Helen of Troy, Lupita Nyong’o Reveals What It Was Really Like Shooting ‘The Odyssey’

Lupita Nyong’o has shared new details about her experience filming Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film The Odyssey, and she describes the atmosphere on set as unusually focused and intense. The movie is expected to be one of Nolan’s biggest projects yet, and Nyong’o plays Helen of Troy alongside a large ensemble cast.

Speaking about working on the film, Nyong’o said the set had a very different energy compared to most productions. She explained that one major rule on set made a big difference in how everyone worked together.

She said, “Focused. That’s how I would describe it. There are no phones allowed on a Christopher Nolan set, and you would not believe what a difference it makes. Everybody is paying attention. Everybody is on their feet, everybody knows what’s going on because they don’t have any distractions. It just feels potent. It just feels more powerful than any other set that I’ve been on.”

For Nyong’o, that lack of distraction created a working environment where people were more present and engaged. She described it as something that changed the entire rhythm of filming, making everything feel more immediate and connected.

Her comments suggest that Nolan’s approach to set discipline plays a big role in shaping performances. By removing phones and outside distractions, the cast and crew stay locked into the scene and the moment, which Nyong’o says made the experience feel stronger than anything she has done before.

Nyong’o joined The Odyssey after receiving an offer from Nolan, and she said she accepted the role quickly after reading the script. The film adapts Homer’s ancient epic and features a large cast of well-known actors, but Nyong’o has mostly focused on the creative process rather than the scale of the production.

Even though she is part of a major Hollywood project, she said the working style helped keep things grounded. Instead of feeling chaotic or overwhelming, the set felt controlled and focused on performance and collaboration.

Her experience also reflects Nolan’s well-known filmmaking style, which often emphasizes practical production methods and strict on-set discipline. Nyong’o’s comments highlight how that approach affects actors directly, especially in a film as large and complex as The Odyssey.

For her, the biggest takeaway was not just the scale of the production, but the atmosphere created by that focus. The absence of phones and distractions helped shape a space where everyone stayed present, and she clearly felt that made a difference in the final result.

The Odyssey is set to bring together a wide cast and a mythological story on a large cinematic scale, but according to Nyong’o, the real power of the experience came from something much simpler: full attention on the work in front of them.

The Odyssey is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States by Universal Pictures on July 17, in IMAX.

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