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Nolan reveals why he cast Travis Scott in The Odyssey
Developed over time first seen 4 months ago
Travis Scott has explained how Christopher Nolan cast him in a lead role in The Odyssey, describing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon how he received a surprise phone call from the director asking him to act despite having no acting background. Nolan later told Time magazine the casting reflected his wish to "nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap," framing Scott's presence as a deliberate artistic choice rather than a stunt casting.
Scott plays Demodocus, the bard who narrates Odysseus's journey and is the first face audiences see in the film, and said he grew "nervous as f" on realising his co-stars would be Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson rather than extras. His involvement extends beyond acting: he recorded the original song "When I'm Home" for the closing credits with James Blake, produced by composer Ludwig Göransson and co-written by Nolan, building on the pair's earlier collaboration on the Tenet soundtrack in 2020. The Odyssey is now playing in theatres.
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In short
- Nolan cast Travis Scott to echo the Odyssey's oral-poetry origins, likening it to rap
- Scott plays bard Demodocus alongside Hathaway, Holland and Pattinson
- Scott also co-recorded closing song "When I'm Home" with James Blake
How this story developed
- 4 months ago Nolan subsequently explained to Time magazine that he chose Scott to evoke the idea of the Odyssey as oral poetry akin to rap, while it also emerged Scott recorded the closing-credits track "When I'm Home" with James Blake and Ludwig Göransson as the film opened in cinemas.
- 4 months ago New reporting revealed that Christopher Nolan personally phoned Travis Scott to cast him as Demodocus, the bard opening The Odyssey, with Scott telling Jimmy Fallon he grew "nervous as f" on learning he would star alongside Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson.
Explained simply
Nolan directed The Odyssey, his big-screen take on Homer's ancient Greek epic, with a cast that includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson. Travis Scott, the American rapper best known for his music career, was cast in the film despite having no acting experience, which surprised fans and prompted questions about why Nolan chose him.
Scott plays Demodocus, a bard who narrates the story within the film, and he has also contributed an original song to the soundtrack. Nolan and Scott had worked together before, on the music for Nolan's earlier film Tenet, which gives some context to the working relationship behind this casting.
The wider interest in the story comes from Nolan explaining his reasoning: that the Odyssey was originally passed down as oral poetry, a tradition he sees as connected to rap. This has drawn attention because it links an unconventional celebrity casting choice to the film's themes about storytelling and how tales are told and retold across generations.
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Originally published by The Hollywood Reporter as “Travis Scott Says He Was “Nervous as F” About Acting in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’”.