Zendaya reveals why she literally couldn’t say her lines on the first day filming The Odyssey

Zendaya has opened up about her first day filming The Odyssey, and it was a far less the glamorous experience than she had imagined. 

With just 10 days to go until Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated epic hits cinemas, the cast have been sharing behind-the-scenes stories from one of Hollywood’s most secretive productions. And, after hearing Zendaya’s, I don’t know if I should laugh or feel sorry for her.

Why Zendaya struggled on her first day filming The Odyssey

via Warner Bros

According to Zendaya, she had a difficult start to filming The Odyssey. She recalled arriving on set in Iceland after making sure she knew all of her lines, only for the freezing temperatures to completely throw her off. 

She admitted she could barely move her mouth because of the cold Icelandic conditions. 

“I had my lines and I wanted to have them so down. I psyched myself out a little bit,” she told the Happy Sad Confused podcast. 

“It was particularly cold. It was in Iceland. My mouth was just frozen. There is nothing coming out. My mouth would not move. Literally. It came out like, ‘Blah blah blah.’ So embarrassing.”

Despite the difficult start, the 29-year old actress said working alongside Christopher and the film’s all-star cast made the experience unforgettable.

“But I will say, I think just showing up in any situation like this[…] It was such a pleasure and a gift to be able to share scenes with people you admire,” she explained.

“Part of you has to compartmentalise to a degree. Lock in, we’re working. But I was so moved and excited to be there and wanted to do my best work.”

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Christopher Nolan explains why he cast Zendaya in The Odyssey

via Universal Pictures

Thankfully, her freezing first day didn’t leave much of an impression on Christopher Nolan.

The Oscar-winning director later praised Zendaya in an interview with Fandango, describing her performance as “always perfect” throughout filming.

Christopher also shared his reasons to why he chose Zendaya to play Athena, explaining she brought the grace and commanding screen presence the role demanded.

“I mean, she’s literally playing a goddess; it’s a tall order,” he previously told Elle. “She’s a true movie star, but also an incredible actor.”

Zendaya stars as Athena, the goddess who guides Odysseus on his journey home, in a cast that also includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Elliot Page, Mia Goth and John Leguizamo.

With so many Hollywood heavyweights sharing the screen, The Odyssey is already shaping up to be one of the biggest film releases of the year.

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Featured image via Universal Pictures