In Christopher Nolan’s epic The Odyssey, one of the most striking visual sequences involves Odysseus confronting the towering Laestrygonian giants. What many viewers may not realise is that in key shots of that battle, the figure of Odysseus—played by Matt Damon—was actually performed by a 4-foot-6 woman. Canadian stunt performer Devyn Dalton stepped into the role, bringing both technical precision and physical power to a sequence built on forced perspective and meticulous planning.
The Scene That Required a Different Kind of Double
The Laestrygonian sequence demanded a clear sense of scale. Nolan’s team used forced perspective, placing very tall stunt performers (around seven feet) as the giants on one side of the frame and much shorter performers on the other to represent Odysseus and his men. The height difference created the illusion that the giants loomed over the human characters. For the shots requiring Odysseus to appear small against the giants, the production needed a stunt double of significantly shorter stature than Damon’s roughly 5-foot-10 frame. Dalton, standing at 4 feet 6 inches, fitted the technical requirement perfectly.
Damon later spoke about the sequence in a podcast interview, correcting the assumption that the muscular arms visible in certain shots were his own. “My double was a woman, a female stunt performer who had the greatest arms I’ve ever seen,” he said. The comment quickly drew attention to the rarely discussed reality of cross-gender stunt doubling and the specialised craft behind it.
Who Is Devyn Dalton?
Devyn Dalton is a Canadian stunt performer, actor, dancer and motion-capture artist based in the Vancouver area. She began performing young and developed a wide range of physical skills over the years, including boxing, Muay Thai, fencing, sword fighting and multiple forms of dance. Her previous credits include work on X-Men: Dark Phoenix, the Planet of the Apes franchise and the series Twisted Metal, where she first doubled for a male character. The Odyssey marked her first time serving as stunt double for a major male A-list actor.
In an industry where women still make up little more than 20 per cent of stunt performers according to union figures, Dalton’s casting illustrates how specific physical and technical needs can override conventional gender matching.
Preparing the Body and the Movement
Doubling for a male action hero required more than height compatibility. Dalton shifted her training toward bodybuilding with a strong emphasis on upper-body development so that her arms and overall physique would read as powerful on camera. She focused on sharp, clean, strong movements rather than anything graceful or dance-like, aiming to embody a warrior energy that matched Damon’s portrayal of Odysseus.
“I wanted every movement to feel powerful, confident and intentional,” she has said of the preparation. The goal was not to look like herself but to disappear into the character’s physicality—studying how Damon carried himself and translating that presence into the stunt work. Wardrobe, hair and makeup further helped complete the visual transformation, allowing the camera to accept her as Odysseus in the carefully composed forced-perspective shots.
What Makes a Stunt Double “Right for the Job”
Stunt doubling is often misunderstood as simple physical resemblance. In reality, the decisive factors are the specific demands of the sequence and the performer’s skill set. Height, reach, strength, timing, combat training and the ability to hit precise marks under difficult conditions all matter more than gender in many technical shots.
Forced-perspective work, wire work, fight choreography and motion-capture performance each require different combinations of attributes. A shorter performer may be essential for scale illusions; a taller or more heavily built double may be needed for other sequences. Increasingly, departments treat the body as a tool that can be shaped and presented through training, costuming and camera technique. Dalton has noted that men have long doubled for women in certain contexts, and that the reverse is becoming more feasible when the physical and technical fit is right.
The Invisible Nature of the Work
Stunt performers are rarely the focus of publicity, yet their contribution is central to the safety and visual ambition of large-scale action filmmaking. Damon chose to acknowledge Dalton publicly, something she has said she values because it draws attention to the largely unseen labour behind the spectacle. “He didn’t have to mention me at all, but he chose to shine a light on stunt performers and the work we do behind the scenes,” she remarked.
The viral attention that followed Damon’s comments also highlighted how audiences respond when the machinery of movie magic is briefly revealed. The same arms that sold the power of Odysseus in the giant sequence belonged to a performer whose everyday reality is one of rigorous training, precise repetition and calculated risk.
A Quiet Expansion of Possibility
Dalton’s work on The Odyssey does not represent a wholesale change in industry practice, but it does illustrate a pragmatic openness. When a sequence requires a particular physical profile and a proven skill set, the most suitable performer is the one who can deliver the shot safely and convincingly. In this case, that performer was a 4-foot-6 woman with the strength, movement quality and technical readiness to stand in for one of Hollywood’s leading men.
The curious craft of stunt doubling continues to evolve with the demands of contemporary filmmaking. Forced perspective, digital augmentation and practical effects still rely on human bodies that can meet exacting physical and spatial requirements. Devyn Dalton’s contribution to The Odyssey stands as a clear example of how those requirements can, on occasion, lead to unexpected and highly effective casting choices—ones that prioritise capability over convention and deliver the images audiences ultimately remember.
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