Good Hang with Amy Poehler

Podbit · Good Hang with Amy Poehler

Tom Holland

Explore episode Jun 2, 2026
Arts
Matt Damon on The Odyssey: A Masterclass in Consistency

Tom Holland · Jun 2, 2026 Arts

On Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, Tom Holland says Matt Damon was the hardest-working person he's ever seen on a film set — and was equally kind and gracious from the first day to the last, treating it as if it were his debut film. Tom cites watching Matt and Anne Hathaway sustain a deeply emotional scene through multiple IMAX film reloads as the greatest acting masterclass of his career.

1m 40s

Where this was said

The Odyssey: Playing Telemachus, Filming on IMAX, and the Christopher Nolan Experience

At 57:20 · chapter starts 56:10

Tom plays Telemachus in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey — a story about a boy searching for his father while his father (Matt Damon as Odysseus) tries to come home. The shoot was technically formidable: everything filmed on IMAX, with a camera so large it needed a custom sound-dampening 'blimp' to be usable in dialogue scenes. The film could only run for three minutes before needing a reload. In a nine-minute emotional scene between Damon and Anne Hathaway, Tom watched both actors hold their emotional state silently through multiple pauses while the camera was reloaded — a masterclass in patience, professionalism, and self-belief that left him visibly awed. Nolan himself was 'fun' — warm and encouraging, with a pat on the back after a good take that felt like a stadium roar.

Arts
The IMAX Camera Is as Big as a Table

Tom Holland · Jun 2, 2026 Arts

On The Odyssey, the IMAX camera was so large it required a custom sound-dampening 'blimp' enclosure to mute its noise during dialogue. When shot handheld without the blimp, it was deafeningly loud. The camera also ran out of film every three minutes, meaning the entire crew would pause and reload while Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway held their emotional state.

1m 15s
Arts
IMAX camera runs only 3 minutes

Tom Holland · Jun 2, 2026

The IMAX camera on The Odyssey held only 3 minutes of film, forcing Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway to stay in character between reloads during a 9-minute scene.

57:47 – 58:30

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