The Odyssey Movie Viewing Guide | From the Original Characters to the Ending and What to Read Next
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is a film based on a 3,000-year-old epic poem. So if you know even a little about who the characters on screen originally were, the same scenes read completely differently.
This article covers, in order, the background worth knowing before watching, a rundown of the confirmed cast, an outline of the ending, and books to read after the film ends. The ending is folded away separately, so if you haven't seen it yet, you can just skip that part.
The 10 Confirmed Cast Members: Who Is Who
The protagonist Odysseus is played by Matt Damon. He is a man who, even after the Trojan War ended, spent nearly 10 years wandering the sea, unable to reach home. His son Telemachus, who waits for him, is played by Tom Holland, and his wife Penelope, who has guarded the palace of Ithaca for nearly 20 years, is played by Anne Hathaway.
Antinous, who courts Penelope and covets Odysseus's place, is Robert Pattinson. In the original, he is the leader of the suitors and behaves the most insolently of them all, so how this character is portrayed shapes the tension of the latter half.
Helen, whose role sparked the Trojan War, is played by Lupita Nyong'o, and Nyong'o also plays Clytemnestra—Helen's sister and Agamemnon's wife—in a dual role. The Greek commander-in-chief Agamemnon is played by Benny Safdie.
In the realm of gods and magic, Zendaya is cast as Athena, the goddess of wisdom who helps Odysseus; Charlize Theron as the nymph Calypso, who keeps him captive on her island; and Samantha Morton as the witch Circe, who turns men into beasts. John Leguizamo plays Eumaeus, the swineherd in Ithaca who never betrays his master.
The Original Odyssey: Where the Story Begins
Homer's epic, the Odyssey, opens long after Troy has fallen. When the story begins, Odysseus is already held captive on the nymph Calypso's island, and Poseidon, god of the sea, keeps blocking his homecoming because of the loss of his son Polyphemus's eye.
Meanwhile, in Ithaca, Penelope is being tormented by the swarming suitors. Telemachus, who can barely remember his father's face, is growing up in the middle of it all. Others trying to take the place of the missing husband and father—this is the starting point of the epic.
The events Odysseus experienced at sea—the one-eyed giant, Circe, the Sirens—are not told in chronological order. In the original, they appear in the form of Odysseus himself recounting what he went through, in flashback, at the palace of a foreign king.
So if you're curious about the original sequence of each event, it's best to check the source text separately. The famous Polyphemus cave episode is laid out in its original order in the Cyclops Polyphemus cave episode.
If You're Curious About the Ending (Spoilers)
The following contains the film's final developments. If you haven't watched it yet, leave this closed and move on to the next paragraph.
Expand the movie ending overview
Odysseus enters Ithaca disguised as a beggar. After entering his own home as if he were a guest and seeing the suitors' behavior firsthand, he ultimately punishes them all and reunites with his family.
But the story doesn't end with the reunion. Following a prophecy he heard in the underworld, Odysseus chooses to set sail again, together with Penelope. The story closes with the man who finally returned after 20 years choosing to go back out to sea on his own.
This prophecy itself also appears in the original Odyssey. It says Odysseus must carry an oar on his shoulder and walk inland to a place that knows nothing of the sea, traveling until he meets someone who mistakes the oar for a grain winnowing shovel.
However, the original text leaves this journey as a prophecy only, never depicting it directly. The final scene of the couple setting out together is best understood as the film's adaptation.
Stories to Continue With
Often, a character who passes by briefly in the film has a much longer story in the original. Continue reading whichever side you're curious about.
If you're curious about the incident that earned Odysseus Poseidon's hatred, see the Cyclops Polyphemus cave episode; if you're curious about the nymph who kept Odysseus on her island for 7 years, see Who Is Calypso?
If you're curious about how Penelope endured the 20 years her husband was away, and the days after the late-arriving suitors took over the palace, see The Story of Penelope.
If you want to go through the plot of the entire original in order, continue to the Odyssey plot summary; if you want to compare translations further before choosing, continue to the criteria for choosing an Odyssey book.