While Matt Damon is rightfully getting accolades for his performance as Odysseus in The Odyssey, his 4-feet-5-inches stunt double deserves praise as well.
Devyn Dalton, a Canadian-born actor, stunt performer, motion-capture artist, voice actor and dancer, recently spoke with the New York Post about her experience as Damon’s double in the Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of the Greek epic as well as her career.
“Opportunities like this come from building trust and [having] a strong reputation in the industry,” Dalton told the New York Post. “It doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes so long and I spent my entire career [preparing] for this.”
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Dalton’s size was one of her key characteristics that landed her the role. She’s prominently featured in the battle scene with the giant, silver-plate clad Laestrygonians. Being under 5 feet tall allowed for some forced perspective movie making magic that gave the already massive 7 feet tall cast members under the armor to appear even bigger. A scene from the battle featuring Dalton even made promotional material. So not only did she lend her talents to the filmmaking process, she also helped to promote the film on a poster that many surely believe depicts Damon. But, nope, that’s Dalton retreating from the mountainesque Laestrygonians in the well-circulated poster
She hit the gym and started working on her combat skills as soon as she landed The Odyssey role, she told the New York Post. Her scenes were physically demanding, but she stays excellent shape and being on a film with high-profile actors forced her to “level up and be a genius,” she said.
Damon praised Dalton’s performance while out promoting the film, saying that he thanked her “for all the work she put in,” and noting she has “the greatest arms I’ve ever seen.” In an interview about Damon’s praise, Dalton said “I thought it was so awesome.”
Dalton has credits on more than 60 films, but she got a jumpstart to her Hollywood career by doing a motion capture role as ape Cornelia in 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a franchise she would continue with in the proceeding years. In recent years, she has had roles in Scary Movie, Weapons, The Last of Us, and Thunderbolts.
So if The Odyssey, which Consequence called “the epic we truly need,” wins the Oscar for Best Picture, we’ll all know who made that happen — the 4-feet 5-inches Devyn Dalton.