Christopher Nolan is known as a master filmmaker and a perfectionist. He expects every cast and crew member to be fully committed on set. The supporting cast of The Odyssey went the extra mile during filming, and Nolan appreciated their dedication and hard work.
The Odyssey filmed one sequence during extremely stormy sea conditions. The scene was shot on a 115-foot wooden longship, and the rough waves caused many actors to become seasick and vomit.
Director Christopher Nolan was assured that the filming would be safe despite the dangerous weather. Within an hour, the cast and crew were being tossed around by massive waves as several supporting actors became seasick and vomited during filming. Nolan had an idea at that moment and asked cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema to capture the vomiting on camera.
Instead of refusing, the actors agreed to keep filming. Nolan praised the cast for their commitment, saying they were “really game for it.“
Nolan described the day as “fabulous as well as miserable,” and the footage shot that day included some of his favorite shots in the film.
“Excuse me,” Nolan bellowed at them over the tempest, while flagging down his cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema. “But would you mind if we get the vomiting on camera?”
“And credit to them,” says the 55-year-old director, one year on: “They said, ‘Absolutely, bring it on’. They were really game for it. And that day ended up being fabulous as well as miserable; it yielded some of my favourite shots in the film.”
Following its premiere, early reactions describe The Odyssey as Nolan’s best film and his finest work to date. The cinematography is being praised as some of the best seen in recent years, especially the sea and storm sequences. The sea battles are described as epic, with a strong emphasis on practical effects rather than CGI.
The film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, Tom Holland as Telemachus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Zendaya as Athena, Lupita Nyong’o as Calypso, Robert Pattinson as Antinous, Charlize Theron as Circe, along with Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Jesse Garcia, Will Yun Lee, Rafi Gavron, Shiloh Fernandez, Mia Goth, Corey Hawkins, and Nick E. Tarabay.
Set in the 8th century BC, after the ten-year Trojan War, the Greek hero Odysseus travels from Troy to Ithaca via Africa and southern Europe. His journey lasts an additional ten years, during which he faces many dangers, and all of his crewmates are killed. In his absence, Odysseus is presumed dead, leaving his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, to deal with a group of unruly suitors competing for Penelope’s hand in marriage.
Produced by Nolan alongside his producing partner and wife, Emma Thomas, under their Syncopy banner.
The Odyssey will be released in theaters and IMAX in the United States on July 17, 2026, by Universal Pictures.
