If there is one thing that catches the eye about Odyssey even before entering the cinema, it is its cast. Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron… Christopher Nolan has brought together a large portion of Hollywood’s biggest stars to adapt Homer’s epic poem. However, when the film ends there is one name that lingers in the mind: Robert Pattinson.
The British actor plays Antinous, the main antagonist of the story. Exploiting Odysseus’ twenty-year absence, he settles in Ithaca’s palace alongside the other suitors with a very clear objective: to seize power by forcing Penelope to choose a new husband. Ambitious, calculating, and deeply manipulative, he embodies everything that the king of Ithaca fights against during his return.
A Very Well-Constructed Character
But the most interesting thing about Antinous isn’t what he does, but how he does it. Unlike the impulsive villain who constantly relies on violence, his main weapon is manipulation. He prefers others to fight for him, pulls the strings from the shadows, and understands power as a privilege to enjoy, not something to be conquered through one’s own merit. That way of building the character makes him far more unsettling than a conventional antagonist.
Robert Pattinson was clear from the start what the approach should be. «Antinous represents a kind of modernity that lacks ethics,» he explained during the film’s promotion. «He’s a bully, but he doesn’t want to fight. He’ll make others fight for him and will use his courage. He wants to enjoy the spoils won by men better than him.» A definition that helps explain why his performance feels so uncomfortable and, at the same time, so magnetic.
Robert Pattinson as Antinous in Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey
Christopher Nolan also spares no praise for him. The director, who had already worked with Pattinson on Tenet, says he is one of those actors who constantly enjoy testing themselves. «It was a pleasure to see him arrive every day and surprise us with the charm, the veiled threat, and the cruelty of the character,» he recalls. He doesn’t speak of grand gestures or spectacular scenes, but of small nuances. And probably that is the key to a performance that manages to stand out even in a cast of this caliber.
An Intelligent Career Path
For a long time now Robert Pattinson has ceased to be merely Edward Cullen. After the Twilight phenomenon, the Brit could have continued exploiting the same type of roles, but he chose to do just the opposite. Instead of seeking comfortable characters, he began working with some of the most personal directors in contemporary cinema and building a career based on taking risks.
Films such as Good Time, The Lighthouse, High Life, The Batman, Tenet or Mickey 17 have confirmed a constant: Pattinson seems to feel especially comfortable when portraying complex, awkward, or hard-to-decipher characters. Antinous fits perfectly into that evolution.
Nothing about Antinous seems improvised. To shape the character, Pattinson worked with the costume designer Ellen Mirojnick, aiming for an image that reflects his obsession with luxury and power. The actor himself has explained that they tested different fabrics and even incorporated golden details into the wardrobe to reinforce that idea of a man obsessed with status and appearance.
The filming also contributed to building that experience. Part of the movie was shot on Favignana, an Italian island where cast and crew had to walk about 45 minutes to reach one of the main sets. Far from seeing it as a difficulty, Pattinson has said that that daily walk ended up bringing the whole crew together and becoming one of the most special experiences of the shoot.
In a cast as spectacular as Odyssey, standing out is already an achievement. Doing so while playing the villain and sharing the screen with actors like Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, or Zendaya is even more so. Robert Pattinson achieves it without the need for grand speeches or spectacular scenes. All it takes is building an intelligent, manipulative, and unsettling Antinous who ends up becoming one of the most interesting characters in the film. And that is, probably, the best evidence of the moment his career is going through.
