Matt Damon revealed that he and Tom Holland were jealous of Zendaya on the sets of Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey. He said their envy stemmed from her ability to elicit the highest praise from the director. The 55-year-old actor mentioned that they talked about it the entire movie while also checking in with each other to see if they received any compliments from Nolan. The Odyssey will come out in theaters on July 17, 2026.
Matt Damon recalls why he and Tom Holland envied Zendaya during The Odyssey
In a conversation with ELLE, Damon shared that Zendaya received a higher level of praise from Nolan on the sets of The Odyssey, which left him and Holland jealous. Explaining how Nolan typically compliments for a scene, he added, “Chris is known for being very circumspect. So when you do a take, it’s not like he says, ‘That was great.’ He’ll go, ‘Yep, good. Okay.’ And that is the equivalent of the greatest praise you could ever get.”
However, he noted that Zendaya’s situation was different, as she received unique praise from Nolan, something neither he nor Holland had gotten before. “Zendaya, on the other hand, there were takes where she did one thing, she did this amazing scene, and he said, ‘Cut.’ And then he went, ‘Perfect.’” He said that both he and Holland were “obsessed” with the praise. The Martian actor further noted that they didn’t even receive a “great” from Nolan, whereas Zendaya got a “perfect.”
“Literally, Tom and I were obsessed with this. She got a ‘perfect’? I’ve never even gotten a ‘great.’ She got a ‘perfect’? He and I b—-ed about it for the entire rest of the film. ‘Did you get anything today?’ ‘No, I got a ‘good’ — moving on.’ ‘Yeah, me too,” he elaborated.
Based on Homer’s epic poem, the fantasy movie centers on the legendary Greek king of Ithaca, who, after the Trojan war, embarks on a dangerous journey home. Along the way, he come across mythical beings while trying to make an attempt to meet his wife, Penelope.
