The Odyssey, Part 1

After years of war, no one could stand between my men. Homer's epic poem is over 3,500 years old. Christopher Nolan has taken on the task of telling the tale of Odysseus returning from the Trojan War, facing all kinds of physical problems, but also dealing with his flaws like excessive pride. I asked the star, Matt Damon, about just that. You recognize it in some of the decisions he makes. For instance, being almost kind of joyful that he'll be the first one to do it, and that's why this is a good idea. He's a character who's flawed and human and pays for his mistakes, and the film is, I think, a lot about that. In some ways, similar to some of the themes in Oppenheimer, living with the consequences of his ingenuity, the story's so rich and dense, and I think it depends on at what point in your life you encounter it, but you're going to get different things out of it. Christopher Nolan got his hands on it. Everybody wants to work with Christopher Nolan. Why? For me, it starts with being a fan of his movies. I just love the movies he makes. I love how original they are. I love the scale of them, just how brilliantly made they are. I find them very emotional. I just love everything about the way he tells a story. Do you need to take a breather after working this hard on a film? Well, I didn't work for a year, so I took my breather, and I needed it. When you come back to something after a year like this, you've seen it, of course. I don't even remember that day when we did that. That can happen. That can, but not with this one. I remember every frame of this one. Because I think we had to work so hard for every frame. We would wear our armor up the mountain, because how else is it going to get up there? It really, in some ways, felt like an expedition more than a movie. We all were in it together, out in the elements and doing it. To what extent are you grateful to have gotten to this moment in your life? If you had told me when we first met 34 years ago, and if you told me we would be having this conversation about this movie, I would have been very, very happy. I'm happy to be sitting here and seeing something worked out right in this chaotic period of time for us all. I appreciate that, Patrick. Thanks. Thank you, man. I appreciate your time. Great to see you, as always.