Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey hits theatres on July 17, 2026, and the cast alone makes it one of the most anticipated films in years. Based on Homer’s ancient Greek epic poem, the film follows the Greek king Odysseus as he tries to get home after ten years of war. What should have been a straightforward journey takes another decade, filled with gods, sea monsters, sirens, and betrayal back home. Here is every confirmed actor, the character they play, and why that character matters.
The Odyssey Cast & Characters
Matt Damon as Odysseus
Odysseus is the whole story. He is the king of Ithaca, the man who helped defeat Troy with the famous wooden horse trick, and the hero who then spends ten years trying to sail home. Nolan has described Odysseus as complicated, calling him an amazing strategist who survives through cleverness and deception rather than brute strength. His arc is one of endurance. The journey breaks him down, tests him at every turn, and the question the film quietly asks is whether the man who finally arrives home is the same one who left.
To prepare for the role, Damon underwent an extensive training regimen and a strict diet to become lean but strong, including cutting gluten and reducing his weight to 167 pounds. He also grew a full beard for a year after Nolan declined to use artificial facial hair, wanting to capture the physicality of real hair.
Tom Holland as Telemachus
Telemachus is Odysseus’s son and the prince of Ithaca, who is determined to find his father. He was a baby when Odysseus left for Troy, so he has essentially grown up without him. His arc runs parallel to his father’s. While Odysseus fights to get home, Telemachus fights to hold the kingdom together and eventually goes looking for his father himself. The trailer suggests the film will give significant screen time to life back in Ithaca, with Holland’s Telemachus and Hathaway’s Penelope warding off Pattinson’s Antinous. It is worth noting that Holland and Zendaya are a real-life couple, and this film reunites them on screen for the first time since Spider-Man.
Anne Hathaway as Penelope
Penelope is Odysseus’s wife, Telemachus’s mother, and the queen of Ithaca, who is fending off potential suitors in his absence. She is one of the most quietly powerful characters in the original poem. For years she holds off men trying to claim her hand and her husband’s throne through a famous act of weaving and unweaving a tapestry each night to delay a decision. Her arc is about loyalty, patience, and the particular kind of strength it takes to wait when everyone around you has given up. Hathaway previously worked with Nolan on Interstellar and The Dark Knight Rises.
Robert Pattinson as Antinous
Antinous is one of the most prominent and arrogant suitors competing for Penelope’s hand. He represents the corruption and disorder that has taken hold in Ithaca during Odysseus’s absence, and serves as the key villain of the domestic storyline. He is cruel, entitled, and has essentially moved into Odysseus’s palace. His arc ends badly, but that is not a spoiler so much as ancient Greek common knowledge. Pattinson previously worked with Nolan on Tenet.
Zendaya as Athena
Athena is the goddess of wisdom, warfare, and handicraft, and one of Odysseus’s most important divine allies. She frequently intervenes in his journey, offering guidance and protection while influencing events from behind the scenes. In the original poem, Athena is essentially Odysseus’s unseen advantage. She pushes things in his favour when the other gods, particularly Poseidon, are working against him. Her presence in Nolan’s film will be interesting to watch given that he has described wanting to depict the gods through natural phenomena rather than supernatural spectacle.
Charlize Theron as Circe or Calypso
This one has some confusion worth clearing up. Some reports list Theron as Calypso, the nymph who keeps Odysseus on her island for seven years, while other confirmed sources list her as Circe, the powerful goddess of witchcraft. Both are female figures who delay Odysseus on his journey home, and both have significant roles in the original poem. Either way, Theron plays one of the more morally ambiguous characters in the story.
Jon Bernthal as Menelaus and Benny Safdie as Agamemnon
Jon Bernthal plays Menelaus, the Spartan king whose wife Helen was taken by Paris, which started the Trojan War. Benny Safdie plays Agamemnon, Menelaus’s brother and the commander of the Greek forces at Troy. Both characters connect to Odysseus’s past rather than his journey home, suggesting the film may spend time on the Trojan War itself before following Odysseus across the sea.
Himesh Patel as Eurylochus
Himesh Patel plays Eurylochus, Odysseus’s second-in-command. In the original poem, Eurylochus is a loyal but fearful figure who sometimes undermines Odysseus’s decisions. His presence hints that the film will explore the tension within Odysseus’s crew during the long voyage.
Mia Goth as Melantho and John Leguizamo as Eumaeus
Mia Goth plays Melantho, a maidservant in the palace of Ithaca. In the poem, Melantho is disloyal to Penelope and sides with the suitors, making her one of the more morally complex supporting figures. John Leguizamo plays Eumaeus, a swineherd who is one of Odysseus’s most loyal friends and plays a key role in his eventual return and revenge on the suitors.
Lupita Nyong’o in an Undisclosed Role
Lupita Nyong’o’s role has not been officially confirmed, but speculation suggests she may be playing Helen of Troy, one of the most famous figures in all of Greek mythology. Given the film’s scope and the level of her casting, it is likely a significant part.
The Odyssey opens in theatres worldwide on July 17, 2026. It is the first film ever shot entirely on IMAX cameras, with a production budget of $250 million making it the most expensive film of Nolan’s career.
