Elliot Page reveals one huge challenge Christopher Nolan gave him while filming The Odyssey

Elliot Page has opened up about the pressure of joining Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, admitting he was “terrified” to take on the role of Sinon because of just how much the character means to the story.

Speaking on The Daily Show, the actor, who previously worked with Nolan in Inception, explained that he and the director had several conversations before filming about why Sinon was such an important addition to the film.

Interestingly, Sinon isn’t actually a character in Homer’s original epic.

“The character I play in this is actually not originally in The Odyssey,” Page explained. “So for me, the focus was really on being able to capture him in these few scenes and hopefully make Chris happy.”

Page said Nolan was clear about the purpose of the character from the very beginning.

“Getting to work with someone like Chris, who obviously just has such impeccable vision and execution,” he said. “Those were the initial conversations I had with Chris about this character and Sinon being this sort of consciousness of facing Odysseus and the impacts of war, the brutality of war and violence.”

Rather than simply existing alongside Odysseus, Sinon acts as a reminder of the devastating consequences of war and the damage left in the hero’s wake.

Because of that responsibility, Page admitted he felt a huge amount of pressure stepping into the role.

“And so I think I was terrified and just wanting to make sure I did an OK job, you know, and pulled it off in the movie. But it was the good kind of nerves.”

Page, who is trans, plays Sinon, the cousin of Matt Damon’s Odysseus.

Before the film was released, Page became the target of online backlash after rumours incorrectly claimed he had been cast as Achilles. Those reports were false, but they were amplified by several right-wing figures, including Elon Musk.

Christopher Nolan has also praised Page’s performance, explaining why the character was so crucial to the adaptation.

“With Sinon, you’re looking to put a face on certain elements of what Odysseus has done, what that means for the world as a whole,” Nolan told Rolling Stone UK. “You’re looking to put a face on the tragedy of war. And I think [Page] did an incredible job.”

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Featured image credit: Universal