Matt Damon has confessed to a first-day blunder on Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey that still makes him wince: letting his wardrobe handler haul his heavy armor up a mountainside while every other actor carried their own.
“I got to the top, and then I saw the guy handling my wardrobe, Corey, coming up the hill carrying my armour,” Damon revealed on BBC Radio 2’s Sara Cox Breakfast Show. “I felt like such a… I can’t say what I felt like, there are families listening, but I felt like a jerk!”
The First-Day Mistake in Greece
Damon explained the setup: the film’s far-flung locations meant days often began with a serious trek. “The first day in Greece, we were up shooting in a cave and had a 20 to 25 minute hike,” he said, admitting, “I am so used to a hair and wardrobe person carrying your costume.”
The mortification compounded at the summit. The actors playing his crew members appeared moments later, each wearing their own armour for the ascent, so the wardrobe team wouldn’t have to carry it, leaving Odysseus himself as the lone exception.
‘That Will Never Happen Again’
Damon’s response was immediate contrition. “I felt awful. I apologised profusely to Corey and said that it would never happen again,” he said.
He kept his word, adopting the ensemble’s method for the rest of the shoot: “So we would get kitted up and then just go.” He added that the production ran on total equality: “You’re out there, and there’s no special treatment for anybody… If you’re cold and wet, I turn, and he’s just as cold and wet and is hiking up the mountain. We are all in the same boat.”
Part of a Famously Brutal Shoot
Damon’s story slots into a growing anthology of Odyssey hardship tales. He told Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast the epic was “the hardest film I’ve ever done”, while Tom Holland has described daily mountain treks and rope systems just to reach set.
The exception, famously, was Anne Hathaway, who revealed she was helicoptered to locations because her intricate Penelope costume couldn’t survive a sweaty hike, earning a playful roasting from Holland. Nolan even gamified the climbs, offering prizes to whoever summited fastest.
Nolan’s ‘Superhero’ Odysseus
The director has explained why Damon, his collaborator on Interstellar and Oppenheimer, was his immediate choice for the Greek king: an ability to pull audiences into a character’s predicament while projecting “an iconic, frankly, superhero presence”, plus a willingness to endure the grueling production without complaint.
The Odyssey, also starring Hathaway, Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, and Charlize Theron, arrives in theaters and IMAX on July 17, having weathered online debates over its casting, modern dialogue, and Bronze Age accuracy on its way to becoming the year’s most anticipated release.
Matt Damon says he felt awful after realizing he was the only actor letting the wardrobe team carry his armor on “The Odyssey”
“The first day we were in Greece, we were shooting up in a cave.”
“It was about a 20, 25-minute hike.”
“I got to the top.”“And then I saw the guy… pic.twitter.com/H4fsaGY5Pq
— agim𓍯 (@aGim_asf) July 12, 2026
FAQ
What blunder did Matt Damon make on The Odyssey?
On day one in Greece, he let wardrobe handler Corey carry his armor up a 20-25 minute hike, then discovered every other actor had worn theirs to spare the crew.
How did Damon react?
He apologized profusely, promised “that will never happen again,” and wore his kit on every subsequent trek.
Where did he tell the story?
On BBC Radio 2’s Sara Cox Breakfast Show during the film’s press tour.
How tough was The Odyssey shoot?
Damon calls it the hardest film he’s ever made, with remote locations requiring long climbs and, per Nolan’s rule, no special treatment for anyone.
When does The Odyssey come out?
July 17, 2026, in theaters and IMAX worldwide.
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Last Updated on July 13, 2026 by 247 News Around The World
