Matt Damon Details 40-Pound Weight Loss for The Odyssey Role

by

Matt Damon lived his own epic odyssey.

Oh my gosh, you will NOT believe what Matt Damon did for the new Christopher Nolan movie! Apparently, Nolan wanted him to be super fit for the role of Odysseus – like, ‘lean but strong’ was the exact request – and Matt actually lost almost FORTY pounds to get into shape! Forty pounds! I’m already obsessed with this movie and we haven’t even seen a trailer yet. He’s so dedicated to his craft, it’s amazing! I can’t wait to see him as Odysseus!

Matt, 55, told Jason and Travis Kelce on their New Heights podcast on January 7th that he had gotten into great shape and lost a significant amount of weight.

He chuckled with the football players, adding, “I don’t want to bore you with all this.”

To which Jason responded, “None of this is boring at all.”

To help Jason get in shape—as Jason jokingly put it, “buff”—Matt helped him with both a serious gym routine and a significant change to what he ate.

He explained that he stopped eating gluten due to a health decision he made with his doctor. He added that he used to weigh between 185 and 200 pounds, but he filmed an entire movie weighing only 167 pounds.

Matt added that he hadn’t felt that fit since his high school days. He explained it took a lot of hard work and a very disciplined diet to get there.

Matt Damon, known for his role in Good Will Hunting, worked with a trainer to get into shape for a film. He said having a specific goal made it easier. Plus, he’s managed to keep it up because staying in shape has become a regular part of his routine. He and his wife, Luciana Damon, have four children together: Alexia, 25, Isabella, 19, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15.

He explained to Travis and Jason that working on projects like the Jason Bourne films felt similar to completing a full season of their work, suggesting a comparable level of immersive commitment.

He explained that preparing for work simply becomes a regular part of the daily routine. You fall into a pattern and structure your day around those tasks – all the physical things you do to get ready.

Now that Matt finished filming The Odyssey, he’s still committed to eating gluten-free. It’s funny because Travis’s fiancée, Taylor Swift, is famous for baking amazing bread, but he playfully said Matt was “staying strong” with his diet! As a fan, I admire their supportive dynamic and Matt’s dedication.

But as the Ocean’s Eleven alum noted, it hasn’t been as hard to do as one may expect.

Matt explained he avoids all gluten. He’d recently found a gluten-free beer, but after being off gluten for so long, he wasn’t even sure if it tasted good – which he took as a positive sign.

Matt isn’t the only one discussing his physical transformation; his close friend Ben Affleck has also been asked about how in shape Matt has become.

Ben jokingly told Travis and Jason on the New Heights podcast that interviewers at the premiere seemed obsessed with finding deeper meaning in everything. He added they kept showing him pictures of his brother Matt’s impressive abs, and he quipped, ‘It’s the only time he’s ever been in that kind of shape!’

“It looks good,” the 53-year-old said. “It ain’t easy when you touch 50. You boys will see.”

For a look at more stars who have made their own epic transformations for the screen, keep reading.

The British actor famously gained over 40 pounds twice for his roles. First, he did it for his Oscar-nominated performance as a con man in the 2013 film American Hustle, and again to play former Vice President Dick Cheney in the 2018 movie Vice, which also earned him an Oscar nomination.

Christian Bale famously transformed his body for roles. For the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari, he lost 70 pounds to portray the lean race car driver Ken Miles. This wasn’t the first time he’d drastically changed his weight for a part; he also shed around 30 pounds while making the 2011 movie The Fighter.

For the 2020 film, makeup artist Matthew Mungle used a cast of Glenn Close’s head made in 2011 for the movie Albert Nobbs to create prosthetics – a new set of ears and a false nose – to transform her into her character, Mamaw Vance, a real-life Appalachian grandmother. Close received an Oscar nomination for her performance, as reported by Variety.

As a huge fan, I was absolutely blown away by the dedication this actor showed to play Donald Trump! It wasn’t just about the hair – he actually worked with the same amazing team who did his makeup for Pam & Tommy! And get this – he even gained weight to really capture Trump’s build. It was incredible how committed he was to the role!

Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE what Stan did! He actually gained, like, fifteen pounds! He told me he was living on instant ramen – but not just any ramen, he was mixing it with soy sauce! Can you imagine? Apparently, his nutritionist suggested it! It was all to get his face nice and bloated for a role. And soda! So much soda! He was totally dedicated to the part, it was amazing!

 

To portray the famous jazz singer in the 2021 film, the actress lost nearly 40 pounds, a performance that earned her an Academy Award nomination.

It might have seemed a little extreme that he was reportedly eating just one almond a day, as his co-star Emily Blunt playfully pointed out. But the Irish actor was truly dedicated to accurately portraying the physical appearance of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the atomic bomb scientist.

Cillian Murphy, who played Oppenheimer, described how important it was to capture the physicist’s unique appearance. He told The New York Times that he lost a significant amount of weight for the role, and worked closely with the costume designers to achieve the right look. Oppenheimer was very thin, almost gaunt, and reportedly lived on a diet of martinis and cigarettes.

The acclaimed actress won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2004 for her compelling and unsettling performance as real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos.

To portray the troubled Arthur Fleck, who later becomes Batman’s enemy, the actor lost 52 pounds. He received the Best Actor Oscar in 2020 for this role.

Makeup artists spent three hours transforming the Best Actress winner with extensive makeup, including a large prosthetic nose, to make her completely unrecognizable for her role in the 2002 drama.

To portray an attorney with HIV who was wrongly fired, the actor lost 35 pounds and shaved his head. He won the Best Actor Oscar in 1994 for the role, and also dramatically changed his appearance—losing weight and growing a beard—for his Oscar-nominated performance in the 2000 film Cast Away.

As a lifestyle expert, I’m always fascinated by transformations, and Renée Zellweger’s is a great example! You probably remember she gained weight for Bridget Jones’s Diary, but something interesting happened with her role as Judy Garland. She didn’t need to change her body at all! The incredible change you see in the 2019 film Judy – the one she won her first Oscar for – was all thanks to the magic of makeup and costume design. It just proves how powerful those elements can be in bringing a character to life!

Renée had a strong connection with Jany Temime, the costume designer for the film Judy, who is also known for her work on the Harry Potter movies, Vulture reports. Temime said, “She truly became Judy – she really understood and embodied the character.”

Renée Zellweger explained that the costumes for the film were tailored to mimic Judy Garland’s specific posture. This meant the dresses only fit her properly when she held herself the way Judy did, and she sometimes couldn’t even zip them up.

Margot Robbie transformed herself for her role as Tonya Harding in the 2017 film about the figure skater’s infamous scandal. Unlike her glamorous character in The Wolf of Wall Street, Robbie used prosthetics, braces, and wigs to convincingly portray Harding and her career-ending controversy.

In 2014, Matthew McConaughey won the Best Actor Oscar for his dedicated performance as an electrician living with HIV/AIDS.

Heath Ledger won an Oscar after his death in 2008 for his unforgettable and captivating portrayal of The Joker in the second Batman film directed by Christopher Nolan. His take on the famous villain was a striking departure from previous on-screen interpretations.

As a huge fan, I was fascinated to hear makeup artist John Caglione Jr. talk about what would happen if the character didn’t bother with his appearance. He wondered what it would be like if he just went to sleep with his makeup on, or if he didn’t refresh it for weeks! It’s those little, realistic touches – like never changing clothes – that really brought the character to life, you know?

He explained that when you picture clown makeup, it’s usually very precise and defined. But this makeup was different – it was meant to be the complete opposite of that neat, sharp look.

The award-winning actress completely changed her look to portray Brandon Teena, a real-life transgender man, in a 1999 film. She did so again in Clint Eastwood’s 2004 movie, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture.

To transform into Winston Churchill for the role, the actor—who was nominated for Best Actor in 2018—spent over four hours each day getting makeup applied and wore a special bodysuit similar to a Victorian corset.

To win Best Actress at the 2011 Oscars, the actress lost 20 pounds and dedicated up to 16 hours a day to preparing for her challenging role as a ballerina struggling with mental illness.

The 2014 Best Supporting Actor winner is known for his dedication to roles, and for this part – playing a transgender woman with HIV – he lost 40 pounds and fully embodied the character only while filming.

I’d transformed my body for roles before, but this one felt different,” Jared Leto explained to TopMob News in 2013. “The part really required a total commitment. I was focused on how a dramatic physical change would impact everything – my movement, my voice, my personality, even my emotions. It left me feeling incredibly vulnerable and insecure.”

The actress who won Best Actress physically transformed for her role, gaining 15 pounds of muscle to portray a mother escaping years of being held captive with her 5-year-old son, Jacob Tremblay, in a 2015 film. To fully understand her character’s experience, Larson also isolated herself and carefully controlled her diet, even limiting nutrients like Vitamin D.

Rooney Mara received a Best Actress nomination at the 2012 Oscars for her role in the thriller. She fully committed to the part of Lisbeth Salander, even going to the lengths of getting multiple piercings, bleaching her eyebrows, and cutting her hair.

Read More

2026-01-08 23:18