Robert Pattinson Reveals the Bizarre Reason Matt Damon Kept Screaming on ‘The Odyssey’ Set
Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ has assembled one of the biggest ensembles of the year, and the stories coming out of its set are proving just as massive as the film itself. Matt Damon leads the cast as Odysseus in Nolan’s take on the ancient Greek epic, joined by Tom Holland, Mia Goth, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal and John Leguizamo. Damon plays Odysseus opposite Holland as his son Telemachus, while Pattinson takes on the role of the antagonist Antinous.
With a production this sprawling, it makes sense that plenty of behind the scenes chaos would leak out before release, and this particular story involves one very confused trailer neighbor. Pattinson and Damon spent long stretches of filming parked next to each other, which apparently gave Pattinson a front row seat to something he never expected to hear.
According to Pattinson, the noise coming from Damon’s trailer sounded less like an actor prepping and more like an emergency in progress. “Matt was in the trailer next to me and he was making these noises,” Pattinson said. “He is such a nice guy… I thought he was on the phone and I thought he was a complete psycho. He was just screaming and screaming and screaming.”
The actor admitted his mind went to some strange places trying to explain the sounds. “I thought he was having a really bad toilet experience,” Pattinson continued, clearly still amused by the memory.
It turns out Damon’s screaming had nothing to do with a phone call or a bathroom emergency at all. He was simply blowing his voice out on purpose so he could sound older and more battle worn as the war weary Odysseus. Pattinson couldn’t help but marvel at the commitment. “He was just blowing his voice out just to sound older. Like, really, you’re taking years off your life by doing this.”
Tom Holland noticed the same unusual routine and praised his co-star’s prep work as amazing rather than alarming once he understood what was actually happening. The vocal training lines up with just how far Damon pushed himself physically for the role. He revealed on a podcast appearance that he trimmed down to 167 pounds during filming, a weight he hadn’t hit since high school, after Nolan told him he wanted the character lean but strong. Damon credited a strict diet and heavy training for the transformation, noting he normally walks around between 185 and 200 pounds.
This marks the first time Damon and Pattinson have worked together on screen, even though both have history with Nolan individually. Damon previously starred in Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ as General Leslie Groves, while Pattinson co-led Nolan’s ‘Tenet.’ ‘The Odyssey’ opens in theaters July 17 from Universal Pictures.
Do you think Matt Damon's dedication deserves an Oscar?
Between the screaming, the drastic weight loss, and Holland getting swept up in the same confusion, it sounds like Damon’s dedication turned his trailer into its own small horror movie before ‘The Odyssey’ ever hit theaters. Would you have thought your neighbor was having a meltdown too, or does this just make you respect Damon’s commitment even more?
