Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey might be an epic story years in the making, but it’s only taken a couple of weeks to become one of the biggest movies of 2026 at the box office. One of the main reasons it’s done so well? The incredible performance of Matt Damon, who leads the Greek epic as Odysseus himself
But how, exactly, did the 55-year-old actor get into the literal shape of a legendary Greek hero for the role? It obviously took quite a bit of working out and training in the gym, but Damon said arguably the biggest change wasn’t in the weight room — it was on his dinner plate
Matt Damon went gluten-free for The Odyssey
While talking on the New Heightspodcast, Damon detailed one of the biggest changes he made while preparing for The Odyssey was giving up gluten, after realizing how much it was specifically affecting his body. He said training for the film, and cutting out gluten, allowed him to get down to his “high school” weight of 167 pounds for shooting — down from his usual weight range in recent years of 185-200 pounds
“It was more about just getting really, really physically fit. Which just really involves changing your diet. I stopped eating gluten, among other things,” Damon told People in a recent interview about his diet changes. “You have to just be very, very intentional about everything you put in your body. I didn’t realize the level to which it was affecting me. It’s completely changed my life these last couple years of not eating it.”
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Damon went on to describe the decision to go gluten-free as “a whole lifestyle change” while making the movie, which allowed him to reach a point physically where he could realistically embody the look of one of the most iconic heroes in literature for Nolan’s epic. Instead of gluten-filled food like bread or pasta, he said he would instead order proteins like steak at dinner
Damon wasn’t the only one to make a big diet change for The Odyssey — co-star Tom Holland revealed he went the opposite direction of Damon, taking full advantage of shooting in Sicily. eating a “fiery pepperoni pizza” pretty much every night for dinner: “Fortunately, I was not cutting out gluten while I was making that movie. And I ate it every single night,” Holland said
RELATED:All About Matt Damon’s 4′ 6″ Woman Stunt Double in The Odyssey: Meet Devyn Dalton
If you want to see Damon’s transformation up close, The Odyssey is in theaters now. The film is the first full-length feature film shot exclusively in IMAX format (here’s how to see it in on a massive IMAX 70mm screen), and was filmed on location all across the globe, with Damon and his new physique trotting to locations including Morocco, Greece, Italy, Iceland, Scotland and the United States
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The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan’s epic new film The Odyssey opens in theaters on July 17. Tickets are available here
Want a sneak peek? Check out exclusive footage from The Odyssey: The Making of an Epicstreaming now on Peacock
