Articles
Every Marvel & DC Actor In The Odyssey – And There Are Way More Than You Think
Christopher Nolan got an incredibly large and talented cast for The Odyssey, and there are more actors in it who also appeared in Marvel and DC movies than most people might think. There are the ones that everyone knows about, specifically with names like Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jon Bernthal all appearing this month in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. There are also several names that have been in other big Marvel and DC films, with Robert Pattinson as the current Batman and one famous former X-Men actor. However, there are also actors from TV shows, animated movies, and even Nolan’s previous Dark Knight trilogy.
From Odysseus’s crew to the suitors trying to marry Penelope, here are all 21 actors from The Odyssey who also appeared in Marvel and DC projects. On a side note, there is a 22nd, when and if Mia Goth ever gets to appear in a Blade movie, for which she signed on.
21) Andrew Howard – Polites
Andrew Howard plays Polites in The Odyssey. He is a warrior who fights alongside Odysseus in the Trojan War and is part of the crew as Odysseus tries to find his way home. He was a loyal crew member and one of Odysseus’s closest friends on the voyage home. In the poem, he either died during Scylla’s attack or when Zeus destroys their ship. In the movie, he dies in the final attack, leaving Odysseus alone on the island with Calypso. Howard plays Luther Banks in the MCU, the right-hand man of Rosalind Price in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD.
20) Logan Marshall-Green – Melanthius
Logan Marshall-Green plays Melanthius in The Odyssey. In the original Homer poem, he had a minor role as the son of Dolius, an enslaved goatherd, who sided with the suitors against Odysseus’s family throughout the entire 20-year absence. This is the same role that he played in Christopher Nolan’s movie. Instead of a loyal servant, he plays a treacherous and disloyal character, and he sides with the suitors when it comes to hunting down and killing Odysseus’s son. He began giving the suitors weapons in the fight with Odysseus and ended up fighting Telemachus in the end. In the MCU, Marshall-Green played Shocker in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
19) Ryan Hurst – Mentor
Ryan Hurst made his name on Sons of Anarchy as Opie, and he has since become a huge cult favorite who has appeared in plenty of movies and TV shows. In The Odyssey, he has an important role as Mentor, a trusted friend of Odysseus who is placed in charge of his household and protecting his son Telemachus. This is where the term “mentor” originated, thanks to Homer’s poem. In the movie, he plays the same role, and he dies protecting Odysseus’s son. As for his DC connection, Hurst voiced Lobo in the 2020 animated movie, Superman: Man of Tomorrow.
18) Jamie Harris – Agelaus
In Homer’s poem, Agelaus is one of the most prominent and aggressive suitors to Penelope as she waits for Odysseus’s return. He is the man who brings the fight to Odysseus in the end, but has no chance and falls to the former ruler. However, his role is changed in the movie, since Robert Pattinson’s Antinous takes on that role instead. As a result, Agelaus is just one of the many suitors in The Odyssey movie. Jamie Harris plays Agelaus in the movie, and he previously starred in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD as a powerful Inhuman named Gordon, a man with no eyes but the ability to teleport anywhere in the world.
17) Elyes Gabel – Elatus
Elatus is one of the suitors who arrived at Odysseus’s home in an attempt to convince Penelope to choose his hand in marriage. Unlike many of the suitors, who were bullies and cowards, he was a powerful warrior, which made him a threat when Odysseus returned home and sought vengeance against the suitors. Elyes Gabel plays Elatus in The Odyssey, and he has a voice role that he played in the DC Animated Movie Universe. He was Star Boy in the animated movie Justice League vs. the Fatal Five. He then became even more famous when he joined the cast of Game of Thrones as the Dothraki warrior and bloodrider Rakharo.
16) Niko Nicotera – Peisander
Niko Nicotera played Peisander in The Odyssey. He is one of the arrogant suitors who are trying to convince Penelope to marry them so they can usurp the throne of Ithaca from Odysseus, whom everyone assumes is dead. He is also someone who ends up in a battle for his life when Odysseus returns and makes everyone pay for disrespecting his kingdom and his wife. As for Nicotera, his DC connection is through the Fox series Gotham, which tells the story of Gotham City while Bruce Wayne is still a child. He played Derek Delaware, a corrupt Gotham City police detective in the show’s first season.
15) Corey Hawkins – Polybus
Corey Hawkins plays Polybus, one of the suitors trying to convince Penelope to marry him while also drinking all the kingdom’s wine and eating all its best food. Polybus is also one of the most violent of the suitors, as he attacks Telemachus and even injures Odysseus’s beloved hunting dog while staying in their home. Hawkins doesn’t have a big role in a Marvel or DC movie, but he did appear in Iron Man 3 as a Navy Op. Of course, his career took off after this as he played Dr. Dre in Straight Outta Compton.
14) Jovan Adepo – Elpenor
Jovan Adepo plays Elpenor in The Odyssey, although his role in the movie and in Homer’s poem is drastically different. In the poem, he is the youngest of Odysseus’s crew, and he dies when he gets drunk at Circe’s home and falls off her roof. However, this is not his fate in the movie, as he is with Odysseus and meets his fate when the men all die in the final giant storm that kills everyone but Odysseus. Adepo appeared in a DC series when he starred as Hooded Justice in the HBO sequel to Watchmen. He played Hooded Justice in flashback scenes, while Louis Gossett Jr. played him as an older man.
13) Josh Stewart – Antiphates
Antiphates appeared in The Odyssey as one of the villains, and he was almost unrecognizable in his role. In the movie, Odysseus and his crew found an island and sought food and shelter. However, what they found was a child alone in the woods. When they called out to her, she screamed, and the Laestrygonians attacked. This was a tribe of cannibalistic giants who attacked and devastated most of Odysseus’s crew. Stewart appeared in another Christopher Nolan film before this, as he starred as Barsad, Bane’s right-hand man in The Dark Knight Rises.
12) James Remar – Tiresias
Although he was almost unrecognizable, James Remar was in The Odyssey, playing the character of Tiresias. He was the blind prophet that Odysseus spoke to when he reached the island and called forth the warriors who had fallen and ended up in Hades. This was a scene of pure horror where he lets Odysseus know they angered Poseidon and then allowed him to speak to some dead warriors before those forgotten came rushing forward for revenge. Remar has had more than one Marvel and DC role. He starred in DC as Peter Gambi on Black Lightning, Frank Gordon on Gotham, and even voiced several characters in DC animated movies and shows. In Marvel, he starred as Ray Cumberland in Blade: Trinity and as a U.S. general in X-Men: First Class.
11) Nick E. Tarabay – Pilot
Pilot was a member of Odysseus’s crew when he was trying to find his way home in The Odyssey. He was someone who was helping fight to navigate the perilous waters on their journey home, although like the rest of the crew, he didn’t survive, as only Odysseus made it home alive from his group. Nick E. Tarabay played Pilot in The Odyssey, and he had plenty of experience, as he also starred as Ashur in the Spartacus series on Starz. As for his DC connection, he played Captain Boomerang on Arrow.
10) Will Yun Lee – Anchialus
Will Yun Lee starred in The Odyssey as Anchialus, one of Odysseus’s warriors who was traveling home with him following the Trojan War. He is very different from Homer’s poem, where he was the father of Mentes, and someone whom Athena disguised herself as to gain the trust of Telemachus. In Nolan’s movie, Anchialus is just a member of Odysseus’s crew. As for his Marvel connection, he played Kenuichio Harada, who in the comics was the Silver Samurai. In The Wolverine, he played Harada as the leader of the Black Ninja Clan.
9) Matt Damon – Odysseus
Matt Damon is a unique case as an actor who has appeared in a Marvel movie and The Odyssey. Of course, he is the main character in The Odyssey, playing Odysseus himself as he tries to remember what happened during and after the Trojan War so he can one day make it back home to his wife, son, and kingdom he left behind. What makes this a unique choice is that he never played a real superhero or even a major character in an MCU movie. Instead, he played the Loki actor who portrayed the trickster in the plays put on in Asgard, alongside Luke Hemsworth, who played the Thor actor.
8) Elliot Page – Sinon
The first warrior seen in Odysseus’s part of the story in The Odyssey was a young man known as Sinon. He is waiting with the Trojan Horse, and when he sees warriors from Troy, he races down to welcome them to accept the gift to their gods, where Sinon dies for his troubles. He later returns in the Hades scene since he was one of many warriors Odysseus left behind after their deaths. Elliot Page plays Sinon, and he previously starred in X-Men: The Last Stand as Kitty Pryde.
7) Lupita Nyong’o – Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra
There were a lot of complaints about Lupita Nyong’o being cast as Helen of Troy in The Odyssey, but she did a great job, and her performance worked perfectly in the movie. The actress played both Helen, as she had returned home from the Trojan War with her husband, Menelaus, and Helen’s twin sister Clytemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon (although the latter was only in a flashback scene). In Greek myths, Helen of Troy was widely considered the most beautiful woman in the world. Of course, Nyong’o is best known for her role as Nakia in Black Panther, where she revealed in Wakanda Forever that she is also the mother of T’Challa’s child.
6) Charlize Theron – Calypso
Charlize Theron had one of the most important roles in The Odyssey. In the film, she plays Calypso, who was the goddess who saved Odysseus after his accident and nursed him back to health, while taking away his memories of his past life, including his wife, son, and the events that happened to his soldiers. However, unlike the Homer poem, she was actively willing to help him find his way home in Christopher Nolan’s movie. As for the MCU, Theron has yet to take part in a full movie storyline, but she did appear in the mid-credits of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as Clea.
5) Jon Bernthal – Menelaus
Menelaus is the brother of Agamemnon, and he fought alongside his brother and Odysseus in the Trojan War. He returned home after the war, and while his brother was murdered, Menelaus remained in control of his land, with Helen of Troy by his side. He was an ally to Telemachus and helped warn him about the dangers from the suitors. Bernthal is an actor who will take part in his first MCU movie this month in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Bernthal plays Frank Castle, the Punisher, and debuted in the Netflix Marvel era before moving over to the Disney+ streaming shows in Daredevil: Born Again.
4) Anne Hathaway – Penelope
Anne Hathaway plays Penelope in The Odyssey, the wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus. She is in a tough spot here, as with Odysseus gone for nearly 20 years, the elders are pressuring her to take a new husband who will become the new king. She has been delaying this because she feels Odysseus is still alive and is waiting for him to return home. Hathaway is also a former DC actress, as she played Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, where she was an ally to Batman in his war against Bane and Talia al Ghul, as well as Bruce Wayne’s romantic interest.
3) Robert Pattinson – Antinous
For years, Robert Pattinson was best known for his role as Edward Cullen in The Twilight Saga. However, he has worked hard to change that and has taken on some big roles that are out of that wheelhouse over the years. One of those turns was as Batman in the currently ongoing The Batman franchise by Matt Reeves. Pattinson has appeared in one DC movie (The Batman), with the second currently in production. In The Odyssey, he was the main suitor for Penelope, and the biggest threat to the safety of her son, Telemachus, as he attempts to take the kingdom for himself.
2) Zendaya as Athena
Zendaya has three major blockbuster movies coming out in 2026, and the first of these was The Odyssey. In the film, Zendaya plays the goddess Athena, who takes on the role of a servant girl who is brutally murdered in the sacking of Troy. She then spends the movie silently watching over Odysseus until he finally understands the error of his ways. In the MCU, Zendaya plays MJ in the Spider-Man movies, and this includes Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which also comes out in July 2026. Zendaya has been in every Spider-Man movie since it moved to the MCU. She also has Dune: Part Three coming up in December, dropping into theaters on the same day as Avengers: Doomsday.
1) Tom Holland as Telemachus
The most important cast member who crosses over from The Odyssey to the MCU is easily Tom Holland. In the MCU, Holland has played Spider-Man since Captain America: Civil War, and he has led three of his own movies to date, with a fourth coming out this month in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. He is also the most important Marvel or DC actor in The Odyssey, as he plays Telemachus, the son of Odysseus who wants to find his father and help save his own kingdom. The fact that The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day both come out in July 2026 means that Holland is easily the biggest star of the month in Hollywood for that month.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
