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'The Odyssey': Tom Holland thought Christopher Nolan called Timothée Chalamet instead
Holland said he genuinely believed there had been some sort of mix-up when Nolan wanted to meet with him
- PUBLISHED: Thu 16 Jul 2026, 4:37 PM
Tom Holland has revealed that when Christopher Nolan first reached out to him about The Odyssey, his immediate reaction was that the director had the wrong actor.
Speaking on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Holland admitted he was convinced the call had been meant for fellow actor Timothée Chalamet rather than himself.
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"Honestly, I thought he was supposed to call Timothée Chalamet. It's the honest truth," Holland said with a laugh.
Holland explained that he genuinely believed there had been some sort of mix-up when Nolan wanted to meet with him.
Given Chalamet's recent collaborations with some of Hollywood's biggest filmmakers, Holland assumed the Oscar-winning director had intended to contact him instead.
The confusion didn't end there. Holland revealed that even his own representatives had very little idea what Nolan's secretive next project actually was.
"They told me that it was a vampire movie or either an ensemble space movie," Holland recalled, before joking that the film turned out to be neither.
As is typical with Nolan productions, details surrounding the project were kept tightly under wraps until its official announcement.
The film was eventually revealed to be The Odyssey, an adaptation of Homer's epic poem featuring a star-studded cast that includes Matt Damon, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Charlize Theron and Timothée Chalamet alongside Holland.
Although Holland joked that he thought Christopher Nolan had meant to call the wrong actor, he has previously spoken about just how significant the opportunity was.
The actor has described being cast in Nolan's film as "the phone call of a lifetime," saying the moment reminded him of finding out he had landed the role of Spider-Man.
Mariam Alrashdi is a lifestyle and entertainment reporter at Khaleej Times, with a focus on local trends, Emirati culture, and the arts.