Elliot Page Says Christopher Nolan’s Script for ‘The Odyssey’ Left Him ‘Breathless’

Elliot Page compared reading Christopher Nolan‘s script for The Odyssey to reading Inception for the first time. During an interview on The Tonight Show, the actor reflected on what it was like to be part of both those films, saying The Odyssey made him “breathless.”

“My first reaction, honestly, it was similar to reading the script to Inception,” Page told host Jimmy Fallon. “I really was just left breathless. Really blown away by something that was so complex, so massive, and with this tremendous engine and heart that just kept moving forward. It just really blew me away.”

He added of working with Nolan for the second time, “I felt so fortunate to be asked to come back and to be part of something this epic and incredible as this. It was just such a gift.”

Page described Nolan’s directing style as “impeccable,” saying his sets are “focused.” “You can just only be present and his direction will always just be so concise and just perfect,” he said.

Page plays the character of Sinon, an Ithacan soldier, in the film. The actor described doing practical stunts, including one involving the Trojan Horse early in the story that he called a “classic Nolan” moment to shoot. Sinon notably doesn’t appear in Homer’s original text of The Odyssey, but does appear in Virgil’s The Aeneid.

Nolan recently called working with Page again “really fun.” “Elliot’s just terrific,” Nolan said in an interview. “I just thought this was such a great part for him. We had such a great time years ago on Inception. It’s nice to reunite with people.”

Page has been broadly praised in reviews for the film, although that hasn’t stopped right-wing backlash to his performance. Even before the movie was released, Elon Musk led the online rage about the casting of Page and Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, who plays Helen of Troy. Musk has since threatened to create an entirely AI-generated, “historically accurate,” adaptation of The Odyssey. That is, of course, completely unnecessary as Nolan’s version has broken box office records and caused an ongoing ticket frenzy.