LOS ANGELES — Renowned director Christopher Nolan has once again bypassed computer-generated imagery (CGI) in favor of practical filmmaking for his epic adaptation of The Odyssey, using an unconventional secret weapon to create giant characters: 4ft 6in Canadian female stunt actor Devyn Dalton. To bring the terrifying, man-eating Laestrygonian giants to life without green screens, Nolan utilized forced-perspective camera tricks on set. The production substituted the 5ft 10in lead star, Matt Damon, with the much shorter Dalton for specific action shots, placing her opposite 7-foot-tall stunt performers. This dramatic height disparity allowed the camera to capture a towering, authentic sense of scale entirely in-camera, creating terrifyingly realistic standoffs.
Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Matt Damon praised Dalton’s exceptional physical conditioning and vital contribution to the demanding project, noting she possessed “the greatest arms I’ve ever seen” while executing key action and poster shots. The 34-year-old former dancer, who made her professional stunt debut in 2009, boasts an elite Hollywood resume, including motion-capture work as Cornelia in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, collaborating with Steven Spielberg on The BFG, and voice acting for features like The Electric State. As The Odyssey dominates the global box office, Dalton’s performance underscores how dedicated physical stunt execution remains integral to cinema’s grandest spectacles.
