Matt Damon has revealed there’s one type of physical transformation he’ll never undergo for a movie role again.
Damon, who dropped to his high school weight of 167 pounds to tackle the role of King Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, said he cut gluten, among other things, to get there. But Damon emphasized that it was a “whole lifestyle change” — not just diet — to prepare for the role.
Speaking to People about slimming down, Damon maintained, “I didn’t change it in an unhealthy way.”
He continued: “I think if I had done the opposite and put weight on, that would have been dangerous and it’s not something I’ll do anymore. I was happy to do it earlier in my life.”
And while it was a physically demanding shoot — Damon called it the “most challenging movie I’ve ever been a part of” — he also said he “loved every minute of it.”
Damon previously spoke about his health transformation with NFL star brothers Jason and Travis Kelce on their New Heights podcast, saying that Nolan “wanted me to be lean but strong.”
“I was in great shape. I lost a lot of weight,” the Good Will Hunting actor said, adding that before filming, he said he “used to walk around at between 185 and 200 [pounds].”
The film follows Damon’s Odysseus on his long journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War as he battles monsters, gods and mythical foes while his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) fends off suitors and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) searches for him. The cast also includes Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Elliot Page, Lupita Nyong’o and Charlize Theron.
The Odyssey marks Damon’s third collaboration with director Nolan. They previously worked together on Interstellar (2014) and Oppenheimer (2023), the director’s previous film that dominated the 2024 awards season, winning seven Oscars, seven Baftas and five Golden Globes.
Nolan recently opened up about why Damon was integral to The Odyssey.
“I’d worked with Matt twice before and he has such a great connection to the audience, he draws them in,” Nolan told The Los Angeles Times.
“For this very complex character, you need an actor who disappears into parts, who is very open to the audience. You want the audience to go with him through his mistakes – and he makes a lot of mistakes.”
Nolan said that Damon can traverse different styles of characters with ease, adding: “Matt was everyman for The Martian, a kind of superhero for the Jason Bourne films, and Odysseus is part everyman, part superhero.”
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