Matt Damon says The Odyssey proved “challenging” for the entire cast, insisting none of the Hollywood stars received any preferential treatment.
Equal Footing
The 55-year-old actor starred alongside the likes of Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron in Christopher Nolan’s Greek epic. He says they were all on an equal footing and faced the “storm” together.
He told People, “If you’re out on a boat in the middle of the ocean and you get caught in a storm, you get wet with everybody else.”
“Nobody’s getting a hot beverage that you’re not getting. You know what I mean? Everybody’s on equal footing, including Chris, who was just as cold and wet as everybody else throughout the whole thing.”
Matt Damon continued, “So that made it feel like we were really all in it together, because we were. I do feel really bonded with everybody who was on that movie, cast and crew, because it was so challenging for everyone.”
Guidance from Nolan
Even after decades in the movie business, the Oscar winner can feel “uncomfortable” on set sometimes, and he praised Nolan for always being on hand to offer his guidance.
He said, “When you’re uncomfortable – and you are most of the time, physically, just by nature of what’s required to get these shots – if you turn and look over your shoulder, [Nolan’s] no more than five feet away and doing the same thing without complaint.”
“There’s something really nice about being a soldier in the foxhole and looking over and the general is right next to you.”
“Ruthless” Movie Industry
Meanwhile, Matt Damon recently blamed the “ruthless” and “uncertain” movie industry for taking him away from fatherhood “more than [he’d] like.”
The actor has four daughters, Alexia, 26, Isabella, 19, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15, with his wife, Luciana Barroso, 49, and he is “really trying” to spend more time with his children nowadays.
He told GQ magazine, “I think about it a lot, especially as my kids are getting older: really trying to be here now. And it’s hard for me to do that. And I think maybe that has to do with my own nature.”
“It also has to do with this career where you’re always trying to figure out what’s ahead because it’s such an uncertain business and a pretty ruthless one.”
The Oppenheimer star believes the uncertainty of Hollywood has “conspired” to take him away from family time over the years.