For the role of King Odysseus in Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer, Matt Damon brought himself down to around 167 pounds, his weight from his school days. Losing weight wasn't a major problem for the actor. However, there's another physical transformation he strictly rules out for the future: gaining weight for a role is something Damon never wants to do again.
"I didn't do it in an unhealthy way", he emphasizes in conversation with the US magazine "People". "If I had done the opposite and gained weight, that would have been dangerous, and I don't do that anymore. Earlier in my life, I was happy to do that."
Not a Pound Too Much for the King
Instead of piling on pounds, the role of the ruler sung about by Homer required going in the other direction. Damon cut gluten from his diet, "among other things". But above all, he wanted to get into absolute peak physical condition, which meant a complete overhaul of his diet and lifestyle: "You have to be very, very conscious about everything you consume."
In the epic, Damon embodies a tormented hero who, after the Trojan War, wanders the seas for two decades to find his way back to his wife (played by Anne Hathaway) and his son (Tom Holland). On his journey, Odysseus defies raging storms and escapes from a Cyclops.
A Shoot Like an Expedition
Filming took place at locations in Iceland, Scotland, Greece, Italy, and Morocco. For Damon, it was the most demanding job of his career so far: "This film was by far the toughest and most challenging I've ever been involved with", he says. Everyone involved was pushed completely to their limits.
"It really felt more like an expedition than a film shoot", recalls the Oscar winner. Anyone who was freezing cold and wet only had to turn around: "Then you saw that Chris was just as freezing and wet and was going through the same thing." He's referring to director Nolan, who evidently didn't shy away from the hardships.
