Tom Holland Reveals the Matt Damon Advice That Changed Everything on The Odyssey Set

So, Tom Holland has been talking about his time filming The Odyssey, and it sounds like he got a front-row seat to the Matt Damon School of Movie Star Behavior. If you were wondering what it actually feels like to tag along on a big-budget Greek epic, Tom's story delivers the goods (and, honestly, a peek at why Matt Damon has his 'nice guy' rep locked down).

A Mythic Production, Down to Earth On Set

First, a little setup: this isn’t your average throwback adaptation. The Odyssey is Christopher Nolan's take on Homer, so expect sweeping shots, heavy-duty emotional turbulence, and apparently, a long list of A-listers you’d expect to see at the Oscars, not marooned on a Mediterranean island. We’re talking Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Elliot Page, Mia Goth, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong'o, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, and Robert Pattinson. (I know, the credits alone need their own boat.) Nolan’s swinging for the fences here, and Universal is aiming for a July 17, 2026, release.

Tom’s Take: Learning from Damon

Tom Holland plays Telemachus, which fits, since he’s acting opposite Matt Damon, naturally cast as Odysseus — aka Tom’s on-screen dad. According to Tom, that surrogate father/son thing rolled right off the script and onto the set. He told GQ that he and Damon spent a ton of time together during shooting, and the experience lived up to the hype. Or, as Tom put it:

'We spent so much time together, and what I’m really grateful for with Matt is that he is exactly what I would have hoped he would be like. He was a leader.'

Holland went on to say that filming was pretty brutal at times, but Damon was always the hardest worker in the room — and never got cranky about it. Instead, every day he’d show up, joke around, and be genuinely nice to everyone, from fellow actors to the crew trying to wrangle sunburned extras on the beaches of ‘ancient Greece’. Tom clearly took notes, calling Damon 'gracious and so kind,' adding that he set the vibe for the entire cast and crew.

And about that ‘words of wisdom’ headline? Tom's holding those cards close to his chest — he says he won't repeat the actual advice Damon gave him, but it's pretty clear there were some meaningful heart-to-hearts, and that he learned just as much by watching Damon do his thing as by anything said out loud.

Who’s Who in the Epic

• Matt Damon: Odysseus (the original hero gone rogue for a decade)
• Tom Holland: Telemachus (Odysseus’s long-lost son)
• Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Elliot Page, Mia Goth, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong'o, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Robert Pattinson: If you can guess who’s playing which Greek god, monster, or unhelpful relative, you probably deserve a producer credit

Tune In July 2026

Bottom line: Holland gets a masterclass from Matt Damon, Nolan gets a star stack that could capsize a trireme, and the rest of us get to watch another one of those Hollywood fever dreams come alive in a couple years. It’s a lot — even for a story that starts with a ten-year detour on the way home from war. If anything else leaks before 2026, you’ll hear about it here.