Jon Bernthal shrugs off backlash over Lupita Nyong'o leading The Odyssey

Christopher Nolan 's The Odyssey is in theaters, and somehow the most contentious part of a movie full of gods, monsters, and shipwrecks is... Helen of Troy. Lupita Nyong'o's casting lit up a corner of the internet, and Jon Bernthal is not here for the noise. He says she was the only answer for the role, full stop, and he backs it up with specifics, not vague cheerleading.

Bernthal on why it had to be Lupita

Talking to DiscussingFilm, Bernthal made it clear he couldn't picture anyone else as Helen. He pointed to her screen presence and the way she carries herself off set too — the poise, the humanity — and said that combination is what makes the story click. If an entire war is supposed to feel plausible, you need someone who embodies beauty inside and out, and he thinks Nyong'o has that rare mix.

"For me, there's no one else in the world who could have done that, who comes with a level of beauty both inside & out that you believe somebody would [go to war for]... I'm just so glad it was her."

The discourse, because of course

Nyong'o as Helen has been one of The Odyssey's hottest talking points. Plenty of people are all-in on the Oscar winner in the role; others turned timelines into an argument about who gets to play a myth. Meanwhile, fans defending the choice keep coming back to the obvious: if the performance works, the rest is noise. Bernthal clearly aligns with that camp — he's not entertaining the backlash, he's celebrating what she does on screen.

Nolan's set, and why it felt like 'church'

Bernthal also had praise for Nolan's famously strict, phone-free sets, something he'd heard about long before he showed up for this shoot. He told CinemaBlend his wife actually pushed him to take the job because of that policy, and once he was there, the logic clicked: no phones meant no distractions, and everyone stayed locked into the work.

"I heard that there were no phones on his set, and my wife was like, you got to do that. It sounds like church."

Bernthal said that atmosphere made people fully present and immersed, which tracks with Nolan's whole approach — build the world for real and keep everyone in it.

Where to see it, and who is in it

The Odyssey is now playing exclusively in theaters and IMAX. It is Nolan's first film since the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer and stacks an ensemble that is frankly ridiculous:

• Matt Damon
• Tom Holland
• Anne Hathaway
• Zendaya
• Robert Pattinson
• Charlize Theron
• Lupita Nyong'o
• Jon Bernthal