Matt Damon went to some extreme lengths to prepare for his role as the battle-weary Odysseus in the upcoming film The Odyssey. Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland recently shared that they were genuinely concerned when they heard Damon screaming repeatedly from his trailer while on set. It turns out that the actor was simply pushing his vocal cords to the limit to achieve a specific, aged sound for his character.

Pattinson described the experience during an MTV U.K. video interview (via Variety). He admitted that the situation was quite confusing at first. “Matt was in the trailer next to me and he was making these noises,” Pattinson said. “He is such a nice guy … I thought he was on the phone and I thought he was a complete psycho. He was just screaming and screaming and screaming. I thought he was having a really bad toilet experience. He was just blowing his voice out just to sound older. Like, really, you’re taking years off your life by doing this.”

It is definitely an intense way to get into character, but it shows the level of commitment Damon brings to his projects. Tom Holland also weighed in on the situation after hearing the vocal exercises himself. Holland called the prep work amazing, and it is easy to see why. Most actors would probably rely on professional voice coaches or post-production effects, but Damon clearly prefers a more visceral, physical approach.

Damon spoke about the process on the New Heights podcast earlier this year. He explained that he needed to look lean but strong for director Christopher Nolan. To achieve this, he dropped his weight down to 167 pounds. He mentioned that he typically walks around at a weight between 185 and 200 pounds, so getting down to 167 was a significant change. Damon noted that he has not been that light since his high school days. He achieved this through an incredibly strict diet and intense training, which included cutting out gluten entirely.

This approach is a massive departure from how Damon has handled body transformations in the past. Back in 2009, he had to go in the opposite direction for his role in The Informant. During that production, he gained 30 pounds by eating as much as he could and drinking dark beer. He previously shared that he would eat a No. 1 Value Meal at McDonald’s between meals on set and top it off with a bag of Doritos. He famously described that experience as absolute heaven at the time.

It is fascinating to see such a stark contrast in how an actor prepares for different roles. Whether he is packing on the pounds or training down to a lean frame, Damon is clearly not afraid to put his body through the wringer.

You can see the final result of all this hard work when The Odyssey hits theaters on July 17 from Universal Pictures.

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