Jon Bernthal Has a Message for Anyone Still Mad About Lupita Nyong’O Playing Helen of Troy in 'The Odyssey'

Casting decisions for major mythological adaptations have a funny way of becoming lightning rods online, especially when the source material comes loaded with centuries of assumptions about how a character should look. Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ found itself squarely in that storm well before the film ever hit theaters.

At the center of it all was the casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, a decision that sparked heated debate across social media the moment it became public. Elon Musk was among the most vocal critics, accusing Nolan of losing his “integrity” over the choice and amplifying posts arguing the casting made the story’s premise “incoherent.”

Now that the film has actually arrived in theaters, one of its stars is making it clear exactly where he stands on the controversy. Jon Bernthal, who plays Menelaus, Helen’s husband, in the film, has offered some of the strongest praise yet for his co-star’s performance and her fit for the role.

“For me, there’s no one else in the world who could have done that, who comes with a level of beauty both inside and out that you believe somebody would go to war for,” Bernthal told DiscussingFilm. “I’m just so glad it was her.”

Bernthal’s comments go beyond simple praise for Nyong’o’s looks, instead framing her casting around the character’s core narrative function. Helen of Troy is, famously, the figure whose beauty is said to have launched a thousand ships and triggered the Trojan War, meaning the actor playing her has to convincingly sell an entire mythology’s worth of obsession and conflict.

That’s precisely the challenge Bernthal argued Nyong’o was uniquely equipped to meet, pointing to the internal depth she brought to the role alongside her screen presence. He also credited Nolan’s directing approach for helping unlock that nuance, noting the filmmaker’s focus on a character’s interior life as key to making those layers show up on screen.

Nyong’o’s casting drew scrutiny well before ‘The Odyssey’ reached audiences. Her involvement in the project was first confirmed back in November 2024, though her specific role remained unconfirmed for months, fueling online speculation and eventually backlash once reports named her as Helen.

That backlash escalated into a wider cultural flashpoint when Musk amplified criticism of the casting, prompting pushback from figures including Whoopi Goldberg, who addressed the controversy on ‘The View’ and told Musk to “just sit down” on artistic matters. Supporters of the casting have repeatedly pointed out that Helen of Troy is a mythological figure without any historical basis dictating her appearance, undercutting arguments that the casting broke from established fact.

Critics of the backlash have also noted the inconsistency in how it was applied, given that virtually every major casting choice in the sprawling ensemble drew some degree of criticism from someone online, from Bernthal’s own casting as the Spartan king Menelaus to Matt Damon’s casting as Odysseus. With an ensemble that also includes Tom Holland, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, and Robert Pattinson, the film was always going to invite scrutiny of nearly every role, making the intensity of the reaction specifically to Nyong’o’s casting stand out to many observers.

Bernthal, for his part, has shown little interest in engaging with that side of the conversation, choosing instead to focus entirely on Nyong’o’s work in the role. In the film, Nyong’o takes on dual duty, playing both Helen and her sister Clytemnestra, adding another layer of complexity to an already demanding assignment.

With ‘The Odyssey’ now playing in theaters following its July 17 release, audiences finally have the chance to judge the casting for themselves rather than relying on pre-release speculation.