Why The Odyssey's Matt Damon and Tom Holland Were Jealous of Zendaya on Christopher Nolan's Set

The Odyssey’s cast has notes about Zendaya’s lack of notes. 

During Matt Damon’s third collaboration with Christopher Nolan, he and Tom Holland caught the director breaking from his signature neutral tone on the set. 

“[Zendaya] did this amazing scene, and he said, 'Cut,’” the Odysseus actor explained to Elle in an interview published in May. “And then he went, ‘Perfect.' And literally, Tom [Holland] and I were obsessed with this.” 

Among the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s well-known trademarks is a certain focused stoicism while behind the camera. So naturally, Zendaya’s costars were surprised—and a little envious—by the positive reinforcement being handed out on the set. 

"She got a ‘perfect'? I've never even gotten a ‘great.' She got a ‘perfect?'" Damon added. "He and I b--ched about it for the entire rest of the film."

Photo: Universal Pictures

As a three-time Nolan veteran—following 2014’s Interstellar and 2023’s Oppenheimer—Damon could tell the director had subtly given an enormous compliment to Zendaya, who plays the Ancient Greek goddess Athena. 

“Chris is known for being very circumspect," he continued. "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 stepped into the sandals of pop culture’s most famous hero, alongside an all-star cast rounding out the adaptation of Homer’s epic tale. The ensemble also sees Holland as Odysseus’ son Telemachus, Anne Hathaway as wife and Queen of Ithaca Penelope, Charlize Theron as Calypso, Robert Pattinson as Antinous, Lupita Nyong'o as both Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra, John Leguizamo as Eumaeus and Jon Bernthal as Menelaus. 

Meanwhile, Zendaya is actually starring in two book-to-screen blockbusters this year—in addition to The Drama, wrapping up her three-season run on Euphoria and returning as MJ next month in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. 

Photo: Instagram / Rakestraw Books

The MCU star recently joked about her accidental year of literature adaptations, posing for a photo (see above) with copies of Frank Herbert’s Dune: Messiah (titled Dune: Part Three for the big screen) and Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey.

“We had a very special visitor at Rakestraw Books recently,” the bookstore wrote on Instagram June 6. “Zendaya stopped by to shop and chat books with us! We were thrilled to help her find some good reads and loved getting some recommendations from her!”

The Odyssey sails into theaters July 17.