The Odyssey
stunt performer James Newman talks about his experience training Matt Damon and Tom Holland for the upcoming film, breaking down the two stars’ action styles. Nolan’s next project features an all-star cast, with Damon and Holland joined by actors like Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Jon Bernthal, Elliot Page, and Charlize Theron, among others. Nolan’s adaption of Homer’s The Odyssey started filming back in February, with the story set to follow Odysseus’ (Damon) epic journey home after fighting in the Trojan War.
In a since-deleted April 20 episode of the Action for Everyone podcast, Newman reveals that he worked with both Damon and Holland to help craft their characters’ fighting styles in The Odyssey. The stunt performer explains that Damon had a clear vision for how he wanted his character to fight, with the character’s experience and age resulting in a fighting style that was “more efficient.” Check out Newman’s comment about the fight training below:
“I had the opportunity to make some action with a talented group of people for the film and also had the opportunity to train Matt Damon and Tom Holland for the film. All the rumors about Tom being physically able are so true. He can literally do anything. He should get every physical role possible.”
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“Matt definitely wanted to be more efficient because that’s the character. Odysseus, if anyone is familiar with that story, Odysseus is really the only war scene character along that journey. The guys he has with him have fought with him but Odysseus himself is like, ‘I’ve lived and breathed battle,’ and so that makes him more smart, and that’s why he’s so good. Matt definitely understood that and then we were trying to play that up as well. So he isn’t going to do flashy things.
“With Tom, he’s obviously more athletic and he’s younger so he’s going to almost be a younger version of Odysseus.”
Newman also speaks more generally about the size of The Odyssey‘s production, teasing just how epic an undertaking it has been, with Nolan seeking out real locations that had never been filmed in before:
“They’re never going to make a movie like this again. I think it’s going to be an epic of all epics. It’s going to be Nolan at his best. No holds barred. He definitely fights a battle that a lot of people aren’t fighting. The coordinator came to us with scout pictures of locations, and it’s just all over Europe because Odysseus’ journey is crazy, it’s like 10 years long.
“They found locations and Nolan would go like, ‘Okay, this cave, has anyone ever filmed here before?’ And the local guy is like, ‘No.’ [Nolan] is like, ‘Okay, great, we’re going to film here.’ This like untouched place. He wants to be the first person there to do it, he wants to feel like no one has ever touched ground here. And every location is a hike. There’s a castle, I think it’s Odysseus’ home, but it’s up on a hill and it’s like a two kilometer hike to get up there.”
What This Means For The Odyssey
Nolan, Damon & Holland’s Action History Explained
Nolan’s past movies have never shied away from action. From his comic book adaptations with The Dark Knight trilogy to his more divisive Tenet (2020), the director is well-known for his large-scale set pieces, which often include hand-to-hand combat. The Odyssey looks to be doing this once more but on an even larger scale, with the film reportedly set to feature the largest budget of Nolan’s career at a whopping $250 million.
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As for Damon and Holland, both actors are no strangers to fight sequences. Damon, of course, is still known for his role as assassin Jason Bourne across four action-packed films, with efficient, bone-crunching fight choreography featured throughout. Holland, on the other hand, got his start as a movie star with his introduction as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War (2016), and he has since gone on to lead three solo Spider-Man movies, in addition to playing Nathan Drake in Uncharted (2022). All key parties involved, then, come with a great deal of action pedigree.
Our Take On Matt Damon & Tom Holland’s Action Scenes In The Odyssey
The Ingredients Are In Place For A Cinematic Win
Damon hasn’t starred in an especially action-heavy movie for quite some time. He had moments of action in movies like The Instigators (2024) and The Last Duel (2021), but The Great Wall (2016), which was critically panned, really marks his last big venture as an action star. The Odyssey, then, will end a ten-year trend for the actor when it releases next year, and it will be exciting to see Damon once again using his physicality in this way.
As for Holland, action movies are his bread and butter, with many of his non-MCU projects not faring particularly well. Behind-the-scenes videos make clear that Holland does many of his own flips and jumps as Spider-Man, and, if he brings this to The Odyssey, his character, who is seemingly Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, could be an electric presence on screen. Many questions remain about The Odyssey, but Newman’s comments just made the film even more exciting.
Source: Action for Everyone