SerpApi.Org
Considering just how many A-listers make up the cast of The Odyssey, we were surprised when the biggest scene-stealer of the film turned out not to be Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya or even Samantha Morton, but a particularly energetic pod of dolphins.
During one part of Odysseus’ epic journey, he and his crew can be seen sailing out on open water, when they are suddenly joined by a row of dolphins splashing alongside them.
Apparently, we weren’t the only ones this stood out to, as Matt Damon was recently asked about it during an interview with the TikTok channel Talk Of The Townsends.
“It was one of those things, we were out there and suddenly, this pod of dolphins just came up and started jumping next to the boat,” Matt recalled, claiming that director Christopher Nolan’s attitude was to “never let an opportunity go to waste”.
He admitted: “I was thinking, ‘Chris is never going to put the dolphins in the movie… where would it go?’. But he found a place.
“And you know that it’s a real dolphin, because it’s not how you would CGI a dolphin, you know?”
“It’s just one of those things that happened – I guess you spend enough months out on the water, you’re going to get something like that,” he added. “But to get it in IMAX is very cool.”
Tom agreed that the shot is an “amazing” one, before praising another animal scene elsewhere in the film.
He enthused: “There’s actually a great shot when you’re on the raft, and a seagull just comes in front of the camera for two or three [seconds] and then just disappears. And you’re so programmed to believe, ‘oh, that’s just a CGI gull’. But it’s just luck of the draw.”
Indeed, Nolan has been vocal about eschewing CGI wherever possible, relying instead on practical effects while making The Odyssey.
This did, however, leave him with a rather “terrifying” prospect of bringing a 60-foot cyclops to life without computer wizardry, while several cast members have shared their disbelief that another jaw-dropping moment in the film came to life using practical effects on set rather than post-production CGI.
The Odyssey is in cinemas now.
