Only One Odyssey Star Insisted On Reading Christopher Nolan’s Script Before Signing
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is loaded with A-listers, but Robert Pattinson says he was the only one who insisted on reading the script before signing on. In a new interview, he explains why he needed a peek at the pages first.
Christopher Nolan is going classic again, this time adapting Homer’s The Odyssey for the big screen. Now, as you’d expect from Nolan, he’s lined up an absolutely ridiculous cast for it. But out of that A-list pile-on, there’s one star who apparently did the unthinkable (at least by Hollywood standards): he actually asked to read the script before saying yes.
Who’s In (and Who Checked the Fine Print)?
Let’s quickly run through the roster:
- Matt Damon as Odysseus (Nolan mainstay—of course)
- Anne Hathaway as Penelope
- Tom Holland as their son, presumably Telemachus
- Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Charlize Theron, Zendaya, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page—to name a few more
If you’re spotting a trend, yes, the film is rammed with some of the biggest and busiest actors working today. Most of them, it turns out, happily agreed to clamber aboard Nolan’s Greek epic without batting an eyelid.
Pattinson’s Bold Move
Robert Pattinson, lately of The Batman (and, less recently but never forgotten, Twilight), shared a little backstory during a chat with GQ. When Nolan rang him up to offer a part, Pattinson apparently broke with tradition:
'I was like, "Yeah, can’t wait to read it." He’s like, "You want to read it? Everyone else just said yes,"' Pattinson laughed.
Funniest part? Apparently, Pattinson was the only one who even asked to see the script first. Everyone else just heard 'Nolan' and immediately cleared their schedules. No pressure, Rob.
After reading it, Pattinson did end up joining the film. He’s playing Antinous, one of the rather dodgy suitors trying to shoehorn his way into Penelope’s life while Odysseus is off on his endless journey. (If you remember your secondary-school English lessons, you’ll recall Antinous doesn’t exactly come out smelling of roses.)
Nolan’s Next Epic
The film is locked in for a cinema release on 17 July, 2026. That gives them plenty of time to wrangle this monster of a story—and possibly squeeze in a few more cameos along the way.