‘The Odyssey’ Cast Guide: Who’s Playing Who in Christopher Nolan’s Epic

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Tom Holland, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in The Odyssey

From Oscar, Emmy, and Tony winners to frequent collaborators of the director, first-timers and even a rapper, The Hollywood Reporter breaks down all the stars and the characters they play in his adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek poem.

The Odyssey has arrived, and with it comes a star-studded cast of Hollywood A-listers.

Following the success of Christopher Nolan’s 2023 blockbuster Oppenheimer, which earned him his first Academy Awards for best director and best picture, audiences eagerly awaited the filmmaker’s next project. Nolan’s follow-up was revealed to be an adaptation of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, which follows Greek king Odysseus on his 10-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War as he attempts to reunite with his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus.

For the ambitious adaptation, Nolan assembled a mix of longtime collaborators, including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson, alongside actors making their first film with the director. While some casting choices sparked pre-release discussion, Nolan dismissed the backlash as “irrelevant” before audiences had even seen the movie.

Now that The Odyssey is in theaters, The Hollywood Reporter breaks down the film’s all-star cast, the characters they portray and the actors bringing Homer’s ancient Greek epic to life in the first feature film shot entirely with Imax 70mm film cameras.

Matt Damon as Odysseus

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Matt Damon portrays the king of Ithaca, Odysseus, who was the mastermind behind the Trojan Horse ploy that ended the Trojan War. Alongside his crew, Odysseus attempts to return home but comes across gods, sorceresses, giants and other obstacles along the way.

Damon has called the role “the role of a lifetime,” revealing that he spent six months preparing both mentally and physically, including following a strict diet that cut out gluten and alcohol. He also described the film as “definitely the hardest movie I’ve ever done.” The Odyssey marks Damon’s third collaboration with Nolan after Interstellar and Oppenheimer.

With more than 80 film credits to his name, Damon won an Oscar for best original screenplay for Good Will Hunting (1997), which he co-wrote with his real-life best friend and frequent collaborator Ben Affleck. His other acclaimed performances include The Martian, The Departed, the Bourne franchise and Saving Private Ryan.
Anne Hathaway as Penelope

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Anne Hathaway plays Queen Penelope, the wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus. Believing Odysseus to be dead after years away from Ithaca, Penelope refuses to remarry despite relentless pressure from her suitors.

This movie marks Hathaway’s third collaboration with Nolan, following The Dark Knight Rises (2012), in which she played Selina Kyle/Catwoman, and Interstellar (2014), where she starred opposite Matthew McConaughey. Speaking recently on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Hathaway joked that while filming The Odyssey she worried, “I hope I didn’t, like, say anything while we were in space.”

The Oscar winner, who earned the Academy Award for best supporting actress for Les Misérables, is also known for The Princess Diaries films, Ella Enchanted, Brokeback Mountain, The Devil Wears Prada and The Devil Wears Prada 2, Get Smart, Bride Wars, Alice in Wonderland, Love & Other Drugs, The Intern, Ocean’s Eight, WeCrashed, The Idea of You and Mother Mary. Later this year, she’ll star in Verity, based on the Colleen Hoover novel and The End of Oak Street, opposite Ewan McGregor.
Tom Holland as Telemachus

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Tom Holland plays Telemachus, the son of Odysseus and Penelope. Throughout the story, Telemachus is on a journey of self-discovery as he comes of age. This is the 30-year-old’s first Nolan film and he recently said of the role: “It felt like the last chance in my career to sort of play a boy.”

Holland became a household name as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring in four standalone films beginning in 2017, as well as several other Marvel movies. Outside of the superhero franchise, he’s starred in The Impossible, In the Heart of the Sea, The Lost City of Z, Uncharted and The Devil All the Time alongside The Odyssey co-star Robert Pattinson, as well as the Apple TV+ series The Crowded Room.
Zendaya as Athena

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Zendaya plays Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare who serves as a protector of Odysseus (Matt Damon) throughout his journey home. The Odyssey marks her first collaboration with Nolan, and she revealed that she learned she had been cast in the film from her fiancé, Tom Holland.

The actress rose to fame as a child star on Disney Channel before becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. She has since appeared in The Greatest Showman, the Spider-Man films, three seasons of Euphoria — for which she won two Emmy Awards — the Dune films, Challengers and The Drama alongside Odyssey co-star Robert Pattinson.
Robert Pattinson as Antinous

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Robert Pattinson plays Antinous, the main antagonist among Penelope’s suitors. He leads the group trying to convince Penelope to marry him while plotting to kill her son, Telemachus.

Pattinson previously worked with Nolan in Tenet (2020), starring as Neil opposite John David Washington. He first gained recognition as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire before becoming a teen heartthrob as Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise. After Twilight, he shifted toward indie films including Good Time, The Lighthouse, The King, The Devil All the Time, Mickey 17, Die, My Love and The Drama. He also stars as Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ The Batman and is currently filming the sequel, due in theaters on Feb. 18, 2028.

Next, Pattinson will star in Dune: Part Three and Primetime, portraying former To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen.
John Leguizamo as Eumaeus

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John Leguizamo plays Eumaeus, Odysseus’ loyal, nearly blind swineherd who protects the hero’s estate and family while he is lost at sea.

His other credits include Moulin Rouge!, Romeo + Juliet and Spawn, as well as voice roles in Encanto, Zootopia 2 and the Ice Age films, where he voices Sid the Sloth.
Charlize Theron as Calypso

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Charlize Theron portrays the immortal sea nymph Calypso, who lives on the mythical island of Ogygia. After Odysseus becomes stranded there, she keeps him captive for seven years, delaying his return to Ithaca.

While The Odyssey marks Theron’s first collaboration with Nolan, it reunites her with Matt Damon 26 years after they starred together in The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000). Theron won the Academy Award for best actress for her transformative performance in Monster (2003), which also earned her Golden Globe and SAG Awards and later received Oscar nominations for North Country and Bombshell. Her credits also include The Devil’s Advocate, Mad Max: Fury Road, Snow White and the Huntsman, Atomic Blonde, Tully and Apex.
Samantha Morton as Circe

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Samantha Morton plays Circe, the powerful sorceress who lives on the secluded island of Aeaea and encounters Odysseus and his men on their journey home. Nolan singled out Morton’s performance in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, comparing its impact on The Odyssey to Heath Ledger’s in The Dark Knight.

“This was a massive film, and she is someone who comes in and changes the dynamic,” Nolan said. “In some weird way, the film lived or died over that character. She was the fulcrum.” He added that after one of Morton’s takes, the crew gave her a standing ovation — the first time that had happened since Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight.

The two-time Oscar nominee, recognized for In America and Sweet and Lowdown, is also known for Minority Report, Synecdoche, New York, The Messenger, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Harlots, The Walking Dead, The Whale, She Said and The Serpent Queen.
Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy/Clytemnestra

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Lupita Nyong’o portrays two characters in Nolan’s epic: Helen of Troy, whose said to have “the face that launched 1,000 ships,” and is the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta (Jon Bernthal), as well as Clytemnestra, Helen’s sister and the wife of Agamemnon (Benny Safdie), the king of Mycenae who led the Greek army during the Trojan War. The Hollywood Reporter exclusively broke the news of Nyong’o joining the project.

The Odyssey marks Nyong’o’s first collaboration with Nolan. She won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her performance in 12 Years a Slave and is also known for A Quiet Place: Day One, Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the Star Wars sequel trilogy and Jordan Peele’s Us, in which she also played two roles.
Jon Bernthal as Menelaus

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Jon Bernthal makes his Nolan debut as Menelaus, the King of Sparta, who fought alongside Odysseus in the Trojan War. Menelaus is the brother of Benny Safdie’s Agamemnon and husband of Lupita Nyong’o’s Helen of Troy. Fans will also hear Bernthal deliver his signature “Let me tell you something” catchphrase, popularized by his role on The Walking Dead.

In The Hollywood Reporter‘s cover story this week, Bernthal recalled filming the Trojan Horse sequence in ice-cold water. Nolan offered to let him get out, but Bernthal refused, shouting back, “You ain’t breaking me, Chris. There’s nothing you can do to break me.”

Bernthal’s TV credits include The Walking Dead, The Punisher, Daredevil, American Gigolo and his Emmy-winning performance in The Bear. His film credits include The Wolf of Wall Street, Sicario, Ford v Ferrari, Origin and Sharp Stick. Earlier this year, he co-wrote and starred in special installments of The Bear and The Punisher, appeared on Broadway in Dog Day Afternoon and will next reprise the Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day alongside The Odyssey co-star Tom Holland.
Benny Safdie as Agamemnon

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Benny Safdie plays Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae who led the Greeks to victory in the Trojan War. The Odyssey reunites Safdie with Nolan after he portrayed physicist Edward Teller, often called the “father of the hydrogen bomb,” in Oppenheimer.

Safdie is best known for his filmmaking partnership with his brother, Josh Safdie. Together they co-directed Daddy Longlegs, Heaven Knows What, Good Time — in which Safdie also starred alongside The Odyssey cast member Robert Pattinson — and Uncut Gems. He made his solo directorial debut with The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.
Bill Irwin as Polyphemus

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Bill Irwin plays Polyphemus, the one-eyed Cyclops and son of Poseidon. Using his puppetry and theater background, Irwin operated and voiced the man-eating giant, who is blinded by Odysseus and his men as they attempt to escape his cave.

The role reunites Irwin with Nolan after he voiced and operated the beloved robot TARS in 2014’s Interstellar. His other credits include Rachel Getting Married with The Odyssey star Anne Hathaway and the Jim Carrey-led How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Irwin also won a Tony Award in 2005 for his performance in Broadway’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Travis Scott as Demodocus

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Rapper Travis Scott opens and closes The Odyssey, narrating Odysseus’ journey and becoming the first voice and face audiences see in the film. The role marks Scott’s acting debut, though he previously collaborated with Nolan on the soundtrack for 2020’s Tenet, which starred The Odyssey cast member Robert Pattinson.

Nolan explained to Time why he cast Scott, saying, “I wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap.”

Scott also recorded the original song “When I’m Home” for the film’s closing credits alongside James Blake, with production from Odyssey composer Ludwig Göransson. Nolan is credited as a co-writer on the track.
Elliot Page as Sinon

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Elliot Page plays Sinon, a Greek soldier who plays a major part in the Trojan Horse deception. While Sinon is not mentioned in Homer’s original epic, the character’s story is told in Virgil’s epic poem The Aeneid.

Page’s appearance in The Odyssey comes 16 years after he starred in Nolan’s 2010 film Inception. The actor is also an Oscar nominee, earning a nomination for his performance in the 2007 comedy Juno. His other credits include X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy.
Mia Goth as Melantho

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Mia Goth portrays Melantho, Penelope’s disloyal maidservant. She sides with the suitors and has an affair with Robert Pattinson’s Antinous, who is trying to marry Penelope and seize the throne of Ithaca. The Odyssey marks Goth’s first collaboration with Nolan.

Goth is best known as one of horror’s modern Scream Queens, starring in Ti West’s X, Pearl and MaXXXine, as well as Suspiria (2018), Infinity Pool and Frankenstein.
Himesh Patel as Eurylochus

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Himesh Patel plays Eurylochus, who is second-in-command to Odysseus. Patel reunited with Nolan for the film after appearing in his 2020 movie Tenet, joining several other The Odyssey cast members who have previously worked with the director.

The British actor’s other credits include Yesterday, Station Eleven and Don’t Look Up. He will also appear in Ryan Coogler’s upcoming X-Files reboot.
Logan Marshall-Green as Melanthiu

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Logan Marshall-Green plays Melanthius, Penelope’s disloyal servant, who mocks Odysseus when he returns to Ithaca disguised as a beggar and later arms the suitors against the king. Marshall-Green took over the role from Cosmo Jarvis, who exited the film because of scheduling conflicts.

Marshall-Green is known for playing Trey Atwood, Ryan Atwood’s troubled older brother, in season two of Fox’s The O.C. His other credits include The Invitation, Upgrade, And Just Like That… and, most recently, Taylor Sheridan’s Marshals.