How The Odyssey created 10-foot giants without CGI: Matt Damon reveals his female double had ‘the greatest arms’
A little bit of camerawork, some tricks of perception was all it took
Christopher Nolan does not do things the easy way. Why summon an army of CGI artists when you can simply find a group of extremely tall people, add a few extremely short people, and make movie magic happen?
That, in essence, is how Nolan brought the 10-foot-tall Laestrygonians to life in his latest epic, The Odyssey. The filmmaker is famously fond of practical effects over relying heavily on CGI and VFX, using digital effects more as a finishing touch than the main event. And for one of the film's most striking scenes, forced perspective did much of the heavy lifting.
Matt Damon, who plays Greek hero Odysseus, has now revealed that the scene involved stunt performers of dramatically different heights — and that his own double was a woman with, apparently impressive arms.
"When we did the force perspective stuff with the Laestrygonians, there were these stuntmen who were all seven feet, and then they got stunt men who were under five feet," Damon said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “My double was a woman, a female stunt performer who had the greatest arms I've ever seen. When she came into the catering tent, it was the first time I met her. I went up and hugged her and thanked her for all the work she put in.”
And suddenly, the behind-the-scenes secret to making a giant look truly giant becomes a little clearer: Put them next to someone considerably shorter and let perspective do its thing.
Since the interview, stunt performers from the scene have shared behind-the-scenes images from the set, offering a glimpse at the dramatic height difference Nolan used to make the Laestrygonians look truly enormous.
How Nolan created the Laestrygonians
Damon underwent a physical transformation to play Odysseus in The Odyssey, but even a leading man needs a little backup when the scene involves battling mythical giants. For some of the film's key sequences, including the encounter with the Laestrygonians, stunt performers stepped in.
The forced-perspective technique allowed Nolan to make the already towering performers appear even more imposing on screen, without resorting to extensive CGI. The result: A group of giants who look like they could swat Odysseus across the Aegean Sea — all thanks to some clever camera work, practical effects and a very carefully assembled cast of performers.
About Nolan's The Odyssey
Based on Homer's epic poem Odyssey, the film follows Odysseus (Matt Damon) on his long journey home after the Trojan War. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and an ensemble cast.
The Odyssey has already enjoyed an epic run at the box office, earning $264 million globally in its opening weekend. The figure marked a record for Nolan, surpassing The Dark Knight Rises, which opened to $249 million worldwide in 2012. The film then went on to score the best Monday of the year in the US, with a reported $18.67 million haul.
Critics have also responded enthusiastically to the film, with praise directed at its immense scale and performances, particularly those of Robert Pattinson and Samantha Morton.
