Editor’s Note: Christopher Parr, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Pursuitist, recently interviewed Academy Award-winning actor, writer, and producer Matt Damon during the global press tour for The Odyssey. Damon won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting and is also known for starring in The Bourne Identity, The Martian, and numerous acclaimed films throughout his career. This interview was conducted by phone and has been edited for clarity and length.
The legendary Matt Damon spent much of 2026 traveling the world with The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s ambitious adaptation of Homer’s ancient epic. I caught up with Matt to discuss the physical demands of playing Odysseus, collaborating with Christopher Nolan, how a gluten-free diet has become part of his routine, traveling with his family, and settling one of America’s favorite fast food debates.
My thanks to the team at Universal Pictures for arranging the interview, and to Matt for taking time out of his busy schedule to speak with Pursuitist. Experience The Odyssey exclusively in theaters and IMAX this summer.
The Pursuitist Interview
Pursuitist: The Odyssey looks physically tougher than almost anything you’ve done. What made it so demanding?
Matt Damon: At times it felt more like an expedition than a traditional movie shoot. We were constantly moving through different countries and spent most of the shoot outside in pretty brutal weather. Rain, freezing cold, water everywhere, and just a lot of physical discomfort. Chris wanted the world to feel incredibly real, so we ended up experiencing a lot of the exact same conditions as the characters.
Pursuitist: Christopher Nolan is known for being right there in the thick of it. How does that impact the vibe on set?
Matt Damon: When you’re freezing and miserable and you look over, Chris is right there beside you, dealing with the exact same elements without a single complaint. There’s something really nice about being a soldier in the foxhole and looking over, and the general is right there next to you. It creates tremendous loyalty. Everyone instantly gets that we’re all in this together.
Pursuitist: You and Anne Hathaway have joked about Nolan’s “rules,” like no chairs and no playback monitors.
Matt Damon: We joke around and call them his commandments. But really, you work hard, you keep moving, and you aren’t sitting around watching playback. He builds all this momentum around the camera. He isn’t interested in stopping to pat everyone on the back after a good take. He just wants to keep pushing, and I respond really well to that kind of energy.
Pursuitist: Word is there’s a strict rule about Ugg boots, too.
Matt Damon: Anne joked, “Thou shalt not wear Uggs,” and she’s right. Chris just hates them. I think they symbolize leisure, which doesn’t really fit the atmosphere he creates on set.
Pursuitist: What did you want audiences to see in your version of Odysseus?
Matt Damon: Chris wanted me lean but strong. Odysseus has been at war forever and is just trying to survive this exhausting journey home. I trained hard, completely changed the way I ate, and dropped down to 167 pounds. That is the lightest I’ve been since high school.
Pursuitist: You gave up gluten to prepare for your role. Was that just a temporary movie diet?
Matt Damon: It started out as prep, but I honestly felt so much better that I just stuck with it. Giving up bread, pasta, pizza and beer was brutal because I love all of them. But it turned into a total lifestyle change rather than just a quick fix for the film.
Pursuitist: You still have strong opinions about fast food, though. Who makes the best French fries?
Matt Damon: McDonald’s, hands down. I love In-N-Out, but I’d give McDonald’s the edge on fries every time.
Pursuitist: Is there any food you absolutely refuse to eat?
Matt Damon: Sea urchin. Uni. My wife loves it, but I just can’t get there. It seems to be one of those things where you either love it or you immediately know it isn’t for you. You should probably try it once, but once was definitely enough for me.
Pursuitist: Your work takes the family all over the world. How important is travel in your day-to-day lives?
Matt Damon: We’re seasoned travelers at this point because I work in so many different places. My kids grew up used to us packing up and bouncing around all the time, and they really learned to embrace it. Whenever we can, we travel together so they can experience the places where I’m shooting.
Pursuitist: Of all those places, why has Dalkey, Ireland, remained so special to you?
Matt Damon: Dalkey is incredibly special to our whole family. We got stuck there when production on The Last Duel shut down in 2020, and the community just completely embraced us. One of my daughters has been all over the world and still says Dalkey is the one place she could actually imagine living. That really tells you everything you need to know about what that experience meant to us.
Pursuitist: After a shoot this grueling, what made the whole thing worth it?
Matt Damon: One of my girls watched the film and told me she was proud of me. We joke around a lot at home, so hearing that from her meant absolutely everything. This production required a lot of sacrifices from my whole family. In that specific moment, I knew it had all been worth it.
Pursuitist: Matt, thank you for the time.
Matt Damon: My pleasure.
The Pursuitist Final Word
Luxury often gets defined by exclusivity, but Damon measures it differently. Time with his wife and daughters. A quiet coastal town in Ireland. The satisfaction of demanding work alongside people he respects. Even his strongest food opinion remains refreshingly simple: McDonald’s still makes the best fries.
After spending a year bringing Odysseus to life across multiple continents, Damon keeps returning to the same destination: home. That balance between grand adventure and quiet family life may explain why, three decades into his career, he remains one of Hollywood’s most genuinely grounded leading men.
Experience The Odyssey exclusively in theaters and IMAX this summer.
