Zendaya has revealed how she found out that she would be part of the stacked cast of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey as her husband Tom Holland made sure to be the one who gave her the happy news. Zendaya and Holland, who are also starring together on upcoming Marvel and Sony's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, have each given their versions of the sweet story in recent interviews.
The couple, who recently confirmed they'd tied the knot earlier this year, prepared together for Holland's role as Telemachus, Odysseus's son, when the Spider-Man protagonist returned with some "pretty cool" news for Zendaya.
"I was already excited," the Euphoria star said on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, referring to Holland landing a main role in the film. "I was already on Cloud Nine for him."
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"And then he came home and said, 'I need you to read something.' And I was like, 'Is it that thing we were just reading the other night?' And he was like [nods head], 'But now read it thinking of this character [Athena].' And I was like, 'Shut up! You're joking!' It was pretty cool."
Holland gave his side of the story to Access Hollywood, saying that Zendaya is a big Nolan fan.
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"It was such a gift because I know how much she's admired Chris. Interstellar is her favourite movie," he said. "I could never express to Chris how grateful I am to be able to give her that information."
Holland, who earned a bit of a reputation for putting his foot in his mouth with the Marvel spoiler police, made sure he could be the one to tell Zendaya they would be working together.
"At my meeting with Chris he asked me a question... He went, 'Would you be offended if I asked Zendaya to play Athena?' I was like, 'Why would I be offended'... And then I asked him, 'Do you want me to tell her.' And he said, 'Yeah.'
"And I went home and I said, 'You should read the script again.' And she said, 'I already read it.' And I said, 'Just trust me, you should read it again, but read Athena really closely.' And the little corners of her mouth [makes a smile on his own face]. It was amazing."
The Odyssey had its premiere in London on 6 July and will be released in cinemas on 17 July.
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Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
