‘Everybody’s on equal footing’: Matt Damon reveals he got ‘no special treatment’ in ‘The Odyssey’ set, and neither did Christopher Nolan himself

Matt Damon recently shared that there was absolutely “no special treatment” on the set of The Odyssey. The film is set to hit theaters on July 17, and it sounds like the cast and crew went through some truly intense conditions to bring this ancient story to life. Even though the movie features a roster of Hollywood heavyweights, Damon says the environment remained entirely egalitarian throughout the entire shoot.

The actor, 55, recently opened up about the experience of filming the adaptation of Homer’s epic. When you consider the scale of a production like this, it is easy to assume that big stars might get pampered, but Damon says that was not the case here. “There was no special treatment,” the actor tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview. He explained that the nature of the shoot, which involved being out on the water, leveled the playing field for everyone involved.

“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,” he said. It is fascinating to think about how these A-list actors, who are used to being in high-demand roles, were essentially forced to deal with the elements just like any other member of the crew. Damon noted that the shared discomfort actually helped build a sense of camaraderie that might not have happened otherwise.

Matt Damon is taking on the title role of Odysseus

He went on to say, “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.” By Chris, he is referring to the director, Christopher Nolan, 55.

Nolan is fresh off his 2024 Academy Award wins for Best Picture and Best Achievement in Directing for the 2023 film Oppenheimer. He is well known for his commitment to practical filmmaking in projects like Inception, Interstellar, and Tenet.

Damon explained that this shared struggle created a unique bond among the people on set. “So that made it feel like we were really all in it together, because we were,” he added. “I do feel really bonded with everybody who was on that movie, cast and crew, because it was so challenging for everyone.” It sounds like the intensity of the environment was a major factor in how the team came together.

The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, and follows his 10-year journey home after the Trojan War. The narrative is based on the ancient Greek poem of the same name, which unfolds across 24 non-linear books.

Matt Damon is taking on the title role of Odysseus, and he is joined by a packed cast. The list includes Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, and Charlize Theron. The ensemble also features Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Jesse Garcia, Will Yun Lee, Rafi Gavron, Shiloh Fernandez, and Mia Goth.

According to Damon, the production process itself was quite the ordeal. “Every single day of filming that movie stands out because it felt more like an expedition than a film,” he noted. He emphasized that the difficulty of the shoot was necessary to achieve the specific vision Nolan had for the movie. “It was so difficult to get the shots that we got, the way that we got them, that it really required every single person on that cast and crew to just completely max out day after day after day,” he said.

Damon has a lot of respect, clearly, for the work that everyone put in. “I came away from that experience just feeling really lucky and grateful that I got to be a part of a team like that, because it never could have worked if everybody hadn’t completely just pushed themselves beyond what they thought they could do,” he explained.

“So I’m really excited for people to see it. It’s worth their money for what it took for us to make it. You’ll be getting your money’s worth,” he said. Aside from his work on this film, Damon has also been busy with his philanthropic work, having recently launched a new initiative called Get Blue with his nonprofit, Water.org.