The crew really spent nearly four months filming at sea! 5 behind-the-scenes facts from The Odyssey that are even crazier than the movie
From shooting the entire film on IMAX stock and building a real Trojan Horse, to black armor compared to Batman, Christopher Nolan insists on making even myths feel real.
Summary
- To film the seafaring sequences, the The Odyssey crew spent nearly four months working out on real open water, and the actors and stunt performers also underwent rowing, sailing, and endurance training.
- This is the first narrative feature in film history to be shot entirely on IMAX film cameras, and quieter new camera rigs were developed for the dialogue scenes.
- The production actually built a Trojan Horse large enough for the cast and camera team to go inside and shoot, though the film does alter the original story’s famous “Nobody” wordplay.
The following includes plot details and production information from The Odyssey. If you have not seen it yet, please read at your own discretion.
Christopher Nolan has never liked imagining scenes solely in front of a green screen. For The Odyssey, which requires sea monsters, a Cyclops, and a 10-year voyage, he still did not choose the easiest route.
The production traveled across several countries, filmed at sea, built a Trojan Horse, and shot the entire film on IMAX stock. Scenes that seem to appear for only a few minutes may have required months of training from the actors and full days spent rowing through the waves.
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1. The crew really spent nearly four months at sea
images from/the odyssey movie
To ensure Odysseus’s sea journey did not look as though it had been filmed in a water tank or on a soundstage, the crew shot in real waters around Greece, the Italian islands, and Scotland. Stunt performers playing the sailors said they worked at sea for nearly four months, rowing almost every day from morning until sunset and continuing to film even in rough wind and waves.
Before filming began, the performers underwent intensive rowing training in Greece, learning rowing and sailing techniques from sailors who were genuinely experienced in operating boats. As a result, the crew onscreen is not merely miming rowing motions; they actually have to work together to move the large vessel across the water.
2. The first feature film shot entirely on IMAX film
images from/the odyssey movie
The Odyssey is the first narrative feature film shot entirely on IMAX film cameras. Christopher Nolan and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema had already made extensive use of IMAX in The Dark Knight, Dunkirk, and Oppenheimer, yet this time they did not switch back to conventional cameras, even for indoor dialogue scenes and close-up performances.
For the film, the team developed the smaller, quieter Keighley IMAX camera and built soundproof housings to reduce camera noise, allowing actors to perform quiet dialogue scenes beside the massive film cameras. More than 2 million feet of IMAX film were ultimately used for the production.
3. The warriors’ armor really was compared to Batman’s
images from/the odyssey movie
As soon as the film revealed the black armor worn by warriors including Agamemnon, it sparked discussion about the costume design. Many online commenters described the dark metal, face-covering helmets, and sharp lines as looking like Batsuits brought over from the set of Nolan’s The Dark Knight.
Another group of viewers questioned whether the armor fully suited the story’s Bronze Age setting. The film does not treat its costumes as archaeological reconstructions, though. Instead, through black armor, obscured faces, and imposing silhouettes, it makes kings at war look more like symbols than merely historical figures.
4. The classic “Nobody” joke is not preserved in full
images from/the odyssey movie
One of the best-known episodes in the original is when Odysseus, facing the Cyclops Polyphemus, says his name is “Nobody.” After he blinds the giant, other Cyclopes come to ask what happened. Polyphemus can only cry, “Nobody is attacking me,” so no one comes to help.
This episode relies on a pun in English and the original language, and once translated into other languages, the joke is difficult to make work in exactly the same way. The film therefore does not retain this wordplay intact, instead changing the way Odysseus deceives the Cyclops.
5. The Trojan Horse is not CGI – you can actually walk inside it
images from/the odyssey movie
The important Trojan Horse at the beginning of the film was not created entirely with CGI. Instead, the team built a huge wooden structure large enough to hold the actors, director, cinematographer, and an IMAX camera.
Matt Damon revealed that even a few days before filming began, the team had not fully decided how to shoot the scenes inside the Horse. In the end, Nolan, Hoyte van Hoytema, and around 20 actors squeezed into it together, figuring out how to film in the cramped space as cold water gradually rose around them.
From nearly four months of filming at sea to actually squeezing cameras and actors into the Trojan Horse, what is truly extraordinary about The Odyssey is not only the scale on which it brings myth to the screen. Nolan still believes that audiences will only believe this journey really happened if the actors themselves experience the wind, waves, cold, and confinement.
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