Matt Damon gives unexpected credit to his female stunt double for having the 'greatest arms' in The Odyssey

Matt Damon has unexpectedly given full credit to his female stunt double for showcasing some of the best action moments—and physical gains—in Christopher Nolan's epic blockbuster The Odyssey.

Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast to promote the star-studded Homeric adaptation, the 55-year-old Oscar winner opened up about the grueling physical demands of playing the legendary Greek hero Odysseus.

While Damon previously revealed he slimmed down to 167 pounds for the role, he admitted that one of his most impressive physical shots on screen wasn't actually him at all.

Explaining how Nolan's production team used practical forced-perspective camera tricks to portray the giant Laestrygonian cannibals, Damon revealed that seven-foot-tall stuntmen were brought in to make his character look smaller by comparison. However, when it came to doubling for Odysseus in those tricky camera setups, the production hired a woman.

"When we did the forced perspective stuff of the Laestrygonians, there were these stuntmen who were all seven feet. And then they got stuntmen who were under five feet," Damon recalled.

"My double was a woman, a female stunt performer—who had the greatest arms I've ever seen."

Damon joked that his double, Devyn Dalton's insane physique made his own workout routine look tame, adding that he made a point to personally thank her on set for elevating his character's muscular look on camera.

"I thanked her for all the work she put in," Damon laughed. "So it was almost 100% my arms in the movie. You gotta give it up where it's due!"

Yet Damon wasn't the only cast member putting in relentless hours to look the part of an ancient Greek figure.

Co-star Tom Holland, who plays Odysseus's son Telemachus, underwent a grueling strength and conditioning routine that pushed him well past his Spider-Man physique.

Combining his natural gymnastics background with heavy resistance training to add raw muscle mass and definition to his 5'8" frame, Holland aimed for peak athletic conditioning to handle Nolan’s notoriously demanding, practical action sequences.

Production stunt performers even dubbed Holland 'so fit he can literally do anything,' as he weathered intense outdoor shoots across Greece, Italy, and Morocco alongside Damon.

Meanwhile, Anne Hathaway, who stars as Penelope, approached her preparation through rigorous functional movement and endurance work to handle the brutal physical conditions on set.

Filming on location in harsh weather extremes and enduring unpredictable sea shifts required the entire ensemble to train more like an expeditionary team than a traditional movie cast.

Damon noted during press rounds that every single actor had to embrace significant 'physical discomfort,' admitting that sleep was often capped at just five hours a night as the cast pushed their bodies to the absolute limit to match Nolan's realistic, CGI-free vision.

Despite enduring brutal weather conditions across filming locations, Damon praised his cast-mates for their contributions and the stunt crew for doing the heavy lifting—quite literally—to bring the ancient myth to life.