Why The Odyssey Star Calls Christopher Nolan's New Epic a Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience
Mia Goth says filming The Odyssey was profound, stoking anticipation for an epic with real emotional heft.
Christopher Nolan making a straight-up Ancient Greek epic still feels like a fever dream, but here we are. And based on what the cast is saying, The Odyssey sounds like a massive, all-in production with actual sand, saltwater, and a Trojan horse big enough to make grown movie stars swear.
Mia Goth is very, very into this movie
Mia Goth says working on The Odyssey was next-level for her. She called it one of the great experiences of her life and kept coming back to how Nolan runs a set and trusts his actors. That last part clearly stuck with her.
'That was one of the greatest experiences of my life. It really was. It was profound... I took a lot from that. The trust that he has in actors was enlightening.'
Goth is playing Melantho, the maid closest to Penelope back home in Ithaca. Translation: while Odysseus is off getting cursed by gods and trying to make it back from the Trojan War, Penelope is holding down the fort and batting away a parade of suitors. Melantho is right there in the middle of that mess.
What Nolan is actually making
The Odyssey follows Odysseus, King of Ithaca, as he tries to get home from Troy. It is a 10-year slog, and the gods are not exactly helping. Expect shipwrecks, monsters, divine pettiness, and a hero who just wants to get back to his family.
The cast is stacked
- Matt Damon as Odysseus
- Anne Hathaway as Penelope
- Tom Holland as Telemachus (their son)
- Mia Goth as Melantho (Penelope's favorite maid)
- Robert Pattinson, Jon Bernthal, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, and Charlize Theron in undisclosed roles
The on-set hype is real
It is not just Goth. Damon has been raving too, calling it the best time he has ever had on a job. He also dropped a very specific detail that sounds like classic Nolan: a giant practical Trojan horse on an actual beach.
'I can say, without hyperbole, that it was the best experience of my career... I saw the [Trojan] horse on the beach and I was just like, 'Fuck.' It was just so cool.'
When you can see it
The Odyssey hits theaters on July 17.