“It was hard. It was hard for everybody though. That’s what made it wonderful,” he said of making the Christopher Nolan-directed film
Credit: Universal Pictures; Good Hang with Amy Poehler/YouTube
NEED TO KNOW
- Matt Damon shared insight into how he approached “getting jacked in your 50s” for his lead role in The Odyssey
- “Just put your foot on the gas and that’s it, that’s the only way to do it,” he said
- The actor also revealed how much sleep he got while filming the movie alongside his fellow stars, including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway and Zendaya
Matt Damon is sharing insight into the “wonderful” yet grueling experience of preparing for his role in The Odyssey.
While appearing on the July 5 episode of Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast, the 55-year-old actor revealed that “getting jacked in your 50s” requires a “complete lifestyle change.”
“Just put your foot on the gas and that’s it,” Damon said. “That’s the only way to do it … and eat a little less.”
In his latest film, the Good Will Hunting star portrays Odysseus, the heroic and cunning King of Ithaca. The Christopher Nolan-directed adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic also stars Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson and more.
Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures
While working to achieve his current muscly physique and toned abs, Damon shared that he had given up gluten. And it turns out, the decision changed his life.
“I didn’t realize the level to which it was affecting me,” he said. “It’s completely changed my life these last couple years of not eating it.”
Although giving up gluten has been worth it, Damon went on to admit that it can still occasionally be a “bummer.”
“I’m a big fan of bread and beer, pasta and pizza and all that stuff,” he quipped.
Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage
As for what his sleep schedule looked like while he was filming The Odyssey? Damon admitted that, while he has been a “light sleeper” since welcoming four daughters — Alexia, 27, Isabella, 20, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15 — with his wife Luciana, his sleep schedule became even more irregular while he was working on the film.
“On this movie, me and the [production assistants], we had this joke called the ‘Odyssey Five,’ ” he explained. “If you could get five hours, you were thrilled.”
“That’s not a lot of sleep, but it was enough,” he added. “I did realize that five was the cutoff because there were some four nights, there were some no nights … I had two nights where I did not sleep because I got home and I was overly tired. And then I just did that thing where I’m just sitting there and I missed the window and now I’m panicking.”
Despite the discipline and sacrifices that the film demanded of the entire cast and crew, Damon said that the experience was a “wonderful” one nonetheless.
“It was hard,” he emphasized. “It was hard for everybody though. That’s what made it wonderful.”
Read the full article here
