Christopher Nolan Captured His Cast’s Real Seasickness for ‘The Odyssey’

Christopher Nolan’s dedication to practical filmmaking has led to some iconic behind-the-scenes tales, from flipping a real jumbo jet for ‘Tenet’ to bending an actual hallway set for ‘Inception’. His approach for ‘The Odyssey’ took this philosophy even further, as he sent his cast out onto open water instead of relying on a soundstage to depict the story’s most perilous sea voyages.

For the maritime scenes, the production utilized the Draken Harald Hårfagre, the largest modern Viking longship, sailing between filming locations across the Aegadian and Aeolian Islands in Sicily and Italy from April to May 2025. Nolan described filming at sea as a particularly primal experience, a description that became more literal than anticipated when the weather turned.

This primal experience reportedly exceeded expectations during one specific sequence. According to DiscussingFilm, a scene filmed on the 115-foot wooden longship encountered such stormy conditions that many actors began to vomit, prompting Nolan to ask the crew if they would be okay with capturing the vomiting on camera.

Matt Damon, who portrays Odysseus, confirmed the incident in detail during a recent interview. He told E! News that a unique wave pattern caused by wind and swell led to six actors getting seriously seasick. Damon recounted how, as the crew leaned over the side of the ship, Nolan approached with a camera and asked if it was alright to film, to which the actors agreed to continue shooting.

The ocean sequences were not the only challenging aspect of production. Nolan shared that the cast faced a grueling 1,000-foot climb daily just to reach the film’s Ithaca set in Italy, a trek he described as brutal. A 15th-century castle on a seaside cliff stood in for Odysseus’ home, and since the country denied the production’s request to build an access road, the cast made the hour-long uphill trek on foot every day.

Nolan admitted there were moments on set when he wondered if the production had pushed everyone too far, though he noted that once people looked around at the stunning environment, they understood why the location was worth the effort. The film’s location shoot spanned an impressive range of countries from February to August 2025, including Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, Western Sahara, and Malta.

With a budget of approximately 250 million dollars, ‘The Odyssey’ is one of the most expensive films of Nolan’s career and marks the first movie ever shot entirely on IMAX’s 70 millimeter film cameras. The film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus alongside Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, and Zendaya, and premiered in London on July 6 ahead of its wide theatrical release.

‘The Odyssey’ opens in theaters worldwide on July 17. With storm-ravaged longship footage and the demanding daily hikes to set, it seems Nolan’s commitment to authenticity may have resulted in a film that is as physically grueling to create as the mythic journey it portrays.

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