All 10 Actor Chris Nolan Has Worked With Before Returning in The Odyssey 

Christopher Nolan has made his name as one of the greatest directors in modern cinema. His repeated success both with critics and at the box office has made him one of the most well-known names in film-making, and his varied high-profile projects have tapped into various demographics, meaning he is known by an incredibly diverse range of fans. Nolan’s next big project is The Odyssey, an adaptation of the ancient Greek epic of the same name widely attributed to Homer. With Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey set for release on July 17, 2026, anticipation is already mounting as more details on the movie are being revealed.

The Odyssey‘s cast boasts one of the most high-profile selections of Hollywood stars ever assembled in a single film. Many of Nolan’s frequent collaborators have been announced as appearing in the movie, meaning that as well as The Odyssey‘s massive budget bolstering its visual presentation, it will also reunite Nolan with actors he has worked with before. Though not all have played major roles in Nolan’s past movies, there are 10 actors who have previous experience of working under the acclaimed director.

1) Matt Damon  

Having already enjoyed many years as one of Hollywood’s foremost A-list actors, Matt Damon is set to star as Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Damon’s starring role will naturally see him play the most significant part in The Odyssey‘s story, which is a task he is more than capable of executing. His recent role in Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel proves his ability to perform in historical epics, while his decorated career across a variety of genres speaks for itself.

Matt Damon is no stranger to Christopher Nolan movies, though. His most recent collaboration with the director came in Oppenheimer, in which he portrayed Leslie Groves alongside Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer. Before that, Damon was featured in Nolan’s 2014 movie Interstellar, in which he played Dr. Mann, a researcher who was stranded on a remote planet rescued by the mission sent to locate a new home for humanity among the stars.

2) Robert Pattinson 

Though Robert Pattinson’s rise to fame came long before he earned the respect of wider audiences, he has grown to become one of Hollywood’s most promising actors. After his starring role in the Twilight Saga and a supporting role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Pattinson’s star rose, leading to major roles in movies such as the Safdie brothers’ crime drama Good Time and the iconic role of Batman in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. He’s one of several DC actors to be cast in The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan.

Pattinson has worked with the director before, albeit only once. Pattinson co-starred in 2020’s Tenet alongside John David Washington, where he played Neil, the protagonist’s handler. His role in the mind-bending sci-fi thriller marked his first collaboration with Nolan, and further evidenced his incredibly diverse acting range. Though Pattinson’s role has yet to be confirmed, his role in The Odyssey has long since been confirmed.

3) Elliot Page 

Elliot Page has already enjoyed a massively successful career, having starred in hit movies such as Juno and Hard Candy, the X-Men movie franchise, and Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy. As well as a prolific career on the screen, Page has also become known for his involvement in activism, particularly with regards to LGBTQ equality. Page has been confirmed as part of the cast for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, although his specific role remains as yet unknown.

Elliot Page has worked with Christopher Nolan once before, although not for more than a decade. He starred in a major supporting role in 2010’s Inception alongside Leonardo DiCaprio as part of the team employed to implant an idea in their target’s mind via his dreams. Page’s work in Inception was exceptional, and, as the broad variety in his career attests, he is more than up to the task of featuring in Nolan’s upcoming epic.

4) Benny Safdie 

Benny Safdie may not be the most well-known actor to have been cast in The Odyssey, but he has already earned quite a name for himself in Hollywood. One of the Safdie brothers – the acclaimed directors behind Uncut Gems and Good Time – Benny has since transitioned into more acting roles. Having featured in the cast of Good Time, Pieces of a Woman, Licorice Pizza, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret., and Happy Gilmore 2, Benny Safdie is already building himself an impressive filmography.

Arguably Benny Safdie’s most high-profile acting credit to date came in his first collaboration with Christopher Nolan. Safdie appeared as Edward Teller in Oppenheimer, and while it was not a major role, he was still able to stand out among the movie’s impressive cast. He has also been cast in an as yet undisclosed role in The Odyssey, reuniting him with Christopher Nolan in the 2026 movie.

5) Anne Hathaway 

Anne Hathaway is one of the most recognizable stars in Hollywood. Having initially risen to fame thanks to her breakout role in The Princess Diaries, she went on to win an Oscar for her role in Les Miserables, cementing her as one of the best actors in the world. Hathaway has also starred in a variety of movies across all genres, including Tim Burton’s fantastical Alice in Wonderland, romantic comedies Love & Other Drugs and Bride Wars, and heist thriller Oceans 8.

Hathaway has been cast in an undisclosed role in The Odyssey, but it’s far from her first project with Christopher Nolan. She played Selina Kyle in Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, featuring heavily in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises as the Batman movie villain. She was then cast in the director’s 2014 movie Interstellar, again in a major role which earned her considerable critical praise. She is now set to follow up with a third major collaboration with Nolan in The Odyssey.

6) Himesh Patel 

Despite his acting career beginning with a long-standing role on British soap Eastenders which dates back to 2007, Himesh Patel is a relative newcomer to Hollywood. His first movie role came in 2019, when he played the lead role in Danny Boyle’s jukebox musical Yesterday. Since then, Patel has starred in Don’t Look Up, Good Grief, and Greedy People, as well as roles in TV series such as Station Eleven, Black Mirror, and The Franchise.

Himesh Patel is another of the actors announced as part of the cast of The Odyssey to have previously worked with director Christopher Nolan. Patel played a relatively small role in 2020’s Tenet, in which he appeared as Mahir, a fixer hired by Robert Pattinson’s Neil to assist the Protagonist. Patel’s diverse filmography and rapidly rising star makes him an exciting addition to The Odyssey, especially as it reunites him with Nolan on another project.

7) Bill Irwin

Bill Irwin might be far from a household name, but he is a remarkably prolific character actor who has already enjoyed an incredible career. Many of Irwin’s most high-profile roles have come in TV series, such as a recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Dr. Peter Lindstrom, the Dick and Jane Killer on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Cary Loudermilk on Legion. He has also been announced as part of the cast of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.

It isn’t Irwin’s first time working with Nolan, although most will find it hard placing his past work with the director. Irwin’s role in 2014’s Interstellar was as the voice of TARS, one of the robotic crew members aboard Joseph Cooper’s mission to locate a suitable new home for humanity among the stars. Like most other actors, Irwin’s specific role in The Odyssey is as yet unrevealed, although it will afford him yet another chance to work with Christopher Nolan.

8) Josh Stewart

Another prolific character actor cast in The Odyssey is Josh Stewart. Stewart rose to prominence playing Officer Brendan Finney on NBC’s Third Watch, later starring on FX’s Dirt as well as a main role on CBS crime drama Criminal Minds. He also played supporting roles in several big screen blockbusters, including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Law Abiding Citizen, and Transcendence, all of which saw him share the screen with some of Hollywood’s most acclaimed actors.

The Odyssey will not be Stewart’s first movie with Christopher Nolan, as he has appeared in three of the director’s precious films. He played Bane’s henchman Barsad in The Dark Knight Rises before voicing CASE, another of the robotic crew members in Interstellar. He also appeared in a voice role in Tenet, and while his parts in previous Nolan movies have been somewhat small, he is obviously a trusted talent for the director as he prepares to collaborate for a fourth time in The Odyssey.

9) Elyes Gabel

Elyes Gabel is a British actor whose career blossomed with roles in British series such as medical drama Casualty and school-based series Waterloo Road. After landing a role on Game of Thrones as the Dothraki Rakharo, Gabel became better known to a global audience thanks to his breakout role in the CBS series Scorpion, in which he played computer genius Walter O’Brien. He is another of the actors announced as part of the cast of The Odyssey.

Gabel previously worked with Nolan on Interstellar, albeit incredibly briefly. He appeared as an unnamed administrator in the movie, enjoying very little screen time. Even so, the blossoming of his career in the years since has earned him a place in The Odyssey‘s cast, as well as the prestige of becoming a two-time collaborator of Christopher Nolan. Furthermore, his role on Game of Thrones will undoubtedly have taught him some transferable skills that will come in handy for the historical epic.

10) Jamie Harris

Jamie Harris is hardly a household name, but he comes from a family of celebrated actors and directors. The son of Richard Harris and brother of actor Jared Harris and director Damian Harris, Jamie has himself amassed a healthy body of work. He has played supporting roles in movies such as Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Green Hornet, and the 2021 remake of West Side Story, as well as roles on Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD and Lovecraft Country.

Jamie Harris is set to appear in The Odyssey, but he too has appeared in a Nolan movie before. Harris played a minor role in 2006’s The Prestige, and though the role itself was hardly memorable, it does qualify the actor to join a relatively exclusive club of Nolan collaborators. Harris’ casting is yet another that sees Nolan reunite with an actor he has worked with previously, further fleshing out The Odyssey‘s cast and establishing it as one of Nolan’s most impressive to date.