Matt Damon recently revealed he had to get back to his high school weight for his latest movie role. The actor said he weighed only 167 pounds while filming Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic, The Odyssey. To look “lean but strong” as the Greek hero Odysseus, Damon changed his diet and training completely.
Damon shared these details on the January 7 episode of the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce. He explained that director Christopher Nolan had a specific vision for the character’s physical look. This led to one of the actor’s most disciplined physical preparations in recent years.
The Specific Goal for Playing Odysseus
Christopher Nolan’s direction for the character was simple but demanding. He told Matt Damon he wanted Odysseus to appear “lean but strong”. This meant the actor needed to lose a significant amount of weight while still building and maintaining muscle.
To achieve this, Damon worked closely with a trainer. He described having a “clear goal” as the key to the process. The physical preparation became a central part of his daily routine, similar to how professional athletes train for their season.
Matt Damon said: “When I do that or when I did the Jason Bourne movies, it feels almost like a season, in what I would imagine what it feels like for you guys. It’s just part of your day, it’s just part of your job”.
How Matt Damon Lost the Weight
Damon’s transformation involved two major changes: a strict new diet and intense training. The most notable shift was cutting gluten from his meals entirely. This decision was initially made on his doctor’s advice for another reason, but he continued it for the role.
Typically, Damon’s walking-around weight is between 185 and 200 pounds. For The Odyssey, he brought that down to 167 pounds, a weight he last saw as a teenager.
Matt Damon explained: “I used to walk around at between 185 and 200, and I did that whole movie at 167. And I haven’t been that light since high school. So it was a lot of training and a really strict diet”.
The actor has kept up his gluten-free lifestyle even after finishing the movie. He told the Kelce brothers he now drinks gluten-free beer and has fully adjusted to the diet.
A Safer Approach Than Past Transformations
This weight loss method was very different from a dangerous experience Damon had earlier in his career. For the 1996 film Courage Under Fire, he lost between 40 and 50 pounds in roughly 100 days.
That extreme diet involved eating very little and running up to 13 miles a day. A doctor later warned Damon he “could have shrunk my heart permanently” from that effort. The actor now says he “wouldn’t do that again because it was just too much”.
His weight gain for 2009’s The Informant! was a more enjoyable process. Damon has joked about eating fast food and drinking dark beer to gain 30 pounds for that role.
Filming with Revolutionary IMAX Technology
The physical challenge was only one part of making The Odyssey. Damon also discussed the technical difficulties of filming. Christopher Nolan shot the entire movie using IMAX cameras, a first for a major Hollywood feature.
These cameras are famously loud, making dialogue scenes tricky. Damon compared the sound to “a blender, like a Cuisinart in your face when the camera’s close to you”. To solve this, the crew built special soundproof housing and a system of mirrors around the cameras so actors could perform naturally.
Christopher Nolan noted: “The blimp system is a game-changer. You can be shooting a foot from [an actor’s] face while they’re whispering and get usable sound”.
The Star-Studded Cast of The Odyssey
Matt Damon leads a massive ensemble cast in this adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek poem. The story follows the warrior Odysseus on his long, perilous journey home after the Trojan War.
The film features Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, and Charlize Theron. Other cast members include Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, and Mia Goth.
Filming took place in several countries, including Greece, Iceland, and Morocco. Damon has called the experience of working on such a large-scale production “the best experience of my career”.
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When The Odyssey Arrives in Theaters
Moviegoers will get to see Damon’s transformation on the big screen soon. The Odyssey is scheduled for release on July 17, 2026. The film will open in IMAX theaters, taking full advantage of the new camera technology developed for its production.
A first trailer for the film was released in December 2025, offering a glimpse of Damon as Odysseus. The movie is described by Universal Pictures as “a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology”.
Damon himself has promised the film delivers on spectacle, calling it “exactly what you want of a summer movie”. He added that with Christopher Nolan’s approach, “It should be the most massively entertaining film. It should feel mythic”.
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