Matt Damon credits female stunt double for giant-size scenes in Nolan's 'The Odyssey'

Actor Matt Damon said a female stunt double was used for scenes in Christopher Nolan’s "The Odyssey" that required a figure to appear as a giant Laestrygonian. In an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Damon explained that while most stunt performers for the sequence were over seven feet tall, the production also employed a stunt performer under five feet whose physical build allowed her to portray the giant’s arms.

"When we did the force perspective stuff with the Laestrygonians… there were these stuntmen who were all seven feet, and then they got stunt men who were under five feet," Damon said. "My double was a woman, a female stunt performer who had the greatest arms I’ve ever seen."

He added that he met the stunt double for the first time at the catering tent, thanked her for her work, and acknowledged that while most of the on-screen arm work was his own, the stunt performer’s contribution was essential for the giant shots.

The film has opened to a global box-office total of $264.1 million, surpassing Nolan’s previous record with "The Dark Knight Rises." It also posted a $18.67 million opening Monday in the United States, with Tuesday earnings projected to add roughly $20 million. The cast includes Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, Mia Goth, Elliot Page and Lupita Nyong’o.