Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ has put together one of the biggest ensemble casts of the year. Among the names generating attention is Himesh Patel, the British-Indian actor stepping into a key role alongside Matt Damon.
Patel plays central figure in Odysseus’s crew. He takes on role of Eurylochus, one of the most important members of the crew. In Greek mythology, Eurylochus is both a trusted lieutenant and one of Odysseus’s strongest critics frequently questioning his leader’s decisions while playing key role in crew’s survival throughout the voyage home from the Trojan War. The film describes him as Odysseus’s second-in-command and incompetent brother-in-law.
Early life and background
Patel’s roots trace back to a family with a long journey of their own. He was born on October 13, 1990, in Sawtry, Cambridgeshire, England. His family history spans multiple continents. His parents are Gujarati Hindus whose families had emigrated from East Africa, with his mother born in Zambia and his father born in Kenya. The family settled in the UK, where they ran a local newsagent.
His path into acting started early. Patel grew up speaking Gujarati and discovered his love for acting at a young age, after a school play sparked his interest and a teacher encouraged his parents to enroll him in a local theatre group.
Breakthrough roles
Patel built his career gradually before reaching international recognition. He began on BBC’s “EastEnders” in 2007, reportedly appearing in 566 episodes. His big break on the global stage came a decade later. But his international breakthrough came with Danny Boyle’s “Yesterday” in 2019, where he played the only person who remembers The Beatles.
His profile continued to rise from there. He earned an Emmy nomination for HBO’s “Station Eleven” in 2021 and also appeared in “Tenet” and “Don’t Look Up” that same year. His growing filmography also includes “The Aeronauts,” “The Luminaries,” “Enola Holmes 2,” “Good Grief,” “The Assessment,” and HBO’s “The Franchise.” He is also set to reprise his role as Dr. John Watson in “Enola Holmes 3.”
Reuniting with Christopher Nolan
This is not Patel’s first project with the director. Patel previously worked with Nolan on “Tenet,” where he had a small role as an arms dealer. The offer for “The Odyssey” came together quietly. Producer Emma Thomas met Patel in London shortly before the holidays in 2024 and handed him a physical copy of the screenplay rather than sending it digitally. Patel was quietly offered his part in December 2024.
Life on the set
Working on “The Odyssey” put Patel through one of the most demanding shoots of his career. It was the largest production Patel had ever worked on, and he was surprised to find that nearly every scene and stunt was shot in-camera using practical effects. The production took him to unusual filming locations. He spent weeks on a boat in the open ocean, with an IMAX camera attached to an adjoining ship and another filming from a helicopter overhead. He also spent a week filming in a cave in Greece and shot scenes from the top of a castle while the cast repeatedly climbed a mountain.
Nolan also gave his cast specific direction on how to speak their lines. Nolan insisted that his cast use American accents rather than Greek or British accents.
The film’s massive cast
“The Odyssey” brings together one of the largest ensembles of Nolan’s career. The film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, and Tom Holland as Telemachus, along with Robert Pattinson as Antinous, Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, Zendaya as Athena, Charlize Theron as Calypso, John Leguizamo as Eumaeus, Samantha Morton as Circe, Benny Safdie as Agamemnon, Jon Bernthal as Menelaus, Mia Goth as Melantho, Corey Hawkins as Polybus, Elliot Page as Sinon, and Bill Irwin as the Cyclops.
The film was shot entirely on a specific camera format. The movie was shot entirely on IMAX cameras and runs 2 hours and 52 minutes.
What’s next for Patel
Beyond “The Odyssey,” Patel has more high-profile work lined up. He is also attached to Ryan Coogler’s upcoming reboot of “The X-Files,” where he will star alongside Danielle Deadwyler.