Tom Holland is justifying the use of the moniker “dad” in The Odyssey for his onscreen father, Matt Damon.
In Sir Christopher Nolan’s film, Tom plays the role of Telemachus, who is the son of Matt Damon’s character Odysseus.
As the film reimagines Homer’s ancient Greek epic, Tom’s use of modern language and calling Matt “dad” instead of the more formal word “father” has sparked debate among critics.
However, Tom hit back at criticism, and explained on Channel 4 News, “Because I wouldn’t have even said ‘father’ back in the day, would I? It would’ve been Greek. So it’s no less correct.”
Sir Christopher also defended, saying, “When you look at the ancient world, people tend to view it in weird ways. There’s a lot of cultural prejudice. There’s a lot of sort of elevating it, because it’s old, you know, whatever it is. I just wanted to make it feel fresh for modern audiences …
“When you go to the poem, what you find is something that’s really earthy and grounded and accessible.
He added, “And so for me in building the world of the film, what I talked to all the actors about, I just want to centre it on that and make if feel very fresh for modern audiences and do away with some of those assumptions that aren’t based on anything logical, they’re just, as I say, cultural prejudices or things over time … “
This came after The Odyssey received backlash over the use of modern language and American accent in a story that dates back to ancient Greek times.
The director clapped back at the criticism and told The Telegraph newspaper, “Look, these conversations that happen before people see the film – they’re always irrelevant, because no one having them knows what the film actually is yet.”
The Odyssey is all set to hit theaters in the United States and the United Kingdom on July 17.
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