Matt Damon underwent a six-month lifestyle overhaul in order to transform into the legendary Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey.
But the actor, 55, who slimmed down from 200lb to 167lb for the role, admitted that one scene depicting his muscles was actually done by female stunt double Devyn Dalton.
‘When we did the forced perspective stuff of the Laestrygonians, there were these kind of stuntmen who were all seven feet,’ Damon told Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz in a recent interview.
The Laestrygonians are a tribe of man-eating giants encountered by Odysseus and his crew during their decade-long journey home to Ithaca.
In order to show the difference between the size of the giants and Odysseus, Nolan opted to use a female stunt double for Damon.
‘And then they got stuntmen who were under five feet, and so my double was a woman, a female stunt performer who had the greatest arms I’ve ever seen,’ Damon said.
Matt Damon, 55, has revealed that a female stunt double was behind one of his bicep shots as Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s epic adaptation of The Odyssey; Damon seen in a still
The actor praised his stunt woman Devyn Dalton (pictured) for having ‘the greatest arms I’ve ever seen,’ while appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast
Damon praised Dalton as he recalled meeting her for the first time.
‘When she came into the catering tent, it was the first time I met her, I went up and I hugged her and I thanked her for all the work she’d put in,’ he said.
‘And so there are those shots in the movie where you see these giants looming over me and (that’s her).
‘So it was almost 100 percent my arms in the movie, but you gotta give it up where it’s due.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Damon’s representative for comment.
Dalton confirmed her role in the film in a post she shared to her Instagram on Monday, showing some photos of her time in Scotland.
‘Scottish Highlands. The Odyssey. What an adventure. No spoilers just yet, but I’m incredibly grateful to be a part of the Laestrygonian battle. Stunt doubling the incredible @matt_damon_official,’ she wrote.
‘An epic team effort. We worked hard, shared plenty of laughs, and created memories I’ll never forget. The best part of this job is getting to venture to new places and meet amazing people along the way.’
In order to show the size difference between the film’s man-eating giants and Odysseus, Nolan opted to use Dalton (R) instead of Damon
‘When we did the forced perspective stuff of the Laestrygonians, there were these kind of stuntmen who were all seven feet,’ Damon said
‘And then they got stuntmen who were under five feet, and so my double was a woman,’ he explained
Dalton confirmed her role in the film in a post she shared to her Instagram on Monday, showing some photos of her time in Scotland
Fans might also recognize Dalton from the horror movie Weapons and TV show The Last Of Us.
Damon recently spoke about the lifestyle changes he made to transform into the legendary Greek king of Ithaca.
‘It was more about just getting really, really physically fit, which just really involves changing your diet, just a whole lifestyle change,’ he said in his People cover story.
‘You have to just be very, very intentional about everything you’re putting in your body.’
Damon, who relies on fitness trainer Jason Walsh, gave up gluten ‘among other things’ but he made sure to do it all safely.
‘I didn’t change it in an unhealthy way,’ The Rip producer-star noted.
‘I think if I had done the opposite and put weight on, that would have been dangerous and it’s not something I’ll do anymore. I was happy to do it earlier in my life.’
The two-time Golden Globe winner also said The Odyssey was ‘the most challenging movie I’ve ever been a part of’ and it marked his third time being directed by Nolan after Oppenheimer and his 2014 sci-fi epic Interstellar.
The ensemble cast includes Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo, Mia Goth, Elliot Page, Samantha Morton, James Remar and Travis Scott.
Damon’s transformation earned praise from Theron, who couldn’t stop gushing about the muscles he developed for the role.
‘I’ve seen him without all of that suit on. He’s incredible. Incredible,’ she told ET in an interview promoting the epic.
‘I’m like staring at him weirdly. I’m looking at his a** right now. I shouldn’t do that! That’s just wrong. He looked amazing, yes.’
The film sailed straight to the top of the North American box office over the weekend, bringing home $124.5million in its opening weekend; Damon seen in a still with Zendaya
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How far should actors go to transform for a role?
Earlier this month, the official X account for The Odyssey was forced to restrict comments after conservatives bombarded it with complaints and racist comments regarding the film’s diverse cast members.
However, despite the early backlash, The Odyssey achieved a near-perfect score on review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes shortly after its release.
The film sailed straight to the top of the North American box office over the weekend, bringing home $124.5million in its opening weekend.
It captured another $139million in overseas sales for a total of $263.5million, surpassing its $250million budget.
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