Zendaya ‘Could Have Cried’ Watching Tom Holland on The Odyssey Set

Zendaya didn’t have a single scene with Tom Holland in The Odyssey — but she was still watching him closely. And what she saw nearly brought her to tears.

“I could have cried, I was so proud,” the actress told ELLE of watching Holland on set of Christopher Nolan’s sweeping adaptation of Homer’s epic. It’s a sweet window into a relationship that’s been playing out in real time for nearly a decade — two people who fell in love on a Marvel set, now watching each other grow into something bigger.

“And then Spider-Man was a dream; I get to go to work every day with my best friend, the person that I love,” she added. “We bring our dogs to work; it’s like a family affair. We grew up on those movies! It’s like coming home.”

Holland and Zendaya first met during a 2016 chemistry read for Spider-Man: Homecoming, where he was cast as Peter Parker and she as Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson. They went public as a couple in July 2021, got engaged in late 2024, and if you believe Zendaya’s longtime stylist Law Roach — they may have already quietly gotten married. (In March, Zendaya herself fueled the speculation by telling French outlet Views that a “perfect marriage” doesn’t exist.)

The Only Person Who Got a ‘Perfect’ From Christopher Nolan

Here’s the thing about working with Christopher Nolan: the man is not handing out gold stars. Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus in the film, explained the dynamic with characteristic bluntness.

“Chris is known for being very circumspect. So when you do a take, it’s not like he says, ‘That was great.’ He’ll go, ‘Yep, good. Okay.’ And that is the equivalent of the greatest praise you could ever get,” Damon told ELLE. “Zendaya, on the other hand — there were takes where she did one thing, she did this amazing scene, and he said, ‘Cut.’ And then he went, ‘Perfect.’”

The fallout was immediate and, honestly, hilarious.

“And literally, Tom [Holland] and I were obsessed with this. She got a ‘perfect’? I’ve never even gotten a ‘great.’ She got a ‘perfect’? He and I bitched about it for the entire rest of the film. ‘Did you get anything today?’ ‘No, I got a ‘good — moving on.’ ‘Yeah, me too.’”

Damon didn’t hold it against her for long. “So it was this amazing ability she had to come in and really put herself in there and blow everybody away, and then just go back to shooting ‘Euphoria,’” he said.

That detail — going back to shoot Euphoria — is not a throwaway line. Zendaya was running three major productions at once. In her own ELLE cover story interview, she described the logistical reality of it all: “I remember being on set for Euphoria; it was a night shoot at a ranch. I was so tired, but I was also learning my Chakobsa lines for Dune. And then I started writing out my lines to memorize for that quick turnaround trip I was going to make to Iceland for The Odyssey.”

She paused on what was really at stake. “It’s not like I have a lot of lines in The Odyssey, but I was working with Christopher Nolan! The most embarrassing thing in life would be messing up my lines, which did happen once.”

Nolan, for his part, seemed unbothered by any stumbles. “We would be in the maddest, craziest situations, just all of us fighting the elements, tearing our hair out, all these things going on, and she would sort of parachute in from her other job with this sense of true grace and poise,” he said. “I mean, she’s literally playing a goddess; it’s a tall order. She’s a true movie star, but also an incredible actor.”

The Women at the Heart of The Odyssey

Zendaya plays Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, serving as guide and protector to Damon’s Odysseus throughout his journey. It’s a role without a ton of screen time — but clearly one that left a mark on everyone who witnessed it being filmed.

She’s one of four iconic actresses anchoring Nolan’s vision of the women who drive Homer’s story forward. Anne Hathaway plays Penelope, the fiercely loyal queen of Ithaca who spends 20 years fending off over a hundred suitors while her husband is away. “We think about Penelope as a model of patience,” Hathaway said. “But I was interested in the raw edge of her. I was interested in the fury, the emotion, and the passion that she would have had to ride for him for those 20 years.” It’s Hathaway’s third collaboration with Nolan, after The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar, and Nolan noted a visible shift in her work: “There’s a maturity to her performances now… Her work has a sense of quiet calm to it that’s really remarkable.”

Lupita Nyong’o takes on a fascinating dual role — both Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra — while Charlize Theron plays Calypso, the sea nymph who holds Odysseus captive for seven years. Theron used the character to say something larger: “Even though she’s a goddess, she is really longing for connection… there’s something to be said about women living their lives today in a powerful manner, and yet a lot of our rights are being taken away every single day.”

The four women cover ELLE’s summer 2026 issue, and the film has already sold out multiple opening IMAX 70mm screenings — a full year before its release.

The Odyssey opens July 17. Two weeks later, Holland and Zendaya will be back together on screen where it all started — Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters July 31. Two movies, one summer, one couple. Not a bad coming home.