{"id":6916,"date":"2026-07-24T11:07:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T10:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=6916"},"modified":"2026-07-24T11:07:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T10:07:36","slug":"theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a clever reason Christopher Nolan almost never shows Agamemnon\u2019s face in The Odyssey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey<\/a> is packed with huge characters, but somehow one of the most memorable barely even shows his face.<\/p>\n

Benny Safdie’s Agamemnon spends almost the entire film hidden beneath towering black armour, giving him one of the most intimidating presences in the entire movie.<\/p>\n

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

It feels like a strange choice at first. You cast Benny Safdie and then… never really let us see him? But once you know the story behind Agamemnon, Nolan’s decision starts to make a lot more sense.<\/p>\n

Rather than making him feel like just another king, the film turns Agamemnon into something much bigger. He’s less of a person and more of a terrifying symbol of war itself.<\/p>\n

Agamemnon was the King of Mycenae and commander of the Greek forces during the Trojan War. While he led the Greeks to victory, his legacy is anything but heroic. His life is defined by ambition, pride and one horrifying decision that would ultimately destroy his family.<\/p>\n

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

To get favourable winds for the Greek fleet to sail to Troy, Agamemnon deceived his wife into sending their eldest daughter, Iphigenia, to Aulis by claiming she was going there to marry Achilles. Instead, he sacrificed her to the goddess Artemis.<\/p>\n

It’s that moment which defines how Nolan presents him. Throughout The Odyssey, Agamemnon towers over almost everyone around him.<\/p>\n

Instead of remembering him as just another soldier, Odysseus seems to remember him as the living embodiment of the horrors of war. Endless violence. Endless bloodshed. Endless destruction.<\/p>\n

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

The only real glimpse we get of Safdie’s face comes later, when Telemachus hears the story of Agamemnon’s death. After returning home from Troy, he was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, who finally took revenge for the sacrifice of their daughter.<\/p>\n

Keeping Agamemnon hidden behind that towering armour makes him feel less like a man and more like a walking nightmare, and somehow gives him even more aura every time he appears on screen.<\/p>\n

For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, <\/span><\/i>like our Facebook page<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Featured image credit: Universal<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We never get a glimpse of Benny Safdie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":6924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[269,251],"coauthors":[27],"class_list":["post-6916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explained","tag-christopher-nolan","tag-the-odyssey"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy we never see Agamemnon\u2019s face in The Odyssey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Benny Safdie's Agamemnon spends the whole of The Odyssey hidden beneath towering black armour, giving him an intimidating presence.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"There\u2019s a clever reason Christopher Nolan almost never shows Agamemnon\u2019s face in The Odyssey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We never get a glimpse of Benny Safdie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Film Shrine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-24T10:07:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1-64.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hebe Hancock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hebe Hancock\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/\",\"name\":\"Why we never see Agamemnon\u2019s face in The Odyssey\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1-64.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-24T10:07:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#\/schema\/person\/bfd164be898a7b25b3c11daa84390418\"},\"description\":\"Benny Safdie's Agamemnon spends the whole of The Odyssey hidden beneath towering black armour, giving him an intimidating presence.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1-64.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1-64.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"There\u2019s a clever reason Christopher Nolan almost never shows Agamemnon\u2019s face in The Odyssey\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/\",\"name\":\"Film Shrine\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#\/schema\/person\/bfd164be898a7b25b3c11daa84390418\",\"name\":\"Hebe Hancock\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/52f9f407869bff8f4e81c14695645d71\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c1a90403e63077610795e6effcb0d8dcefae29f63b1e484648199c2dcad663e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c1a90403e63077610795e6effcb0d8dcefae29f63b1e484648199c2dcad663e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Hebe Hancock\"},\"description\":\"Hebe is a Junior Reporter at The Tab, covering everything from film and TV to viral pop culture moments, with plenty of strong opinions and hot takes. She has a keen eye for emerging trends and a knack for creating stories that spark conversation. Previously a freelance journalist, Hebe now brings her editorial skills and cultural insight to The Tab, producing sharp, engaging content for a digital audience.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/author\/hebethetab-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why we never see Agamemnon\u2019s face in The Odyssey","description":"Benny Safdie's Agamemnon spends the whole of The Odyssey hidden beneath towering black armour, giving him an intimidating presence.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"There\u2019s a clever reason Christopher Nolan almost never shows Agamemnon\u2019s face in The Odyssey","og_description":"We never get a glimpse of Benny Safdie","og_url":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/","og_site_name":"Film Shrine","article_published_time":"2026-07-24T10:07:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1-64.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Hebe Hancock","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hebe Hancock","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/","url":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/","name":"Why we never see Agamemnon\u2019s face in The Odyssey","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1-64.png","datePublished":"2026-07-24T10:07:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#\/schema\/person\/bfd164be898a7b25b3c11daa84390418"},"description":"Benny Safdie's Agamemnon spends the whole of The Odyssey hidden beneath towering black armour, giving him an intimidating presence.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1-64.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1-64.png","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"There\u2019s a clever reason Christopher Nolan almost never shows Agamemnon\u2019s face in The Odyssey"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/","name":"Film Shrine","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#\/schema\/person\/bfd164be898a7b25b3c11daa84390418","name":"Hebe Hancock","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/52f9f407869bff8f4e81c14695645d71","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c1a90403e63077610795e6effcb0d8dcefae29f63b1e484648199c2dcad663e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c1a90403e63077610795e6effcb0d8dcefae29f63b1e484648199c2dcad663e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Hebe Hancock"},"description":"Hebe is a Junior Reporter at The Tab, covering everything from film and TV to viral pop culture moments, with plenty of strong opinions and hot takes. She has a keen eye for emerging trends and a knack for creating stories that spark conversation. Previously a freelance journalist, Hebe now brings her editorial skills and cultural insight to The Tab, producing sharp, engaging content for a digital audience.","url":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/author\/hebethetab-com\/"}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/filmshrine.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"There\u2019s a clever reason Christopher Nolan almost never shows Agamemnon\u2019s face in The Odyssey","url":"http:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/24\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1-64-150x150.png","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1-64.png"},"articleSection":"Explained","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Hebe Hancock"}],"creator":["Hebe Hancock"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Film Shrine","logo":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cropped-The-Tab_Film-Shrine_Favicon.png"},"keywords":["christopher nolan","the odyssey"],"dateCreated":"2026-07-24T10:07:36Z","datePublished":"2026-07-24T10:07:36Z","dateModified":"2026-07-24T10:07:36Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"There\\u2019s a clever reason Christopher Nolan almost never shows Agamemnon\\u2019s face in The Odyssey\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/thetab.com\\\/filmshrine\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/24\\\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/thetab.com\\\/filmshrine\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/24\\\/theres-a-clever-reason-christopher-nolan-almost-never-shows-agamemnons-face-in-the-odyssey\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdn.filmshrine.com\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1-64-150x150.png\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdn.filmshrine.com\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1-64.png\"},\"articleSection\":\"Explained\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Hebe Hancock\"}],\"creator\":[\"Hebe Hancock\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Film Shrine\",\"logo\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdn.filmshrine.com\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/cropped-The-Tab_Film-Shrine_Favicon.png\"},\"keywords\":[\"christopher nolan\",\"the odyssey\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2026-07-24T10:07:36Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-24T10:07:36Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-24T10:07:36Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/filmshrine.com\/p.js"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6916"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6927,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6916\/revisions\/6927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6916"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=6916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}