5 Best Performances In The Odyssey, Ranked

Published Jul 18, 2026, 10:15 AM EDT George is a film critic and journalist with over nine years of experience in the entertainment industry. Beginning as the Co-Creator and Co-Editor of Star Wars Holocron, the most followed Star Wars fan account on Twitter/X, George went on to develop The HoloFiles, a movie and television-focused website with his brother and writing partner Josh. A member of the Hollywood Creative Alliance, Chicago Indie Critics, Online Film and Television Association, and the Internet Film Critic Society, George has covered major industry events as credentialed media, including D23, CinemaCon, SXSW, Fantastic Fest, Star Wars Celebration, Tribeca Festival, and more. He also regularly writes reviews and contributes articles to ScreenAnarchy, BRWC, Film Obsessive, TV Obsessive, and Under the Radar. George's work has been featured in various esteemed publications, including the BBC, Associated Press, Forbes, and The New York Times. Warning: Spoilers for The Odyssey Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is finally in theaters and receiving rave reviews for its technical accomplishments, powerful themes, and awards-worthy performances. The epic fantasy film, which adapts Homer’s poem chronicling Odysseus’ arduous journey home after the Trojan War, bolsters one of the most impressive ensemble casts ever assembled for a motion picture. Academy Award winners and names typically at the top of the call-sheet feature in virtually every speaking role in the film, which speaks to how much of a draw it is for even some of the industry’s most accomplished actors to work with a prestige filmmaker of the caliber of Christopher Nolan. Like Homer’s epic, Nolan’s film is populated with an array of characters beyond the protagonist Odysseus, each of whom serves a distinct role in the story. These integral supporting characters are played by a variety of acclaimed actors, including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Jon Bernthal, Mia Goth, Samantha Morton, Himesh Patel, Logan Marshall-Green, James Remar, Elliot Page, and Corey Hawkins. With such a stacked cast delivering some of their best performances to date, The Odyssey remarkably doesn’t feature a weak-link in its ensemble, although there are a few actors whose performances stand out above the rest. 5 Himesh Patel as Eurylochus Himesh Patel may not be a household name, but it feels like only a matter of time until he will be. Patel starred in Danny Boyle’s musical comedy Yesterday, after which he collaborated with Christopher Nolan for the first time in the sci-fi action movie Tenet. Soon, Patel will be seen as one of the lead characters in Ryan Coogler’s The X-Files reboot. Patel plays an unexpectedly large role in The Odyssey, especially when considering that he is virtually absent from promotional materials and the global press campaign. Patel’s character, Eurylochus, is Odysseus’ right-hand man and, in turn, features in the vast majority of the scenes that the film’s protagonist does. It takes a unique kind of actor to stand toe-to-toe with Academy Award winner Matt Damon delivering one of the best performances of his career, but Patel does exactly that. His Eurylochus occupies an interesting role in the story as, at times, he is Odysseus’ greatest ally, while at other times he is his greatest detractor. Patel navigates these shifts in character seamlessly and, at times single-handedly, conveys the stakes and horrors of Odysseus’ voyage home so effectively. 4 Samantha Morton as Circe Credit: Universal Pictures Samantha Morton is another actor who has seldom featured in promotional material, yet her performance in the film is easily one of the ensemble’s best. The two-time Academy Award nominee has delivered stunning performances over the course of her career, ranging from Jim Sheridan’s In America to the television series Longford to the later seasons of The Walking Dead. In The Odyssey, Morton spearheads the film’s most terrifying series of scenes, in which she uses her powers to transform Odysseus’ men into pigs. The sequence is unsettling to say the least and leaves a lasting impression, not just because of the impressive practical effects that brought the disturbing transformations to life. Morton received a standing ovation during the cast and crew screening of The Odyssey, a rare feat last achieved by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight for a Christopher Nolan movie. Morton did this despite featuring fairly little in the film, especially when compared to some of the ensemble’s heavy hitters. Morton is equal parts unnerving and heartbreaking as Circe, coupling the portrayal of a twisted and disturbed character with an emotional groundedness and profound humanity. She, like Patel, may not have been on people’s radars heading in The Odyssey, but she will almost certainly be one of the most discussed elements after watching it. 3 John Leguizamo as Eumaeus John Leguizamo’s Eumaeus is the unexpected heart of The Odyssey. Leguizamo’s character is the loyal swineherd for Odysseus and his family, who has waited patiently in the wings for Odysseus to return. Eumaeus’ unwavering devotion to Odysseus, despite his decades-long absence, makes for exceedingly moving viewing, as does his care for Odysseus’ elderly dog. The goosebumps-inducing emotions that come about as Odysseus makes his triumphant return to Ithaca in the film’s final act are largely driven by Leguizamo, whose character has spent recent years fielding abuse and attacks from Penelope’s unruly suitors. Leguizamo extracts every ounce of emotion out of the scenes he features in, especially in the third act, and makes a somewhat peripheral player in Homer’s epic a standout element of Nolan’s film. 2 Robert Pattinson as Antinous Robert Pattinson seemingly can do no wrong. The actor, who also stars in The Drama, Dune: Part Three, and Primetime this year, plays the primary antagonist in The Odyssey and greatly benefits from Nolan’s decision to add layers to Antinous’ backstory. Pattinson chews up the scenery as a refreshingly on-the-nose villain, one who sneers, snarks, and figuratively twirls his proverbial mustache at every turn. Pattinson has played some less than wholesome characters in his career, but none are as so deliciously conniving and duplicitous as Antinous. Scenes Pattinson shares with Tom Holland make one’s blood boil, in turn making the justice served to his character in the film’s dramatic climax all the more impactful. Like all great villains, Antinous isn’t just bad for bad’s sake - he views his actions as necessary and applies blissful ignorance to his own cowardice and shortcomings. 1 Matt Damon as Odysseus For as impressive as The Odyssey’s supporting cast is, no one quite matches the work that Matt Damon produces in the film. Damon embodies the role of an esteemed man lauded for his accomplishments on the battlefield with both torment and fallibility. He is far from the perfect protagonist, often having grave lapses in judgment that cost the lives of his men and others. But in a story with men shapeshifting into pigs, a 60-foot cyclops, and a myriad of other fantastical elements, Damon’s performance grounds the film with an emotional honesty and timeless quality. Whether it be scenes shared with Charlize Theron’s Calypso that taps into the role avoidance plays in perpetuating post-traumatic stress or contentious interactions with his men as they make their long journey home, Damon makes an extraordinarily compelling and multi-dimensional lead character out of Odysseus, who, despite his flaws and missteps, earns the audience’s investment and care. Damon elevates his performance to another level in the film’s final act, which sees Nolan explore themes he interrogated in Oppenheimer. Damon’s climactic monologue to Anne Hathaway’s Penelope stunningly captures the guilt and grief that anguish a man troubled by the horror his intellect has brought into the world. It’s the kind of scene that will play before the Best Actor category is presented at next year’s Academy Awards and is easily one of the best moments of Damon’s entire career. Christopher Nolan crafts a breathtaking, epic, genre-blending film in The Odyssey that benefits immensely from a stellar cast delivering some of their best work to date. But despite having Academy Award winners and A-listers around every turner, it is ultimately Matt Damon that stands apart as the film’s most compelling performer.