There are many reasons to watch Christopher Nolan’s latest film, The Odyssey, namely its A-list cast, which includes a Hollywood it-couple taking over the 2026 movie schedule. Tom Holland and Zendaya had not one, but two films come out this year. While Spider-Man: Brand New Day saw Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Zendaya’s MJ share a lot of screen time together, there was not one interaction between their Odyssey characters. The lovebirds spent most of their time filming apart on Nolan’s epic, but the Spider-Man actor says he got to witness Zendaya’s most important moment as Athena because he was her ‘hot beverage’ boy.
The classic Greek epic deals in two narratives: Odysseus’ journey home from the Trojan War, and what’s happening with his family while he’s away for 20 years. Holland plays a role in the latter as Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, whereas Zendaya plays the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena, appearing by Odysseus’ side during pivotal moments in his story. Their plot lines don’t overlap, so neither did their filming schedules. Ever the supportive partner, though, Holland told ETalk he visited set on his off-day because there was one scene of Zendaya’s he couldn’t miss:
We were in the same room, and I was also there when she shot her big, massive scene during the siege of Troy. I was in sweatpants and a hoodie like, hiding in the corner, just enjoying [the scene].
Tom Holland
Always Z’s hype man. This is giving supportive mom, like Amy Poehler’s character in Mean Girls, when she’s filming the Plastics performing “Jingle Bell Rock.” However, instead of a camcorder, Anne Hathaway said Holland was probably holding a hot beverage for Zendaya, which the Uncharted actor jokingly confirmed:
Literally, I’m here if you need me. It was a wild experience for both of us, you know? And I think what was really cool is there was a really great group of first-time Nolan-ers that were like, experiencing working with him for the first time. And then we had veterans that we could be like, ‘Am I doing a good job? I don’t know what’s happening. But it was an amazing experience. You know, Z feels the same.
Tom Holland
Holland has called The Odyssey the “job of a lifetime,” and I don’t doubt it. There’s a reason huge stars like Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, and Robert Pattinson keep coming back to work with the Oppenheimer director, and it’s because his process is so immersive and collaborative. Holland’s comments seemingly confirm there’s no set like a Nolan set, and I love hearing about this mentorship dynamic between the Nolan vets and the Nolan newbies.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the newlyweds pop up in a future Nolan film, especially Zendaya, who apparently received the only “perfect” awarded by the Inception director after a take. Perhaps one of them will even lead a Nolan picture one day, but as we learned from Matt Damon and Cillian Murphy, you’ve got to pay your dues first before that lead role.
Whether or not they do another Nolan film together, all I know is I have an appetite for Tomdaya, both on and off-screen. They’re always couple goals on red carpets and in interviews, but with two films out this year, fans have been absolutely spoiled with cute moments and BTS stories like this one, and I don’t want it to end. I can’t wait years for another Spider-Man movie to come out, so someone cast them in a rom-com that involves them drinking hot beverages together ASAP.
