Experts defend The Odyssey’s Helen casting and Tom Holland’s dad line — here’s why the outrage misses the point
Homer translator Emily Wilson, whose work reportedly informed Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, is backing the film’s bold swings — from Helen’s casting to Tom Holland’s dad line — saying they’re true to the language and spirit of the epic.
If you care about ancient Greece, Christopher Nolan films, or just people getting weirdly upset online, this one‘s for you. Nolan‘s in the middle of building The Odyssey for the big screen, and, somewhat predictably, a handful of his casting and language choices have got the internet in a flap. Instead of letting the noise carry the day, we‘ve got proper academic backup weighing in – and honestly, it clears up a lot of the fuss.
A Greek Epic – But Make It Modern
Emily Wilson, a British-American classicist whose English translation of Homer‘s Odyssey is about as acclaimed as you can get, recently sat down with Vulture and gave her take on Nolan‘s creative decisions. She knows her stuff: Wilson is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and basically writes the textbooks for this sort of thing.
According to Wilson, Nolan didn‘t just pluck ideas out of thin air. He actually read a stack of different translations, including hers, while prepping for the film. But this being 2026, the drama isn‘t about ancient poetry – it‘s about the language and who‘s playing whom.
The 'Dad' Debate
One moment in particular is winding people up. Telemachus (played by Tom Holland) calls Odysseus 'dad' in a scene, and for reasons only known to the internet, this is apparently a bridge too far. Critics say it feels too modern, too... normal.
Wilson‘s response? Calm down, basically. As she sees it, 'It‘s actually fine.' The film‘s in English, not Ancient Greek, so tossing in a bit of everyday modern lingo isn‘t really a crime. It's not like Hollywood has ever been big on strict poetic metre, either. If you want true authenticity, you‘re going to have a pretty short trip at your local cinema, because nobody's using hexameter.
Getting behind the language a bit, Wilson explains that Ancient Greek actually has several terms for ‘father’, with some more intimate than others. There‘s 'táta' – basically their version of 'daddy'. Interestingly, in the original text, Telemachus doesn‘t use that particularly cuddly term with Odysseus – he saves it for a servant who‘s a father figure. Nolan seems to have switched things around for his film, and Wilson points out it‘s a legit choice, just a different take from Homer.
Lupita Nyong'o's Double Duty
Next up in the hot takes: Lupita Nyong'o playing both Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. No, it‘s not a typo, and yes, it's deliberate. Wilson says having one actor play both makes perfect sense on a symbolic level. In the mythology, Helen and Clytemnestra are sisters, and together with their cousin Penelope, they make up a sort of trinity: all elite women, but each with a very different approach to marriage, war, and what husbands get up to when they're away. As Wilson puts it, those choices set up interesting parallels between all three, especially in the poem itself.