'Perfect' Zendaya almost wasn't in The Odyssey until Christopher Nolan's unusual request
The Odyssey is already one of the biggest films of the year and it's hard to imagine it without one top actress.
It stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, who embarks on a perilous 10-year journey home after the Trojan War to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and their son, Telemachus (Tom Holland).
The journey is anything but straightforward. Along the way, Odysseus must survive violent storms, outwit the Cyclops, and overcome countless deadly obstacles. The film marks the most recent on-screen collaboration between real-life newlyweds Holland and Zendaya, who are also appearing together in the upcoming Spider-Man sequel Brand New Day.
Holland actually played a part in Zendaya joining the film, which boasts a large ensemble cast of A-listers, including Charlize Theron, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Elliot Page and more.
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It was Holland who got to share the news with Zendaya, who has also had a packed schedule this year, balancing the final season of Euphoria, the third Dune film, and The Drama, in which she stars opposite Pattinson, that Nolan wanted her to join his latest project.
Holland revealed that during his own meeting with the director, Nolan asked whether Zendaya might also be interested in a role. Given the pair's status as one of Hollywood’s most accomplished on-screen power couples, each with an impressive body of work and numerous accolades, the request was hardly unexpected.
According to Holland, Nolan prefaced the question by asking him not to be offended before explaining that he wanted Holland to ask Zendaya if she would be interested in playing Athena in the film.
“At my meeting with Chris, he asked me a question, he said, ‘Do you mind if I ask you a question? And please don’t be offended by my asking,’” Holland told Access Hollywood. “And I thought he was going to ask me, like, ‘Can we put lifts in your shoes or something to make you taller?’
“I didn’t know what he was going to say. And he went, ‘Would you be offended if I asked Zendaya to play Athena?’ I was like, ‘Why would I be offended?’”
He added: “I just said, ‘Oh, mate, I would be honoured. That’s amazing. I’m sure she would love to.’ And then I asked him, I said, ‘Do you want me to tell her?’ And he said, yeah. I went home, and she asked me about the meeting, and I just said to her, ‘You should read the script again.’ And she was like, ‘Well, I read it.’ I said, ‘No, no, no. Just trust me. Like, you should read it again.’
“And she was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ I said, ‘Just read it again, but read Athena, like, really closely.’ And the little corners of her mouth went up. It was amazing.”
Damon was equally full of praise for Zendaya, even sharing a surprising behind-the-scenes anecdote from the set of The Odyssey.
Speaking to Elle, Damon revealed that Christopher Nolan is famously sparing with his praise, making even a simple 'good' feel like a major compliment. But Zendaya managed to achieve something he and Holland had rarely, if ever, experienced.
“Chris is known for being very circumspect. So when you do a take, it’s not like he says, ‘That was great.’ He’ll go, ‘Yep, good. Okay.’ And that is the equivalent of the greatest praise you could ever get,” Damon explained.
However, after watching Zendaya deliver a particularly impressive scene, Damon said Nolan’s reaction left both him and Holland stunned.
“Zendaya, on the other hand—there were takes where she did one thing, she did this amazing scene, and he said, ‘Cut.’ And then he went, ‘Perfect,’” he recalled.
The comment was so unusual that Damon and Holland reportedly spent the rest of filming joking about it. “Literally, Tom [Holland] and I were obsessed with this. She got a ‘perfect’? I’ve never even gotten a ‘great.’ She got a ‘perfect’?” Damon joked, revealing just how rare Nolan’s highest praise truly is.
Tom Holland and Zendaya relationship timeline
2016
Holland and Zendaya meet for the first time at a chemistry read for Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Apparently, producer Amy Pascal warned them not to date, after every other Spider-Man leading man and lady (Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone) ended up falling for each other off-screen.
Pascal later told the New York Times: “I took Tom and Zendaya aside, separately, when we first cast them and gave them a lecture.
“Don’t go there—just don’t. Try not to. It can just complicate things, you know?”
Later that year, the pair start popping up on each other’s Instagram feeds.
July 2017
An insider tells People that Holland and Zendaya are dating, adding ‘they've gone on vacations with each other and try and spend as much time as possible with one another’.
Zendaya responds on X, writing: “Wait wait...my favorite is when it says we go on vacations together HA! I haven't been on a vacation in years!”
Holland responds, adding: “Does the press tour count?”
August 2017
In a Variety interview, Zendaya again tried to put rumours of her romance with Holland to bed. She says: “He’s a great dude. He’s literally one of my best friends.
“This past how many months we’ve had to do press tours together. There’s very few people that will understand what that’s like at 20 years old.”
February 2020
Zendaya and her Euphoria co-star Jacob Elordi are snapped by paparazzi kissing in New York. However, their romance appears to end months later.
May 2020
The Daily Mail reports that Holland is dating The Spanish Princess star Nadia Parkes, and that the pair are isolating together during the Covid-19 lockdown in Holland’s London home. They separate at some point in 2021.
July 2021
A paparazzi picture of Holland and Zendaya kissing in a car in Los Angeles drags their relationship into the public eye.
November 2021
In a GQ profile, Holland says of his relationship being made public: “We sort of felt robbed of our privacy.”
Zendaya says in the same piece: “It was quite strange and weird and confusing and invasive.
“When you really love and care about somebody, some moments or things, you wish were your own.”
February 2022
Holland shoots down rumours that he and Zendaya have bought a house together in South London.
September 2022
Zendaya refers to Holland as her boyfriend for the first time, saying she text him when she won the Emmy for lead actress in a drama series for Euphoria, becoming the youngest double winner in Emmys history.
January 2025
Holland says in a Men’s Health profile that he doesn’t walk red carpets with Zendaya ‘because it’s not my moment, it’s her moment, and if we go together, it’s about us’.
5 January 2025
Zendaya sparks engagement rumours at the Golden Globes after sporting a massive diamond on her ring finger. TMZ reports Holland had proposed between Christmas and New Year at one of Zendaya’s family homes.
February 2026
Zendaya is spotted wearing a new ring, which fans are pretty confident is a wedding ring, indicating she and Holland have secretly wed,
March 2026
Zendaya’s stylish Law Roach tells reporters at the Actor Awards: "The wedding has already happened - you missed it! It’s very true."
However, the waters are muddied as this is around the time Zendaya is promoting The Drama, a wedding-themed movie she’s starring in with Robert Pattinson.
Some fans think her wedding ring and Roach’s comment are promo for the A24 film.
April 2026
AI-generated wedding pictures of Holland and Zendaya go viral. Zendaya tells Good Morning America: “AI is really getting advanced these days. Have an eye out. It definitely tricked some family and friends of mine."
June 2026
An Esquire journalist asks Holland if he had to send clarifications to family and friends about the AI-generated wedding photos. He responds: “No, because they were all there. That’s all you’ll get on that.”
Topics: Zendaya, Celebrity, TV And Film
Greg Harris