The Odyssey has an absolutely stacked cast full of both long-time Christopher Nolan collaborators and new additions to the troupe. To play Odysseus and Penelope, Nolan and his go-to casting director, John Papsidera, turned to a pair of familiar faces: Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway, who perfectly embodied the filmmaker’s unique take on the famous epic poem.
But when he set out to cast their son, Telemachus, Nolan opted for a new face, although one that audiences will still recognize. Tom Holland of Spider-Man fame plays the crucial role in The Odyssey, and in a new behind-the-scenes book, Filming the Odyssey: Inside the Making of Christopher Nolan’s Modern Epic, the director explains why he chose Peter Parker to play the prince of Ithaca. Polygon has an exclusive preview from a section focused on the casting process.
“He was able to tap into that boyish enthusiasm in the early parts, that idealism about who his father is, what’s going on, and then really chart that passage into maturity and adulthood and a little bit of the darkness that comes with that jaded quality,” Nolan says. “I mean, he’s in such a good place in his life and career to take on this part at this time.”
In other words, Holland (30) had the exact right look to play the 20-year-old Telemachus, even if the actor has admitted he thought the character was supposed to be closer to 16.
There’s also a second reason Nolan cast Holland, and it may come down to his Spider-Man movies. In the book, the director notes that Holland has “an incredible ability to absorb choreography, to modify fight moves in the moment, to take direction.” In other words, he could perform complex fight scenes, which is ironic since Nolan actually changed the plot of Homer’s Odyssey so that Telemachus largely doesn’t participate in the final bloodbath in Ithaca after Odysseus returns home.
In the same section of Filming the Odyssey, Holland offers his own perspective on the character and what makes it a great role.
“For me, as Telemachus, it’s a coming-of-age story,” he says. “It’s about a young kid from boy to man. It’s about this insatiable need to find his father and ultimately succeeding. It’s about protecting his mother. It’s about growing up and coming to realize who he is in this crazy world.”
Ahead of the Aug. 25 publish date, check out a few more pages from Filming the Odyssey: Inside the Making of Christopher Nolan’s Modern Epic below with insights on the casting of Damon, Hathaway, and Robert Pattinson.
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