Zendaya has handled some of the biggest roles of her career with confidence, but her first day on ‘The Odyssey‘ did not go as planned. While stepping onto Christopher Nolan’s set, the Emmy-winning actress suddenly found herself struggling to deliver lines she had carefully prepared.
The moment left Zendaya embarrassed, especially because she wanted to make a strong start on the highly anticipated film. Now, she has revealed what went wrong that day and why, despite knowing her lines, she could barely get the words out.
Zendaya Says She Psyched Herself Out On Her First Day At ‘The Odyssey’ Set
During a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, host Josh Horowitz asked Zendaya about what happened on her first day of filming ‘The Odyssey‘. He wanted more context because messing up lines did not sound like something fans would normally expect from the Emmy winner.
Zendaya admitted that stepping onto a Christopher Nolan set for the first time already felt “nerve-racking.” However, she was also dealing with extremely cold conditions while filming in Iceland, which made the situation even harder.
“Here’s the thing. I had my lines and I wanted to have them so down. I think I psyched myself out a little bit,” Zendaya explained. “It was particularly cold. … It was in Iceland. My mouth was just frozen. Oh, there is nothing coming out. My mouth just won’t move. Literally. It just came out like, ‘Blah blah blah.’ So embarrassing.”
The Freezing Conditions Left Zendaya Struggling To Speak
The actress made it clear that she had prepared her lines and wanted to deliver them perfectly. Yet the combination of pressure and Iceland’s freezing weather worked against her, leaving her mouth so cold that the words simply would not come out properly.
Still, the embarrassing moment did not take away from what the experience meant to Zendaya. She spoke warmly about getting the chance to work alongside performers she had admired for years and explained how she had to separate those emotions from the job in front of her.
She continued, “But I will say, I think just showing up in any situation like this… It was such a pleasure and a gift to be able to share scenes with people you’ve admired for so long. Part of you has to compartmentalize to a degree. OK, lock in; we’re working. But I was so moved and excited to be there and wanted to do my best work.”
In case you missed it: “That Would Be Really Fun”: Tom Holland Reveals His Dream Movie With Zendaya After Spider-Man
Tom Holland Found An Adorable Way To Reveal Zendaya’s Casting
Before Zendaya ever stepped onto the set as Athena, Tom Holland got the chance to tell her that Christopher Nolan wanted her for the role. During an interview with Access Hollywood, Holland explained that Nolan brought up the idea during his own casting meeting, but first told him something along the lines of “don’t take this the wrong way.”
Holland immediately thought Nolan might be worried about his height. “I thought he was going to ask me like, ‘Can we put like lifts in your shoes or something to make you taller?‘” Holland recalled. Instead, Nolan wanted to know if he would be comfortable with the filmmaker approaching Zendaya about playing the Greek goddess Athena. Holland quickly said he would be honored and believed she would accept the role right away.
Nolan then gave Holland the job of sharing the news himself. Rather than simply telling Zendaya, Holland turned it into a small surprise. When she asked how his meeting had gone, he encouraged her to read the script again. Even after she said she had already read it, he pushed her to take another look and focus closely on one particular character. “Just read it again, but read Athena, like, really closely,” he told her. Holland said watching the realization appear on her face was amazing.
Zendaya later confirmed the story and admitted she had no idea anyone was considering her for the film. She was already excited about Holland landing his own role when he came home and encouraged her to reread the material with Athena in mind. The surprise completely caught her off guard, and she later said, “I was incredibly grateful that I just even got to be a part of it, too. I didn’t see that coming.”
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