Robert Pattinson recently opened up about his casting in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. In a new interview, the actor revealed his response when the legendary filmmaker called him for a role in the star-studded film.
Robert Pattinson asked to read the script for The Odyssey before signing on
While the rest of the A-list cast jumped on board blindly, Robert Pattinson insisted on looking over the pages first. In a recent interview with GQ, Robert Pattinson was the lone holdout who wanted to see the material before committing. When Nolan extended the offer, Pattinson recalled his own natural response: “I was like, ‘Yeah, can’t wait to read it.'”
The request caught the two-time Oscar-winning director off guard. Nolan reportedly replied, “You want to read it? Everyone else just said yes.”
That “everyone else” includes massive industry titans. Matt Damon leads the ancient Greek epic as Odysseus, alongside Anne Hathaway as Penelope and Tom Holland as their on-screen son, Telemachus. The call sheet also features heavy hitters like Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, and Zendaya. Yet, despite the caliber of his peers, Pattinson wanted to know exactly what he was getting into.
In the film, Pattinson plays Antinous, a sleazy antagonist aggressively trying to steal Odysseus’ throne and marry Penelope. The actor shared that he drew character inspiration from James Woods in Casino and even pushed for his character to wear sparkly leopard-print underpants beneath his period-accurate skirt.
Pattinson also noted that joining the production a third of the way through filming was eye-opening, describing a grueling shoot across multiple countries that left the crew “broken” by the end of every day.
The Odyssey hits theaters on July 17.
