Matt Damon revealed how he slimmed down to his « high school » weight to play legendary Greek hero Odysseus in his highly-anticipated movie « The Odyssey. »
The 55-year-old actor reunited with director Christopher Nolan, with whom he previously collaborated on the hit movies « Interstellar » and « Oppenheimer, » for the upcoming action fantasy film, which is an adaptation of Homer’s epic poem « The Odyssey. »
During an appearance on Travis and Jason Kelce’s podcast « New Heights, » Damon opened up about how he achieved his body transformation after the retired Philadelphia Eagles player noted that the « Good Will Hunting » star was « getting pretty yoked up » in viral photos from the movie’s set.
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« Yeah, I was in really good shape, » Damon said. « I lost a lot of weight. »
The Academy Award winner explained that Nolan, 55, had a vision for how he wanted Damon to physically portray Odysseus.
« He said he wanted me like lean but strong, » Damon said. « It’s a weird thing. »
Damon went on to say that he made a key change to his diet that helped him shed the pounds.
« I literally, just because of this other thing I did with my doctor, stopped eating gluten, » he said. « I used to walk around between 185 and 200 pounds. And I did that whole movie at 167 pounds. »
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« I haven’t been that light since high school, » Damon admitted. « So it was a lot of training and a really strict diet. »
Damon, who has previously undergone major body transformations for roles, noted that having the help of a personal trainer is invaluable.
« Trainers are like, ‘What are we doing?’ And they can kind of do anything, » he said. « It’s just having kind of a clear goal and setting it. »
Damon drew comparisons between his preparations for physically demanding roles and the Kelce brothers’ routines while playing in the NFL.
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« When I do that or when I do the ‘Jason Bourne’ movies or whatever, it feels almost like a season. I would imagine what that feels like for you guys – when you’re preparing, » Damon said. « It’s like just part of your day. It’s part of your job, right? It’s like you get really routinized about it and kind of build your day around all that stuff. »
« That’s kind of the physical side of getting ready, » he added.
Damon also told Jason and Travis, 36, that he has continued to maintain a gluten-free diet after completing production on « The Odyssey. »
« I’m done, » he said. « I’m gluten-free everything. »
« I found a gluten-free beer, » Damon said with a laugh. « It’s been so long since I’ve had gluten, I can’t tell if it’s good or not. So, that’s a good sign. »
« It’s working. It’s working, » Jason told him.
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Damon has previously opened up about drastically transforming his body for roles. In the 1996 war drama « Courage Under Fire, » Damon lost between 40 and 50 pounds in about 100 days to play a Persian Gulf veteran dying from addiction and trauma.
The actor later said that his extreme weight loss was dangerous and revealed that a doctor told him that he « could have shrunk my heart permanently. »
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« I went too far, » Damon said via the U.K. outlet Express. « I got sick, and I wouldn’t do that again because it was just too much. »
« At the same time, it helped the performance, » he continued. « I didn’t have to act at all; I was a wreck. I was getting dizzy spells and hot flashes. I didn’t say anything to anyone for a while because I was afraid I might be really ill. »
Meanwhile, Damon has said that he had a more enjoyable experience when he gained about 30 pounds to play real-life whistleblower Mark Whitacre in 2009’s « The Informant! »
« It was very, very easy to gain the weight. Very, very fun, » Damon told reporters in 2009, via NBC. « I just basically ate everything I could see for a few months. »
Source link : https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/matt-damon-says-he-dropped-high-school-weight-epic-transformation-the-odyssey
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Publish date : 2026-01-08 02:58:00
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