The Odyssey is an epic tale filled with a ton of big-name actors, including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, and plenty more. It is set to hit theaters this weekend and is likely to dominate the box office. The cast is ridiculously star-studded, bringing together some pairings that haven’t been on screen before.

That includes pairing up Damon and Pattinson, two brilliant actors from different eras. The two hadn’t worked together before, so their off-screen tendencies and acting preferences were not exactly known to one another. Well, that led to a pretty wild story that shows just how far Damon was willing to go to become Odysseus.

Robert Pattinson Heard Matt Damon Blowing Out His Own Voice

Christopher Nolan is one of the most impressive directors working today, and it may one day be argued that The Odyssey is his magnum opus. That certainly puts a lot of pressure on the actors, but by all early accounts, they have lived up to the billing.

That includes Matt Damon, who is now generating Oscar buzz for his legendary performance as Odysseus, one of the most iconic characters in all of fiction. Whether or not it was demanded by Nolan remains to be seen, but Damon truly went above and beyond to capture the voice of the hero.

That meant damaging his own voice so he could sound older and more weary, fitting the vibe of Odysseus. Robert Pattinson overheard this, and since it was his first time working with Matt Damon, he was a little concerned that something serious was going on.

“Matt was in the trailer next to me and he was making these noises,” Pattinson said via Variety. “He is such a nice guy … I thought he was on the phone and I thought he was a complete psycho. He was just screaming and screaming and screaming. I thought he was having a really bad toilet experience. He was just blowing his voice out just to sound older. Like, really, you’re taking years off your life by doing this.”

Tom Holland confirmed Pattinson’s story, but he called Damon’s prep work for Odysseus “amazing.” Damon did have to undergo a physical change at Nolan’s behest, but it doesn’t seem like the director was asking him to hurt himself for this role. That was all Damon’s doing.

“I lost a lot of weight. [Nolan] wanted me lean but strong,” Damon added. “Just because of this other thing that I did with my doctor, I stopped eating gluten. I used to walk around at between 185 and 200, and I did that whole movie at 167. And I haven’t been that light since high school. So it was a lot of training and a really strict diet.”

It just goes to show how dedicated some actors can be. Damon has said before that this is sort of the film of a lifetime, and he’s said it was one of the most challenging shoots he’s ever done. That has shown itself in how far he’s gone to capture every single bit of his character.

It also goes to show how different actors can be. Pattinson is excellent, and he is no stranger to going above and beyond. He’s also no stranger to altering his voice, as he uses a different inflection, accent, or voice altogether for virtually every single role.

Yet, he was still alarmed at first by what Matt Damon was doing to his voice. Early indications are that all the work, including the voice-damaging screams, that went into the movie has turned it into one of the best movies of the year and one of the best of Nolan’s illustrious filmography. Stay tuned for our review later this week.