‘The Odyssey’: Even Himesh Patel Was Surprised By How Big His Role Turned Out To Be

The actor on why the part of Eurylochus felt like “a gift,” his strangest day on set ("These six pigs come trotting in…"), and what we can expect from Ryan Coogler's X-Files reboot.Courtesy of Universal PicturesThe Odyssey isn’t Himesh Patel’s first go-round with Christopher Nolan. The Emmy-nominated actor debuted in the Nolan-verse with a supporting role in 2020’s Tenet — but this one feels different. (And it’s not just because of the pandemic’s impact on the time-bending film.) The Odyssey is already a record-breaking sensation that has become the hottest ticket in the world. And, in a sea of A-list stars and talented actors, Patel has earned universal praise, whether it’s for his beard or his standout performance as Eurylochus, the right-hand man to Odysseus (Matt Damon) who starts to question his captain’s decisions.“Nothing could have prepared me for the amazing response that we've had in every way since the movie came out; it's been quite overwhelming,” Patel confesses over Zoom, his beard looking as strong as ever. “On a personal level, I've been really heartened by it. I'm not someone who thinks too much about what people are going to think about me, because I'm just so grateful to be a part of a movie like this, but the response to Eurylochus has been really lovely. I'm aware of how rare something like this is in anyone's career, and I'm just soaking it all in as much as I can.”The British actor spent the first decade of his career on the BBC soap EastEnders, before breaking out on the big screen as the lead of 2019’s Beatles rom-com Yesterday. He’s since been an Emmy-nominated for HBO’s beloved limited series Station Eleven and starred in The Franchise, Enola Holmes 3, and Don’t Look Up. In Tenet, he made a brief impression as Mahir, an agent who assists Neil (Robert Pattinson) and the Protagonist (John David Washington) with an airport heist. Clearly Nolan was taken enough with Patel to circle back to him with a no audition, straight offer for The Odyssey. “I didn't think I'd gotten to the point where he could offer me a role,” Patel admits.Patel’s Eurylochus is by the side of Damon’s Odysseus for almost every step of The Odyssey. He serves as both his trusted sidekick and questioning conscience, particularly as Odysseus’ decisions continue to put their crew and ship in jeopardy. Not that Eurylochus’ attempts at leadership go any better, such as when he leads his men right into the den of the witch Circe (Samantha Morton), who welcomes the soldiers by turning them into pigs. Odysseus soon saves them, but that doesn’t stop Eurylochus and the others from disobeying him after he orders them not to slaughter the cattle of the Sun God, having been told that they’d die as a result. And that they do, reinforcing the lesson that you should always listen to the advice of a blind prophet from the Greek underworld.With The Odyssey still dominating its box office journey, we caught up with Patel to talk about watching himself turn into a pig, being bonded with the Odysseus crew for life, and hoping that Hollywood takes the right lessons from the film.Himesh Patel: That story was shared with me. Look, I accept the compliment, of course. It's quite funny to be complimented so highly for something that just comes out of your face without you trying at all. We shot the movie fairly chronologically, so it was just growing and growing and growing and growing, and by the end, it was an absolute mess. But I guess it did the job.You’re only 35, and you will likely have many more great movies in your future, but is there something rewarding about knowing that, no matter what, at the end of your career, you will have been a part of something that’s status is already cemented in film history? Fifty years from now, people will still be talking about The Odyssey.Part of me felt that that was possible when we were making it, because of Chris and the way we were making it. There were times where we were under some physically challenging circumstances, and 99 percent of the time Matt was there with us, and, I could tell this was something special for him in his career, and he’s had one of the great careers, in terms of the breadth and impact of work. On the last day, we wrapped at the same time, and I was in the makeup trailer, having the dirt scrubbed from my face, and he came in and gave me an embrace, and he said, "I think we've made a good one." And there were times where I’d go, "If Matt Damon is saying this, maybe we're onto something." Also, I don't know how many more chances any of us are going to have to make a movie this physically rigorous, on this sort of scale, telling a story this historic. And to be the people who brought it to life in the grandest way possible, every single one of us would say it's a monumental moment in our lives.In 2019, I talked to Matt about Ford v Ferrari, and he said that the cast and crew often joked that they were making “the last movie ever,” because that type of big, non-superhero project was becoming a rarity. Seven years later, it’s an encouraging sign for cinema that it’s possible to go even bigger.We’re two weeks in and the film is so popular that people can’t get a ticket. So, whoever the decision makers are at various studios in terms of how movies get made, no matter what movie you're making, whatever genre it is, whatever audience you're trying to go for, just try and make it as practically as you can. There is a visceral energy and something really tactile and grounded to this story that people are really responding to, and people are thrilled when I tell them that the Circe sequence had no CGI in it. They're thrilled when I try and explain to them — and I say try and explain because I don't even know exactly how we did the Cyclops sequence — that we were in an actual cave. They're thrilled when I say we were on an actual boat in the Mediterranean. Like, people want that experience. They feel it on the screen, but then also they love knowing that that effort went into making a movie. So I hope that this is a moment where people go, "This is a marker of what people want, what people respond to, what thrills them," and that we try to do that more often.What’s your memory of The Odyssey first being presented to you?I got a call from my agent saying that Chris is offering me a role in his new movie, which I was just floored by, because I didn't think I'd gotten to the point where he could offer me a role. We had to figure out my schedule and whether I could actually do it; there was a week there where we were trying to balance that with Enola Homes 3. Chris then called and said, "It sounds like we're back in business. Have you heard of The Odyssey?" [Laughs.] In all honesty, I said, "I’ve heard of it, but I've never read it, so I shall read it now.” I had to wait about a week, because he was coming back to London for Christmas, and [Odyssey producer and Nolan’s wife] Emma [Thomas] handed me the script in person, and then I had the Christmas break to read it. When I read it, I thought, I can't believe I've been offered this role. He told me that I’d be in a lot of it for six months, but I couldn’t have been prepared for the substance of the role. It was a gift to be offered something like that, and I take it to heart that he felt he could trust me with it. So it was a sense of anticipation and slight trepidation of exactly how we were going to achieve it and what was to be asked of me.After diving into the script, did you then have any early questions for Chris?There wasn't anything too heavy. I saw him at the beginning of the year for my costume fitting, and he was like, "So, what do you think?" And, in our sort of British sense of humor, I was like," Yeah, it's all right." But my role within it was clear to me. One thing I hope people take away from it — and hopefully he'll get an accolade for it early next year — is it's a monumental feat of writing. To have condensed The Odyssey into a three-hour movie is a really amazing piece of work. I felt that I could track my character, the erosion of faith, and the desperation that leads him to the decision that he makes at the end that seemingly dooms them. Because I wasn’t as steeped in it as some people, I could separate my character in the movie from the weight of expectation and I could just see this guy within this version of The Odyssey. There were bits and pieces that we molded and aparted along the way as Chris realized what I was bringing to it.You’ve gone out of your way to say how much you admired Chris’ casting choices in this movie, calling it, whether intentionally or not, a “big middle finger” to people who think otherwise. How did you view all of this strange outrage, and why do you think it was so important for Chris to make casting decisions that maybe didn’t match up with what people think some old historic text says but instead is giving a better reflection of the world?It was always patently ridiculous to me because it's a story with the Cyclops in it! So I don't know what we're going on about. It's outrage for outrage's sake, and there are other factors involved where I don't know if now's the time to unpack it. But there are ways in which people can combat those forces, and some people choose to do it in their art. I can't speak to Chris' intentions, but I can sense something in the story that he told, the way he chose to tell it, in the way of casting it. He's clearly someone with a very open mind, someone with a real sense of the world and how one can reflect the world truly today and foster a sense of empathy. Also, he's telling a story about the aftermath of a war, brought on by perhaps a slightly megalomaniacal man trying to control some trade routes. I don't know, I'll let people do the maths on that one. [Laughs.]Previously, speaking to GQ, Matt said, while in Iceland, you asked him if these were the worst conditions he’s ever filmed in, and he replied with something like, “If it’s not the worst, then you were there with me for whatever the worst was.” What was the hardest day on set, and, at a certain point, were you ever just numb to the intense conditions?I feel like if I was numb then that's a problem. Even if I'm scared or concerned about my ability to pull through and deliver, it's still a better place to be than numb. There were many challenges along the way, but getting in the water, and trying to climb back onto the boat, which happened twice, there's just a challenge to moving in the water with those costumes; the weight of it is just really tough. It's all real, there's no rig, the boat's moving away, and you've gotta grab onto the boat and climb up onto it. That's when I realized maybe I need to spend more time at the gym.There's a certain athleticism that Chris demanded from us, and, and he cast it accordingly. There were times where I went, "Are you sure about me?" Because I don't know if I'm the most athletic guy in the world. And that’s Chris realized he needed someone like Matt at the helm of this thing. He was 54 when we shot this, and I don't know what he's got going on, but when we were running, he could start at the back and he would always take over all of us; it was staggering. You might have some tough days, but when you put someone like that leading the pack, you just sort of get on with it.Because of that, are you kind of trauma-bonded for life with the Odysseus crew? If you see each other 10 years from now, I think there will be some knowing nod, like, Yeah, we did that.Yeah, we will see each other even 50 years from now and be talking about it. It's less trauma bonding, more bonding through the hard times and the fun times. We're from all different walks of life, and we wouldn't agree on everything, but found it to be a really fascinating experience of what it must be like to bond with a group of people that you end up going through trials with. No matter what else is going on, you will always be there for each other. I certainly relied on a bunch of those guys to pull me back up into the boat! There was a real camaraderie there. We're still in touch, and it was great to see them at the New York premiere. We can all now say that we were part of this journey. We've got these stories to tell for years to come.Speaking of stories, any disappointment in not actually being in the horse? In the moment, it’s probably nice to not have to be in that brutal, confined filming situation, but, years from now, it would make for a hell of a tale. I’ve already seen Jon Bernthal dining out on it!That was a last-minute decision. Chris was like, "I need a guy on the outside with the armor." Again, it's my own insecurity creeping in, but I thought, Did they just know that I wasn't gonna be able to get out of that horse? They were like, "He doesn't have the arms, he's gonna fall flat on his face and you're gonna have an insurance problem.” There is part of me that goes, Man, I wish I'd been in that horse with those guys. But then I heard the stories about it and it sounded pretty gnarly.Earlier, you mentioned Circe turning Eurylochus and his men into pigs. I know you don’t want to give away the magic of how it was done, but what stands out about everyone’s approach to that unique scene?We knew that was towards the end of proceedings when we were in Scotland, and so there was a real buildup to that. Samantha is one of the greatest actresses of our times, and we were all so excited to see what she'd prepared. Because I had to have certain tests and prosthetics done, I had a vague sense of what we were trying to achieve, but it really didn't come home to me until I was there over that week we were shooting that scene. There was something really thrilling about the way that we did that, which, I won't spoil the details of. We were using practical effects that have existed for 40 years and we just sort of lost sight of them because we've decided that CGI is better. I was in awe of the artists who came together to make this happen, and then gluing it all together is Samantha with her astounding performance. My head was kind of spinning witnessing it; it’s very strange to watch yourself turn into a pig. And it was just also surreal. You finish doing a take where you're shoving broth in your face and then they go, "Let's bring in the chairs for the pigs," and these six pigs come trotting in, as if they've just been in their trailer.You managed to go right from Christopher Nolan to Ryan Coogler, after you just wrapped filming Hulu’s X-Files reboot, in which you still star opposite fellow Station Eleven alum Danielle Deadwyler. It sounds like you can’t say much yet, but what drew you into that world? Was it as simple as working with Danielle and Ryan?It was definitely that. If Ryan Coogler comes calling, you kinda go, "Yeah." It was just a complete no-brainer. It's not the kind of thing that anyone would think twice about, unless they were of some high, high privilege. And to then get to do something like this with Danielle was just thrilling; she's one of the best actresses out there. My only hope with anything I do is that I have a good time and feel like I'm making something with artistic intent and ambition, and I certainly felt that on this. I really hope we get to do more. We'll see, I await a decision.Derek Lawrence is a pop culture writer who has been covering film and TV for over a decade. His work has appeared in GQ, Vanity Fair, Vulture and Entertainment Weekly. He’s also the author of the upcoming book A Quarter-Mile at a Time: The Oral History of the Fast & Furious Franchise. ... Read More