Himesh Patel Has the Best Beard in The Odyssey

Christopher Nolan wasn’t messing around when it came to beards in The Odyssey. In an interview with USA Today, Matt Damon revealed that he spent an entire year growing his for the role of Odysseus. Jon Bernthal’s Menelaus, meanwhile, went for a thick, unruly one that was every bit as loud as the Spartan king himself. Throw in a cast full of weather-beaten sailors, battle-hardened warriors, and permanently windswept Greeks, and there are plenty of contenders for the film's most mythological fuzz. But the winner is’t Damon or Bernthal. It’s Himesh Patel.Real ones will remember Patel as Tamwar Masood in EastEnders. When he first pulled up to Albert Square back in 2007, he was a fresh-faced 16-year-old who couldn’t grow stubble even if his life depended on it. He eventually left Walford in 2016, and if anyone had predicted that, a decade later, he’d end up playing Eurylochus in The Odyssey with the film’s greatest beard, they’d probably have been laughed out of the Queen Vic.Universal PicturesThat’s not to say he has the biggest beard in the movie—not even close. Unlike Odysseus’ or Menelaus’, Eurylochus’ sat somewhere in the middle. It was dense without becoming enormous. Short without looking trimmed to within an inch of its life. The cheeks were packed with coverage, the mustache flowed straight into the beard, and the neckline had just enough shape to frame his jaw without screaming, “Look! I had a barber appointment yesterday!”Most importantly, it looked believable. Nolan’s version of The Odyssey isn’t particularly interested in polished Hollywood perfection, and Patel’s beard fit that vibe so well. It looked dry, wind-beaten, and slightly dusty, like it’s spent months picking up sea salt, smoke, and whatever else comes with rowing across ancient Greece instead of expensive beard oil and sandalwood balm.It also completely changed Patel’s face. Tamwar always had softer features. Eurylochus still did, but the beard added enough weight and definition to make him feel a little older and a little tougher.The good news is that it’s also one of the more achievable beards in the film. Assuming that your genetics are there, the trick here isn’t to grow it for as long as humanly possible. Around the 10 to 15 millimeter mark is the sweet spot. Keep plenty of density through the cheeks, leave the mustache connected, avoid carving razor-sharp lines around the neck, and don’t drown it in product. This isn’t the sorta beard that's supposed to look freshly detailed—it’s supposed to look like it’s been too busy surviving a Cyclops to care.Sure, there’ll be plenty of buzz about the monsters and the battles and the performances. But there should also be more of it about Himesh Patel’s epic beard.A version of this story originally appeared in British GQ.