Academy Award winner Matt Damon (Best Original Screenplay with Ben Affleck for “Good Will Hunting”) headlines Christopher Nolan’s new epic “The Odyssey” as Odysseus. It’s one of the biggest roles of Damon’s blockbuster career, which began with a small role in 1988’s “Mystic Pizza” (a breakthrough for Julia Roberts). He had Oscar-nominated roles in “The Martian”, “Invictus” and “GWH” and was also nominated for producing “Manchester by the Sea”. The “Bourne” and “Ocean’s” franchises include some of his most popular and beloved movies.
There’s also ’90s hits “Saving Private Ryan” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley”. In 2002 he had the lead voice role in DreamWorks Animation’s “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron”. Damon starred in Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” (2006) and Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant!” (2009). Damon re-teamed with Soderbergh on 2011 thriller “Contagion” and 2013 drama “Behind the Candelabra”, opposite Michael Douglas as Liberace.
I enjoyed “True Grit” (2010) and “The Adjustment Bureau” (2011). 2011’s “We Bought a Zoo” and 2017’s “The Great Wall”… not so much. But Damon has delivered some of his career-best performances over the seven years. I loved his work as Carroll Shelby in 2019’s “Ford v. Ferrari”. He was solid in gritty 2021 drama “Stillwater”, the follow-up to “Spotlight” for director Tom McCarthy. And Damon was great — part of a noteworthy ensemble — in 2023 NIKE / Michael Jordan film “AIR”. Now comes “The Odyssey”, Damon’s third collaboration with Nolan, after “Interstellar” (2014) and “Oppenheimer” (2023). Looking forward to seeing him one of this summer’s biggest films.