Zendaya forgot her strains on the primary day of filming Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, an incident she traced to a mix of nerves and brutal chilly throughout a shoot in Iceland. The 2-time Emmy winner recounted the second on the Blissful Unhappy Confused podcast, hosted by Josh Horowitz.
In Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s historic epic poem, Zendaya performs the Greek goddess Athena, with Matt Damon main the ensemble forged as Odysseus. The Odyssey opens in theaters on July 17, 2026, distributed by Common Footage.
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Zendaya’s First Day On Set
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Horowitz pressed Zendaya for extra particulars on how a performer of her caliber may clean on her strains throughout her first day on a Nolan set. She defined that she had put within the preparation, however the circumstances made it irrelevant.
“Here is the factor. I had my strains, and I wished to have them so down. I believe I psyched myself out a bit of bit. It was significantly chilly. It was in Iceland. My mouth was simply frozen. Oh, there’s nothing popping out. My mouth simply will not transfer. Actually. It simply got here out like, ‘Blah blah blah.’ So embarrassing,” she instructed Horowitz.
Nerve-Racking First Day
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Zendaya was clear that the chilly was solely a part of what she was coping with that day. Engaged on a Nolan set for the primary time introduced a separate sort of strain, and she or he described the expertise as already nerve-racking nicely earlier than the freezing temperatures grew to become an element.
She had absolutely memorized her dialogue forward of the shoot, but the mix of first-day jitters and an unforgiving setting labored towards her.
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Working With Admired Co-Stars
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Zendaya additionally addressed the expertise of sharing scenes with actors she had lengthy appeared as much as, and she or he was candid concerning the psychological self-discipline it demanded. “However I’ll say, I believe simply exhibiting up in any state of affairs like this.”
“It was such a pleasure and a present to have the ability to share scenes with individuals you’ve got admired for thus lengthy. A part of you has to compartmentalize to a level. OK, lock in; we’re working. However I used to be so moved and excited to be there and wished to do my greatest work,” she stated on the podcast.
Nolan On Casting Zendaya As Athena
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Tom Holland was the one who knowledgeable Zendaya that she had been forged in The Odyssey. Nolan later spoke to Elle journal about why he selected her to play Athena, citing qualities he noticed as important for a personality working on the stage of a deity.
“I imply, she’s actually taking part in a goddess; it is a tall order. She’s a real film star, but additionally an unimaginable actor,” Nolan instructed the publication. The director pointed to what he described as her iconic grace as a figuring out issue within the casting.
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Nolan On Zendaya’s Excellence On Set
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No matter occurred on that first day in Iceland, Nolan noticed nothing however excellence all through the remainder of manufacturing. In a separate interview with Fandango, he provided an evaluation that left little room for qualification.
“She was at all times excellent. All the time excellent,” he stated. The repetition was not unintended; it learn as deliberate emphasis from a director not recognized for hyperbole.
The Odyssey Forged
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The manufacturing assembled one of many extra expansive ensembles in latest reminiscence. Matt Damon leads the movie as Odysseus, with Anne Hathaway as Penelope and Tom Holland as Telemachus. Robert Pattinson performs Antinous, and Lupita Nyong’o takes on the twin roles of Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra.
Charlize Theron portrays Calypso, Jon Bernthal performs Menelaus, and Benny Safdie seems as Agamemnon. John Leguizamo is forged as Eumaeus, Elliot Web page as Sinon, Mia Goth as Melantho, Samantha Morton as Circe, and Himesh Patel as Eurylochus.
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The Odysseus Plot
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The Odyssey follows King Odysseus on his years-long journey to return to Ithaca after the Trojan Struggle. He’s trying to reunite together with his spouse, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, and the journey house is fraught with legendary creatures and divine forces.
Athena, the goddess Zendaya portrays, is a protector and guiding presence all through the narrative. The movie pulls its story instantly from Homer’s historic Greek epic poem.
A Document-Breaking Manufacturing
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The Odyssey is the primary narrative function movie to be shot solely with IMAX cameras, a distinction that units it aside from any prior manufacturing within the format.
Nolan instructed Empire journal that he shot over 2 million toes of movie throughout the making of the film, with principal images operating for 91 days.
He additionally instructed Empire why he selected Homer’s epic because the car for such an endeavor. “As a filmmaker, you are on the lookout for gaps in cinematic tradition, issues that have not been accomplished earlier than.”
“And what I noticed is that each one of this nice mythological cinematic work that I had grown up with – Ray Harryhausen films and different issues – I might by no means seen that accomplished with the form of weight and credibility that an A-budget and an enormous Hollywood, IMAX manufacturing may do.”
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The Odyssey’s First Press Reactions
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Members of the movie press have already seen The Odyssey, and the early responses have been strongly favorable. Collider’s Peri Nemiroff known as it, “A filmmaking feast. A grand and gripping rendition of Homer’s epic, and one which feels uniquely Christopher Nolan.”
“It is sincerely onerous to think about every other filmmaker on the planet having the ability to deliver that supply materials to display with this a lot scale, scope, and coronary heart.” Movie journalist Simon Thompson wrote, “Flawless filmmaking, each inch as epic as you’d count on. Main a stellar forged, Matt Damon offers Odysseus the whole lot in a career-best powerhouse efficiency.”
“Robert Pattinson is excellent as Antinous, and John Leguizamo’s Eumaeus is classy.” Selection’s Clayton Davis added, “Matt Damon leads with grit, whereas Tom Holland brings the sensitivity and coronary heart… It is one other hit for Nolan, one his diehards will digest for many years to return.”
Fandango’s Verdict On The Odyssey
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Fandango’s Erik Davis devoted explicit consideration to Robert Pattinson’s flip as Antinous. “He is so conniving, manipulative, and endlessly entertaining to look at. Pattinson leans all the best way into the character’s villainy, and it leads to one in every of my favourite performances of his,” Davis wrote.
On the movie as an entire, Davis known as it “an absolute triumph and a crowning cinematic achievement from one of many nice filmmakers of our time.” The Odyssey opens July 17, 2026, from Common Footage.
