Matt Damon’s The Odyssey stunt double reveals the brutal training behind those action scenes
Matt Damon’s The Odyssey stunt double has revealed the gruelling regimen behind a strong performance in the film — but what did it actually take to get there?
For the Laestrygonians sequence in The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan scaled the action the old-fashioned way: he put 7-foot performers in as the giants and hired smaller stunt doubles to play Odysseus and his crew. That’s where Devyn Dalton came in, matching Matt Damon beat for beat as his double while darting between towering adversaries — all captured in camera.
Dalton, 4-foot-5, faced down 7-foot stuntmen in the giants battle — no green screen required.
Dalton told the New York Post the sequence was “movie magic” built on forced perspective — the same technique Damon described in a recent sit-down with interviewer Josh Horowitz, where he explained how Nolan positioned performers and the camera to make Odysseus’ men look tiny next to the Laestrygonians. The approach let the production keep computers out of the frame and the danger right in front of the lens.
Training to double Damon
Dalton says she stays combat-ready year-round because stunt calls can come without warning. Her weekly mix is designed to cover agility, power and on-set safety.
- Yoga — flexibility and injury prevention
- Weight conditioning — strength and endurance
- Boxing — timing, footwork and reaction
- Weapons practice — choreography and control
She added to the Post that landing a job like this isn’t about one audition; it’s the result of years of building trust with coordinators and filmmakers so they know you can deliver when the cameras roll.
Getting the job — and the props
Damon has publicly praised Dalton’s work on the film and, in a separate recent remark, reportedly joked she has the greatest arms he’s ever seen. Dalton’s response has been pure gratitude for the shout-out and the chance to show what she can do at blockbuster scale.
She also pushed back on assumptions that stunt work is a guys-only lane, noting there are plenty of women doing the job — and doing it well — even if recognition can still be hard-won.
Dalton, 34, has been taking hits and throwing them on camera since 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes.