Samantha Morton On Why She “Hasn’t Worked For A Year” Since ‘The Odyssey’ & Why She Was “Sad” & “Hurt” After Getting “Fired” From ‘Her’

Samantha Morton is opening up about not working after filming Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.

In a new interview, Morton revealed she had been out of work for a year following her role of Circe, a witch and goddess on the island of Aeaea, in the epic film.

“I haven’t worked for a year since making The Odyssey,” Morton said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, noting that she has “really good agents and a manager.”

She continued, “But at the end of the day, I’m 49. I do believe I’m a good actor, [but] there are other good actors out there. Do you know what I mean? So, the politics of the industry has changed massively.”

Morton also revealed what it was like to be cut from Spike Jonze’s Her, the role that ultimately went to Scarlett Johansson.

“I have to say, I think my version of Samantha was very… she’s English,” Morton said. “It was just very, very different. And I think Scarlett Johansson has a beautiful voice. She’s incredibly evocative.”

The 2023 film revolved around Theodor Twombly, played by Joaquin Phoenix, who develops a relationship with the voice assistant. Morton read Samantha’s lines on set with Phoenix, but they were replaced with Johansson’s voice in post-production.

Morton recalls she was “sad,” adding, “It does hurt when you’re fired from something or before it. I don’t know. What I’d have wished for was another chance in a booth to do an American accent. But I think, you know, Scarlett Johansson! I mean, come on.”

Since wrapping production on The Odyssey, Morton has been cast in several projects. In April, Deadline reported she would star in the rescue thriller Love and War, which is set to be directed by Lisa Mulcahy, who will also co-write the script alongside Elisabeth Gooch.

Furthermore, Morton is also set to star in Amazon’s crime thriller, Dirty, alongside Phoebe Dynevor. The series follows trainee Detective Eva Bennett, played by Dynevor, who returns to Manchester and joins a new homicide investigation run by her fearsome estranged mother – the legendary Detective Chief Inspector Lois Mercer, played by Morton. As they navigate their complicated relationship and long-buried truths resurface, Eva starts to uncover Lois’ crimes, forcing an impossible choice between justice and blood.

Watch Samantha Morton’s full interview in the video below.