Tom Holland was ‘intimidated’ when he met The Odyssey director Christopher Nolan

By Casey Cooper-Fiske, Press Association Senior Entertainment Reporter

Actor Tom Holland has said he felt “intimidated” when he met The Odyssey director Christopher Nolan for the first time.

The 30-year-old, who will also return to the role of Spider-Man in Brand New Day later this month, plays Telemachus in Sir Christopher’s adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic, which follows Odysseus (Matt Damon), the Greek king of Ithaca, as he makes his 10-year journey home after the Trojan War.

Questioned on how he reacted to being asked if he would like to be in the film, on the Dish From Waitrose podcast, Holland said: “I mean, obviously the first word out of your mouth is ‘yes’.

“I was really intimidated to meet him, but he’s a very disarming person, he’s really kind, he’s really personable, and he was really open about the ambition of what he wanted to try and do.

“And I love film, I love making movies, I love watching movies, and I was just excited as a fan of cinema to hear what he was planning on doing, and then to get the chance to be in it was just… I’m still to this day kind of pinching myself.

“Knowing that I’m going to his premiere tonight is exciting enough, and now knowing that like I’m in it, I mean, it’s crazy to me still.”

He said that the 55-year-old director had no phone and as a result he was called in to meet him rather than by Nolan himself.

Holland added: “You come and sit down with him, and for a long time we just chatted as just two people, about film, and then he kind of dropped the mic and said, ‘the movie I want to make is The Odyssey’.

“And then immediately in my head trying to remember what The Odyssey was about, trying to seem intelligent… but you know it was amazing, he pitched me the story, he told me the role.

“I took the script home that night and read it, and was absolutely floored by his ability to adapt something that’s so massive, I think he’s so celebrated as a director, he’s often overlooked as a writer.”

The actor called The Odyssey, which is the first film to have been shot entirely with Imax film cameras, “probably the biggest movie that has ever been made”.

The film also stars Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya and Charlize Theron, and is in cinemas now.

The full interview can be heard on the Dish From Waitrose podcast, which is available on all major podcast providers.