{"id":6731,"date":"2026-07-21T11:55:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T10:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=6731"},"modified":"2026-07-21T11:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T10:55:14","slug":"how-christopher-nolan-built-a-giant-60-foot-cyclops-to-bring-polyphemus-to-life-in-the-odyssey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/21\/how-christopher-nolan-built-a-giant-60-foot-cyclops-to-bring-polyphemus-to-life-in-the-odyssey\/","title":{"rendered":"How Christopher Nolan built a giant 60-foot Cyclops to bring Polyphemus to life in The Odyssey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christopher Nolan<\/a> has never exactly been known for taking the easy route, so it probably won’t surprise anyone that he didn’t want The Odyssey<\/a>‘s Cyclops to feel like a standard CGI monster.<\/p>\n

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Universal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Instead, the director built a huge practical setup so the cast could react to something that actually felt enormous on set. Rather than filming inside a studio, the entire sequence was shot in Nestor’s Cave in Greece, where Matt Damon’s Odysseus and his crew stumble across the giant Polyphemus while searching for food on their journey home from the Trojan War.<\/p>\n

After following a sheep into a cave, the group quickly realises they’ve walked straight into the home of the terrifying, man-eating son of Poseidon.<\/p>\n

To help the actors understand just how huge Polyphemus was supposed to be, Empire revealed Nolan commissioned what it described as “a towering 60-foot contraption” for the shoot.<\/p>\n

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Behind the Scenes of the Cyclops scene in ‘The Odyssey’ pic.twitter.com\/Q5IWjL1oXs<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 internet hall of fame (@InternetH0F) July 21, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n