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Zendaya recalls 'embarrassing' first day filming The Odyssey in freezing Iceland
The actor said the cold left her unable to deliver her lines as Athena, while Christopher Nolan later praised her performance as "always perfect"
- PUBLISHED: Wed 8 Jul 2026, 11:07 AM
- By:
- ANI
Actor Zendaya has recalled an "embarrassing" moment from her first day filming The Odyssey, revealing that freezing temperatures in Iceland left her unable to deliver her lines while portraying the Greek goddess Athena, according to People.
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, Zendaya admitted she had put immense pressure on herself before stepping onto the set of director Christopher Nolan's upcoming epic.
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"Here's the thing. I had my lines and I wanted to have them so down," she said. "I think I kind of psyched myself out a little bit."
The actor said the nerves, combined with Iceland's harsh weather, made the first day particularly challenging.
"It was particularly cold. It was in Iceland," she said. "My mouth was just frozen. There is nothing coming out. My mouth would not move. Literally. It came out like, 'Blah blah blah.' So embarrassing."
Despite the awkward start, Zendaya described working alongside the film's star-studded cast as a rewarding experience. The ensemble includes Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o and her husband, Tom Holland.
"It's such a pleasure and a gift to be able to share scenes with people you admire," Zendaya said. "Part of you has to compartmentalize to a degree. Lock in, we're working. But I was so moved and so just excited to be there and wanted to do my best work."
Her performance also earned high praise from Nolan, who described her work as flawless during a recent interview with Fandango.
"She was always perfect. Always perfect," the Oscar-winning filmmaker said.
Nolan's glowing endorsement quickly became a talking point among the cast, with Holland joking, "Still waiting for mine."
Matt Damon also chimed in, saying Nolan's praise for Zendaya "was a topic of discussion."
Responding to the playful complaints, Nolan quipped, "I felt guilty when I first heard they were complaining about it, but then I realized that's kind of on them and not me."
Holland also admitted that his own first day on the film was intimidating because of the project's scale.
"I think my first day, for me, was probably one of the most daunting experiences of my career, just being a part of a movie of this scale," he said.
Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey is scheduled to arrive in theatres on July 17.