Director Christopher Nolan, known for films like "Oppenheimer" and "The Dark Knight," foregoes smartphones, relying instead on his wife, producer Emma Thomas, to connect with actors for film roles. Matt Damon, who stars in Nolan's latest epic, "The Odyssey," shared how this unconventional communication method works.
Damon recounted to People magazine that Thomas typically texts actors to see if they are available for a call, as Nolan himself does not use a cell phone, text messages, or email. "Then you get a phone call from a nondescript number, because he’s just picking up a line at Universal Studios," Damon explained. He noted that Thomas, who has produced all of Nolan's films since 1997, often gives a heads-up before Nolan makes a call.
Damon received such a call from Nolan about six months after the Academy Awards success of "Oppenheimer," offering him the role of Odysseus in "The Odyssey." The actor described the conversation as lasting 10 to 15 minutes.
Filming "The Odyssey" also presented unique challenges for Damon. He described a late stage of production involving raft sequences shot on a tank, where Nolan poured water over his face. Damon lightheartedly remarked that the experience felt akin to waterboarding, stating, "This is perfect. We’re ending this with waterboarding."
Damon also humorously noted that he confronted several phobias during the shoot, including claustrophobia, while working on the film which features a star-studded cast including Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, and Robert Pattinson. "The Odyssey" is now in theaters.