Matt Damon Reflects On ‘Getting Jacked’ In His 50s For The Odyssey

Matt Damon has admitted that the more physical aspects of his role in the new Christopher Nolan epic The Odyssey were no small feat.

Over the years, the Oscar winner has appeared in a number of physically-demanding projects, including the action-packed Bourne films and the war epic Saving Private Ryan.

However, during a recent interview with Amy Poehler on her podcast Good Hang, Matt spoke candidly about how “getting jacked in your 50s” for The Odyssey was “way different” to what had been required of him earlier on in his career.

“It’s really hard,” he revealed. “It’s just a complete, complete lifestyle change.”

His approach, he went on to share, was to “put your feet on the gas and that’s it”, overhauling his diet, including giving up gluten, something he’s stuck to since filming ended.

“I didn’t realise the level to which [gluten] was affecting me and affecting my life,” he shared. “It’s completely changed my life these last couple of years of not eating it.”

Matt then conceded: “It’s a bummer. I’m a big fan of bread and beer and… you know… pasta and pizza, and all that stuff. But how I feel is just so much better.”

The Oscar winner plays Odysseus in Nolan’s new take on the Ancient Greek tome, leading a star-studded cast that includes everyone from Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong’o to Zendaya, Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland, who portrays Matt’s on-screen son.

Last month, Matt claimed the film is the “biggest movie I’ve ever done in my career, in terms of its scale” and “ambition”.

He’s also shared just how gruelling the on-location shooting could be, telling GQ: “The joke on the crew was we didn’t have a single easy location. Every time we’d go somewhere, we’d be like, ‘Well, Iceland will be easier’. And then it’s raining sideways and it’s fucking freezing. Iceland was like, ‘Yeah, easy? Hey, hold my beer.’”

The shoot ended up wrapping on a lot in Los Angeles, with Matt recalling that even this came with its problems.

“Sure enough, we showed up [to the set in LA] and Chris has two jet engines blowing so much water at us,” he said. “So it was kind of a fitting end. Even the controlled environment was cold, wet, and a little bit miserable.”

Co-star Robert Pattinson agreed that he’s “never seen people look so exhausted” as he did on the set of The Odyssey.

The Odyssey hits cinemas on Friday 17 July.