United States and Canada.
Zendaya, who plays the goddess Athena, said she was "speechless" when she learned about Nolan's vision for the classic story.
"It is such a visceral emotional experience that you feel like you're on the journey with Odysseus the entire time," she said. "You're there with him from beginning to end. It never lets up."
Photo: Wikipedia
