John Leguizamo reveals Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ is “like an indie film”
John Leguizamo has described Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey as “an indie film”, saying that despite its large-scale production and Hollywood cast, it contains the spirit of an independent movie.
Nolan’s new project is an adaptation of the ancient Greek poem by Homer, The Odyssey stars Matt Damon alongside Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Benny Safdie, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Lupita N’yongo, and Leguizamo.
In a recent interview, Leguizamo said that Nolan is running “it like an indie film” and going against what the studio wants. “Dude, you know the thing is, he’s got a crazy budget, it’s not small,” he said on Morning Joe.
The actor continued, “But he runs like an indie film because he’s not doing it by committee, he’s not doing it by what the studio says. He’s like an indie filmmaker but with crazy money.”
The Odyssey was confirmed as Nolan’s next major blockbuster last year after Universal Studios released a statement on X saying it will be “a mythic action epic shot across the world” and a film bringing “Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time”.
This will be the director’s 13th feature film and first since winning ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’ for Oppenheimer at the Oscars in 2024. Despite the confirmed stars attached to the project, it was only confirmed recently which roles they will play, with Damon taking the lead role as Odysseus.
Hathaway will appear opposite Damon as Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, while Holland will be stepping into the role of Telemachus, Nyongo’o as Clytemnestra, Safdie as Agamemnon, Theron as Circe, and Zendaya as Athena.
Production for the epic began last year, with filming starting in February in Greece, Morocco, Italy, and the UK. The film has been deemed Nolan’s biggest budget to date, costing an estimated $250 million.
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