Travis Scott is no stranger to performing in front of massive crowds, but even he found himself feeling out of his comfort zone while filming Christopher Nolan‘s ‘The Odyssey.’ Trading packed stadiums for a movie set was a very different experience, especially with some of Hollywood’s biggest names watching.
For those who haven’t watched, Scott plays the Bard, an ancient storyteller who narrates the journey of Odysseus (Matt Damon) through rhythm and song. Looking back on his first day on set, Scott admitted that experience was far more nerve-wracking than he expected.
Travis Scott Admits Feeling Jittery On First Day
Despite leading the most profitable solo rap tour, the Circus Maximus Tour, Scott admitted that nothing could prepare him for the first day of filming ‘The Odyssey.’ According to a Variety report, the rapper confessed, “I was nervous as f—.”
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The man was part of the movie’s opening, which required him to stand on top of a wooden table inside an old castle to tell Odysseus’ tale, while Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, and Robert Pattinson watched from the room.
“All those actors were there, and I’m standing on the table,” he said. “It wasn’t like Travis rager sh-t, or we’re kicking it at a function. No, this was some serious sh-t. There’s a camera right here in my face. Nolan’s right there. And they’re all actors—so everyone’s in their zone, locked in.”
The opening scene in question had Scott narrating the lore on top of his lungs. “A war. A man. A trick. A trick to break the walls of Troy and burn it screaming to the ground,” his character says, introducing audiences to the legend of Odysseus and his big win in the Trojan War.
Well, Scott’s nervousness was just what Nolan imagined. The filmmaker deliberately created a difficult situation for him on the first day. Nolan made a strategy to put him at the top of that day’s filming schedule amid the main cast and hundreds of extras.
“I said, ‘OK, Travis, jump up on the table and start reciting the Song of Odysseus and hold the attention of the room,’” Nolan admitted, laughing. Scott previously collaborated with Nolan for the 2019 sci-fi film ‘Tenet,’ in which he co-wrote the end-credits song ‘When I’m Home.’ Here, the expectations were quite different.
Why Christopher Nolan Decided To Put Scott In ‘The Odyssey‘
Director Christopher Nolan weighed in on the reason why he decided to involve him. “He’s a performer, but it is a very different thing to come as an actor. I was very clear with Travis that I wasn’t hiring him as a musician,” he explained.
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Instead, Nolan considered Scott and rappers, in general, a modern equivalent of performers who recited poetry in ancient Greece. He wanted somebody with a commanding screen presence, someone whose words could command attention authentically without alienating the modern audience.
By doing so, Nolan hoped the audiences would understand the drama and the emotion that comes from storytelling through poetry. “If you view it in rarefied terms, if you elevate it and have some very formal version of what a bard in the palace of Ithaca might be, I would find that alienating,” he added.
Interestingly, the role came full circle in Scott’s life, as he revealed that his grandmother, English professor Bernice Webster, once gave him ‘The Odyssey’ as a summer reading assignment. Back then, he lied about reading it and got a pasting from her.
But now, she is extremely happy about seeing Scott in the movie. “She’s like, ‘See? That’s why I made you read that book; Now you’re in this movie,’” the singer proudly said. “It’s actually crazy.” Scott now plans to book a full movie theater and invite his whole family to experience the Greek adventure on the big screen.
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