Samantha Morton doesn’t appear much in The Odyssey, but she appears for about half of the action blockbuster and takes over the movie. In this moving scene, which lasts about 10 minutes, Morton gives a rich and passionate performance as Circe, the magician who transforms Odysseus’s men into pigs. In Homer’s epics, Circe is a beautiful temptress who toyed with soldiers for pleasure. In Morton’s hands, she becomes a woman who has seen too much brutality and turns to magic as a defense against sexual violence.
“My family is a military family,” Morton says. “War is complicated. Men are complicated. Our relationships with men as wives, sisters, daughters are complicated. I drew on that. And I have people in my family who have been sexually assaulted and raped. I thought about that too.”
Acting out this scene made her “take a hard look at human behavior, especially male behavior.”
When Christopher Nolan asked if she would like to meet about his next project, Morton couldn’t believe her luck.
“When I got the call, I started crying,” Morton recalled. “Then I got to know you and we chatted and read the script, but I didn’t know if it was going to be anything more than that. Then he called me and said, ‘Do you want to try it?'” I was shocked. He could have been anyone on earth, but he chose me. ”
The opportunity to star in a blockbuster with a star like Matt Damon or a director like Nolan was something Morton feared he would never get again. She’s been a professional actress since the age of 12, and her resume includes everything from Minority Report to Whales to The Messenger. She also received Oscar nominations for “Sweet and Lowdown” and “In America.” In recent years, however, Morton felt that opportunities to appear in major Hollywood films were drying up.
“As you get older as an actress, roles like this become really rare,” says Morton, 49. “I still work all the time, but mostly in independent film or television.”
It was thrilling to film the scene where Circe lures the soldiers into her hut, drugs them, and turns them into pigs with her bare hands. Morton loved how open and collaborative Nolan was with his actors.
“He’s very hands-on,” Morton says. “Chris made sure I had everything I needed and the time I needed to do what I needed to do. There was an incredible sense of freedom and trust, and it was only the gentlest and kindest suggestions and guidance that got me where I needed to go.”
The production posed some unique challenges. “The Odyssey” was shot entirely on Imax cameras, which are huge, noisy, and weigh 300 pounds.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say the first take was…funny,” she says. “The camera is just huge and it’s right in front of my face, so at first I thought, ‘Wow!'” But in the end I forgot. It’s now just like any other camera. ”
After Odysseus gains the upper hand against Circe, she begins a monologue about human cruelty and how they abuse power. Morton really enjoyed the dialogue Nolan wrote to convey to her.
“There’s no extra meat in it, so it’s very impactful,” she says. “It’s very simple and pure.”
The role is a reminder of Morton’s power as an actress, and if there’s any justice, it could lead to some meatier parts.
“I felt like I was born again,” Morton said. “I had to do my best to be my best. Getting this role felt like a second chance to be seen by the wider world.”
It could mean an invitation to the Oscars. “The Odyssey” opened Friday, but Morton’s work is already generating awards buzz.
“If your coworkers feel like you’re worthy of praise, that’s meaningful, but I’ve never been one to seek that kind of gratification,” Morton says. “I just love what I do for a living.”
