Who is in ‘The Odyssey’ by Christopher Nolan? Full Cast & Characters

Every few summers, Christopher Nolan, one of the most successful directors of all time, out does even himself. First, it was The Dark Knight, then Inception and Interstellar. A few years ago, his magnum opus to date, Oppenheimer, became the movie of the summer. So, what could be bigger than the story of how the bomb that changed the world was built? An epic story that has transcended centuries.

Nolan’s latest film, an adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey, premiered in London on July 6 with a United States release set for July 17. The film will be available in IMAX 70 mm and other premium film formats. In Nolan’s telling of the Odyssey, Matt Damon stars as Odysseus along with Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway and a slate of other A-list actors to bring one of the greatest Greek epics to life.

Need to get up to speed on the characters in the renowned Greek classic before you hit the theaters for The Odyssey? Here’s your guide to all of the character in The Odyssey, and who plays them.

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‘The Odyssey’ Cast and Characters

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey features a cast as epic is its story. Doing such a project justice requires trust, which is no doubt why the cast is packed with actors with long lists of accolades and awards, many of whom Nolan has previously worked with.

Matt Damon as Odysseus

Known for: Good Will Hunting, The Martian, the Bourne franchise, Saving Private Ryan, Interstellar, Oppenheimer

Matt Damon steps into titular role of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, a Greek hero and The Odyssey‘s central hero.

Odysseus is the legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the protagonist of Homer’s Iliad, which details the Trojan War. The husband of Penelope and the father of Telemachus, he leads his men on an epic journey home after Greece is turned back by the Trojans during the war, which serves as the premise and namesake of the film.

Odysseus is remembered as a tough, crafty, cheerful, eloquent and wise leader. Many accounts make note of his relatively unassuming height to suggest that his courage and craftiness are far more imposing than his physical stature. That said, he’s also prideful, brash and borderline dangerous to himself and others around him at times.

In the film, Odysseus is on his way home to reclaim his throne in Ithaca, unaware that trouble is already brewing there.

Tom Holland as Telemachus

Telemachus is the son of Odysseus and Penelope and the prince of Ithaca. He did not travel with his father to the Trojan War and spends much of the years after searching for either his father or news of his survival while navigating Ithacan politics and the endless stream of suitors pursuing his mother.

Telemachus struggles to balance the search for his father along with the threats circling his mother and the throne, but he is ambitious, enterprising and fearless. He also inherited his father’s craftiness in protecting his family and puts it to good use later in the story.

Known for: Marvel’s Spider-Man movies, Cherry, The Devil All the Time, Uncharted, The Impossible

Anne Hathaway as Penelope

Penelope is Odysseus’s wife Telemachus’s mother and the queen of Ithaca. During the decade her husband spends trying to get home after the Trojan War, Penelope wards off suitors who look to use her as a means to claim the throne of Ithaca. She deploys every trick in the book, with an intellect on par with her husband’s, to delay marrying another suitor and prevent another king from rising to power.

Known for: Les Misérables, The Dark Knight Rises, The Devil Wears Prada, Brokeback Mountain, Interstellar, Ocean’s Eight

Robert Pattinson as Antinous

Antinous is one of the most prominent and aggressive of Penelope’s suitors after Odysseus goes missing following the Trojan War. With the throne of Ithaca up for grabs, Antinous makes clear his ambition for the title of king. He’s sleazy, mean, violent and oblivious, showing no respect for the house of Odysseus, for Penelope or for Telemachus.

Known for: The Batman, Tenet, The Lighthouse, Good Time, Cosmopolis

Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy/Clytemnestra

Lupita Nyong’o stars in a dual role as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra.

Helen is married to Menelaus, the Greek king of Sparta. Her disappearance sparks off the Trojan War. Helen and Menelaus have a daughter, Hermione, and she is the half-sister of Clytemnestra, who is herself married to Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae.

Clytemnestra is the mother of Orestes and Electra, and legend has it that her true father is the Greek god Zeus. Clytemnestra is violent, fearless and one of the world’s most devious strategists.

Known for: 12 Years a Slave, Black Panther, Us, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, A Quiet Place: Day One

Jon Bernthal as Menelaus

Menelaus is the Greek king of Sparta, the husband of Helen and the brother of Agamemnon. The disappearance of his wife Helen, after she flees to Troy with the Trojan prince Paris, is what sparks the Trojan War in the first place. Menelaus is an amiable king who looks and plays the part of royalty with ease, but is called upon for something much greater during the war.

Known for: The Punisher, The Walking Dead, The Many Saints of Newark, Wind River, Ford v Ferrari, Fury

Benny Safdie as Agamemnon

Agamemnon is the Greek king of Mycenae, the husband of Clytemnestra, the brother of Menelaus and the commander of the Achaean forces during the Trojan War. He forces Odysseus into battle in the Trojan War, and his actions will affect the fate of Mycenae for generations.

Known for: Uncut Gems (director/actor), Good Time (director), Licorice Pizza, Oppenheimer

Zendaya as Athena

One of the most well-known mythological figures, Athena is the goddess of wisdom, warfare and handicraft. She is looked to as a protector of Greece and frequently manifests as owls, olive trees, snakes and the Gorgoneion. Adorned in helmet and carrying a spear, she will play a key role for Odysseus, his family and the future of Ithaca.

Known for: Dune and Dune: Part Two, Euphoria, Challengers, Spider-Man: No Way Home

Charlize Theron as Calypso

Calypso is a siren nymph of the island of Ogygia who tries to keep Odysseus on her island as her immortal husband. Odysseus’ scrap with the sirens, which sees him have his men strap him to the boat’s mast and plug his ears with beeswax to avoid their seductive song, is one of the most well-known parts of the original story.

Known for: Mad Max: Fury Road, Monster, Atomic Blonde, The Old Guard, North Country, Arrested Development

Bill Irwin as Polyphemus

The Cyclops Polyphemus is the fearsome one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa. Odysseus’ run-in with the cyclops is another of the most well-known sequences from the original story.

Known for: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Interstellar, Rachel Getting Married, Eight Men Out, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

John Leguizamo as Eumaeus

Eumaeus is Odysseus’s servant and a trusted presence for Odysseus, Penelope and Telemachus.

Known for: Moulin Rouge!, Carlito’s Way, Romeo + Juliet, Ice Age (voice), John Wick, Summer of Sam

Samantha Morton as Circe

Circe is a goddess who Odysseus encounters on his journey home when he visits her island. She is particularly adept at herbs and potions and is able to turn men into animals. Odysseus and his men get the latter treatment, briefly becoming pigs. She is one of the most misunderstood figures in Greek mythology.

Known for: In America, Minority Report, The Walking Dead (Alpha), Harlots, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Morvern Callar

Himesh Patel as Eurylochus

Eurylochus is Odysseus’s brother-in-law and second in command during the Trojan War. He is married to Odysseus’s sister Ctimene. Where Odysseus exudes courage and confidence, Eurylochus lacks it entirely.

Known for: Yesterday, Station Eleven, Don’t Look Up, Tenet, The Commuter

Corey Hawkins as Polybus

Eurymachus’ father, Polybus is incredibly wise, a sharp contrast to his son’s monumental foolishness.

Known for: Straight Outta Compton (Dr. Dre), 24: Legacy, In the Heights, BlacKkKlansman, The Walking Dead

Mia Goth as Melantho

Melantho is a servant of Odysseus and Penelope whose loyalty is tested in the early years after the Trojan War.

Known for: Pearl, X, MaXXXine, Suspiria, Emma.

Logan Marshall-Green as Melanthius

Melanthius is the son of Dolius and serves as a goat herder for Odysseus. He does not hold the same respect for Odysseus and Penelope as the others do.

Known for: Prometheus, Upgrade, Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Invitation, Dark Blue

Jimmy Gonzales as Cepheus

Cepheus is a comrade of Odysseus who fights alongside him in the Trojan War and sails beside him on the journey home.

Known for: Busboys, Mayans M.C., Do No Harm

Andrew Howard as Polites

Polites is another one of Odysseus’s crewmates on the journey home from the Trojan War.

Known for: Limitless, I Saw the Devil, Transformers: Age of Extinction

Elliot Page as Sinon

Sinon is Odysseus’s cousin and a fellow soldier who fights alongside him in the Trojan War.

Known for: Juno, Inception, The Umbrella Academy, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Super

Travis Scott as a Bard

The Bard is a poet and songwriter who Odysseus encounters along the journey home.

Known for: Astroworld, Utopia, Days Before Rodeo; film appearances in Euphoria

James Remar as Tiresias

Tiresias is a blind prophet of Apollo known for his clairvoyance.

Known for: Dexter, 48 Hrs., The Warriors, Django Unchained, Sex and the City

Elyes Gabel as Elatus

Elatus is one of the suitors of Penelope from Same and is described as a great warrior.

Known for: Scorpion, World War Z, Game of Thrones, Interstellar

When does ‘The Odyssey’ hit theaters?

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey premieres in theaters and IMAX July 17.

Watch Christopher Nolan films on DIRECTV

You can watch tons of Christopher Nolan films right on DIRECTV as you get ready to feast your eyes on his latest epic work.

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