The Odyssey Isn't 100% Matt Damon's Bulging Biceps — for One Scene His Stunt Double Was a Woman Who Had 'The Greatest Arms I've Ever Seen'

Matt Damon’s bulging biceps are connected afloat show successful The Odyssey, but it turns retired that successful 1 country we're seeing the awesome arms of a pistillate stunt treble instead.

Warning! The Odyssey spoilers follow…

The Odyssey, written and directed by Christopher Nolan, is an adaptation of the past Greek poem by Homer. In Homer’s Odyssey, the Laestrygonians are a people of elephantine cannibals who devour Odysseus’ crew. In Nolan’s The Odyssey, the giants look benignant of similar medieval knights, wearing armor and wielding swords. Odysseus and his unit stumble upon them, recognize they’re successful superior trouble, past tally distant to their boats. In the hopeless escape, the giants chopped down scores of Odysseus’ soldiers.

As with truthful overmuch of Nolan’s The Odyssey, this country uses applicable effects to assistance marque it look arsenic realistic arsenic possible. So, however did Nolan execute the battle?

Speaking connected the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Damon said 7 ft gangly stuntmen were utilized to play the giants, and shorter stuntmen were utilized to play the soldiers. In Damon’s case, for the forced position shots wherever we spot the Laestrygonians operation implicit Odysseus, the histrion was replaced by a stuntwoman who helium said “had the top arms I’ve ever seen.”

"When we did the forced position worldly of the Laestrygonians — I don’t cognize if there’s been a happening astir however we did it — but determination were these stunt men who were each 7 feet,” Damon revealed. "And past they got stunt men who were nether 5 feet. So my treble was a woman, a pistillate stunt performer who had the top arms I've ever seen.

“And erstwhile she came into the catering tent, it was the archetypal clip I saw her, I went up and I hugged her and I thanked her for each the enactment that she’d enactment in.

“And truthful those shots successful the movie wherever you spot these giants looming implicit me… truthful it was astir 100% my arms successful the movie. Gotta springiness it up wherever it’s due.”

Matt Damon battles armored giants successful The Odyssey.

The 55-year-old Damon has said his grooming authorities for The Odyssey progressive slimming down to his precocious schoolhouse weight. "I had a beard similar yours for similar a year," helium told Jason and Travis Kelce connected a caller occurrence of their podcast New Heights. "I was successful truly bully shape. I mislaid a batch of weight. [Nolan] wanted maine thin but strong."

He besides noted that a circumstantial alteration successful fare helped him get there. "Just due to the fact that of this different happening that I did with my doctor, I stopped eating gluten,” Damon explained. “I utilized to locomotion astir astatine betwixt 185 and 200, and I did that full movie astatine 167. And I haven't been that airy since precocious school. So it was a batch of grooming and a truly strict diet."

We’ve got plentifulness much connected The Odyssey, including its record-breaking container bureau opening, and the thoughts of Greek translators who person seen the movie. IGN’s The Odyssey reappraisal returned an 8/10. We said: “The Odyssey adapts Homer done a caller oculus that brings a consciousness of fearfulness and existential angst to the communicative — and immoderate wit too. It whitethorn not beryllium a cleanable movie, but it’s a beauteous large moviegoing acquisition each the same.” And if you've seen the movie yourself and person questions, cheque retired our The Odyssey ending explained article.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].