The Odyssey director, Christopher Nolan, has heaped praise on Samantha Morton’s performance in his new epic, claiming she received a reaction he hasn’t seen since he directed the late Heath Ledger in 2008’s The Dark Knight.
The new adaptation of the classical Homer poem has earned a rapturous response from early reviewers.
Morton appears as the goddess Circe in the film, and while she reportedly only appears in a handful of scenes, some critics have claimed she steals the film.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Nolan agreed that Morton’s performance is a pivotal one.
“This was a massive film and she is someone who comes in and changes the dynamic,” said the 55-year-old. “In some weird way, the film lived or died over that character. She was the fulcrum. I’ve always admired Samantha’s work, she brings so much depth of thinking about her role, there are no limitations on her performance.”
Nolan went on to recall that after one of Morton’s takes, “the crew gave her a round of applause.”
He said he discussed the moment with his wife and producing partner Emma Thomas, and that “she remembered that the last time that had happened was with Heath Ledger on The Dark Knight.”
That immediate rave review for Morton’s performance has been matched by the first reactions to the finished film.
The Independent’s chief film and TV correspondent, Jacob Stolworthy, described it as “Nolan’s biggest film to date”.
“This film has about triple the number of huge set pieces than any of Nolan’s previous films, and every single one of them is breathtaking in their own way,” he said. “In The Odyssey, Nolan showcases visual trickery in a way you’ve never seen before.”
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He praised Holland’s performance as “his best role to date” and added that Morton “steals the show with the few scenes she’s in.”
The movie follows Odysseus’s decade-long journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War as he battles monsters, gods and other mythical foes while his wife Penelope fends off suitors and his son Telemachus searches for him.
Along with Morton, the film also stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope and Tom Holland as Telemachus. The rest of the cast includes Robert Pattinson as the suitor Antinous, Zendaya as Athena, Charlize Theron as Calypso and Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, as well as Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Mia Goth, Elliot Page, and Bill Irwin.
The Odyssey will be released in theaters on July 17, 2026.
