Zendaya has revealed she never saw her role in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey coming because, when the director first called their household, the part was Tom Holland’s alone, and she was simply thrilled for him.
“Tom got the call,” she recalled, describing pure joy for her now-husband: “My heart was just so full… He’s the best, and he deserves this so much.” As she tells it, “We already won. And I didn’t even put myself in that equation at all.” Then Nolan came calling for her, too.
‘The Big One’: The Night Tom Got the Call
Holland has shared his side of that first evening, telling People he came home from his meeting and sat down with Zendaya: “I’ve been offered this movie.” Her response: “By whom?” His answer:
“It’s the big one… It’s Chris Nolan,” prompting her ultimatum, delivered to laughter from Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway: “I’ll leave you if you don’t do The Odyssey.”
Zendaya, a lifelong Nolan devotee, admitted the surreal thrill of the script simply existing in her home:
“He got the call, and we freaked out,” she told Access Hollywood, confessing at the New York premiere that with “the Christopher Nolan script in my house… I did a little peeky peek.”
‘Now Read It With Athena in Mind’
The twist came when Holland returned from another Nolan meeting carrying life-changing instructions. “He was like, ‘Read it again.’ And I was like, ‘OK.’ And he was like, ‘But now, think of Athena,’” Zendaya told the Associated Press, recalling her reaction: “I was like, ‘Stop right now!’”
Nolan allowed Holland to be the one to deliver the news, which Zendaya called “really special”:
“I was already on cloud nine. The fact that I even got to be involved as well was just this cherry on top.” She added elsewhere: “I was incredibly grateful that I just even got to be a part of it, too. I didn’t see that coming.”
Nolan’s Verdict: ‘Perfect’
The gamble on the goddess of wisdom paid off emphatically. Nolan told TODAY he often referred to Zendaya on set as “perfect”, “to the chagrin of other people in the cast,” with Damon and Holland describing “shock and awe” at praise from a director famous for minimal notes.
Zendaya called the adaptation of Homer’s epic “extraordinary” and “so moving”:
“You would think a piece of literature like this is almost impossible to adapt, but if there’s anyone who can do it, it’s Mr. Nolan.”
A Married Couple’s Double Feature
The Odyssey, opening tomorrow, July 17, caps an extraordinary chapter for the couple, who confirmed last month they recently tied the knot. Holland plays Telemachus, son of Damon’s Odysseus, opposite Hathaway’s Penelope, Charlize Theron’s Calypso, and Lupita Nyong’o’s dual role as Helen and Clytemnestra.
Days later, they reunite on screen again in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, before both step back: Zendaya announced she’s “going into hiding for just a little bit” after her marathon year, while Holland hinted, “I’ll probably take a bit more time off in 2027.” First, though, comes the movie neither expected to share, the one where winning once turned out to be only half the story.
Zendaya says she never expected to be part of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
At first, she thought it was just Tom Holland.
“Tom got the call.”
“And my heart was just so full.”
She says she was genuinely excited for him.
“He’s the best, and he deserves this so much.”As a… pic.twitter.com/q6sfXX3f17
— Nitesh (@BitxNitesh) July 16, 2026
FAQ
Who does Zendaya play in The Odyssey?
Athena, the goddess of wisdom, in Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic, opening July 17, 2026.
Did Tom Holland get cast before her?
Yes. He was cast as Telemachus first; Zendaya says she celebrated his call without ever expecting a role herself: “We already won.”
How did she learn she was cast?
Holland, with Nolan’s blessing, handed her the script and said: “Read it again… but now, think of Athena.”
What did Nolan say about her performance?
He repeatedly called her “perfect” on set, per his TODAY interview. Surprisingly, castmates were used to his minimal praise.
Are Zendaya and Tom Holland married?
Yes. They confirmed last month that they recently wed, and appear together in both The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day this month.
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Last Updated on July 16, 2026 by 247 News Around The World
