Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 29

Devyn Dalton Gains Spotlight After Matt Damon Credits Her Arms in 'Odyssey' Scene at 34

Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 29

Devyn Dalton Gains Spotlight After Matt Damon Credits Her Arms in 'Odyssey' Scene at 34

Q: What practical movie magic did Christopher Nolan use to transform a Canadian stuntwoman into a legendary Greek king?

Christopher Nolan used practical forced perspective to turn Devyn Dalton, a 4-foot-6 Canadian stunt performer, into Matt Damon’s Odysseus. For the Laestrygonians sequence, Nolan cast very tall performers as the man-eating giants and very short stunt performers as the Ithacans. By carefully placing them at different distances from the camera, the production made the giants look enormous and Odysseus’s men look much smaller, without relying mainly on CGI. Dalton stood in for Damon in shots where her size helped sell that illusion. That is why the muscular arms seen from behind in the battle footage were Dalton’s, not Damon’s. One of those back-facing sword shots was also used on a poster for the film. The technique is an old-school visual trick: practical staging, size-mismatched casting and camera placement create the scale difference in-camera. Coverage of the production also points to additional practical methods such as wirework and large costumes and armor for the Laestrygonians, all designed to make the enemies feel physically imposing and real. In short, Nolan made a shorter stuntwoman into a legendary Greek king by using Dalton as Damon’s double and combining her with oversized scene partners and forced perspective so the image read as Odysseus facing towering giants.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 29

34-year-old stunt double Devyn Dalton said her phone "blew up" after Matt Damon revealed that the biceps seen in a key "Odyssey" fight scene were hers, not his.
Damon made the disclosure while discussing Christopher Nolan's adaptation, correcting an interviewer and praising Dalton's physique as "the greatest arms I have ever seen."
The scene used forced perspective to make Odysseus' army look tiny against the giant Laestrygonians, allowing 4-foot-6 Dalton to stand in for the roughly 5-foot-10 Damon.
A rear shot of Dalton holding a sword in that sequence was also used on one of the film's posters, extending her role beyond the brief reveal.