Tom Holland stars as Telemachus in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey,’ and the acclaimed filmmaker asked him to recruit Zendaya to play Athena on his behalf
Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures (2)
NEED TO KNOW
- Tom Holland opened up about how he broke the news that to wife Zendaya that Christopher Nolan wanted to cast her as Athena in The Odyssey
- The married couple costar in both The Odyssey, in theaters July 17, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, in theaters July 31
- In The Odyssey, Holland portrays Odysseus (Matt Damon) and Penelope’s (Anne Hathaway) son Telemachus
Tom Holland received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to break the news to his wife Zendaya that Christopher Nolan wanted to cast her in The Odyssey.
In recent interview alongside costar Robert Pattinson for Access Hollywood, Holland, 30, shared how Nolan asked him permission to recruit Zendaya, 29, to join him in the epic.
“It was such a gift because I know how much she’s admired Chris. Interstellar is her favorite movie,” Holland said.
Holland said that he and Zendaya — who got married earlier this year — originally read the screenplay for The Odyssey together after the Spider-Man actor was cast in 2024. When Holland met with Nolan to discuss the project, he said the filmmaker asked him, “‘Do you mind if I ask you a question, and please don’t be offended by my asking.’ And I thought he was going to ask if we could put lifts in my shoes or something.”
“I didn’t know what he was going to say, and he went, ‘Would you be offended if I asked Zendaya to play Athena?’ And I was like ‘Why would I be offended?’” Holland added. “I said ‘I would be honored, that’s amazing. I’m sure she would love to.’ And then I asked him, ‘Do you want me to tell her?’ And he said ‘Yeah.’ And then I went home and she asked me about the meeting and I said to her, ‘You should read the script again.’ And she was like ‘Well, I’ve read it.’ And I said ‘No, no no, just trust me, you should read it again.’ And she was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ I said, ‘Just read it again, but read Athena really closely.’ And the little corners of her mouth . . . It was amazing.”
Credit: Franco Origlia/WireImage
Zendaya and Holland, of course, already star together in the Spider-Man franchise, which launched with 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. They went public with their romantic relationship in 2021.
Zendaya shared her own side of the casting story when she and John Leguizamo chatted about the movie with Happy Sad Confused‘s Josh Horowitz recently, per a video the podcast shared on TikTok.
“I was already excited because obviously Tom had this conversation before I did, and nowhere in my mind did I think that I would get to also be a part of it,” she said in that interview. “So I was already on cloud nine for him, and just that happening was a little bit . . . I remember he came home and he was like, ‘I need you to read something.’ And I was like, ‘Is that the thing we were just reading the other night?’ And he’s like, ‘Yes. But now read it thinking of this character.’ And I was like ‘Shut up! You’re joking!’ It was pretty cool.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Credit: Grant Buchanan/Dave Benett/WireImage
Zendaya’s Athena appears in The Odyssey as an advisor to Odysseus (Matt Damon) throughout the ancient Greek epic myth. She assists him with his years-long journey home from the Trojan War and efforts to maintain his standing as king on his home island Ithaca. Holland plays Odysseus’ son Telemachus; he and his mother Penelope (Anne Hathaway) spend much of the story contending with a group of men who seek to wed Penelope and seize power in Odysseus’ absence.
The Odyssey is in theaters July 17. Zendaya and Holland hit the big screens for a second time this summer when Spider-Man: Brand New Day releases July 31.
Read the full article here