Matt Damon Breaks Family Rule for Epic Movie Role—What Made Him Do It?

Matt Damon has revealed that filming Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey forced him to break a major "non-negotiable" family rule for the first time. The 55-year-old admitted his wife and children agreed to make a rare exception while he filmed the epic action fantasy film, despite the project keeping him away from home for far longer than they normally allow. "It just took more, and it took more out of our family, and they had to, you know, we've always had a two-week rule. This was the first time that we ever had to violate it," Damon said during an interview on TODAY on July 14. Matt Damon stars in The Odyssey. Credit: Jamie McCarthy / Getty The Academy-winning star previously explained to The Guardian in 2012 that the family's "two-week rule" means they "can't be apart as a family for longer" than that period. But shooting The Odyssey pushed beyond that limit. "There was like stretches of like three and a half weeks, and we were just away from each other," he said, describing the production as a "big sacrifice" for his family. "It was hard on us, and I'm so proud of the movie, but I'm so proud of them for really encouraging me," he continued. "I feel like my whole professional life built up to this experience, and they really were really on board with me doing it, and I love them for that." Damon shares daughters Isabella, 20, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15, with wife Luciana Barroso. He is also stepfather to Alexia, Barroso's daughter from a previous relationship. Matt Damon and wife Luciana Barroso have three daughters together: Isabella, 20, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15. Credit: Roy Rochlin / Getty The biggest challenge of his career Damon has described the film as the most demanding project he has ever taken on. Speaking to Willie Geist on Sunday Sitdown, he called the Nolan blockbuster the "capstone" of his career. "(It's) definitely the hardest movie I've ever done, just because it was so ambitious," he said. "I've been just an incredibly lucky man, and that's how I felt on the set, every day, of this movie." The film, based on Homer's epic poem, stars Damon as Odysseus, the Greek hero who endures a difficult 10-year journey home to Ithaca and his wife Penelope, played by Anne Hathaway , after the Trojan War. The star-studded cast also includes Charlize Theron , Robert Pattinson , Tom Holland, Zendaya , Lupita Nyong'o, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo and Samantha Morton. The Odyssey has been hailed as Nolan’s best film to date. Credit: Mike Coppola / Getty Action scenes came with a painful price While the Good Will Hunting star was grateful for the opportunity, he admitted the physical demands of filming were relentless. In an interview with Andy Cohen on Radio Andy, he joked that much of the cast was battling aches rather than feeling like action heroes. "A lot of us are middle-aged people and what we got was back pain," he said , adding that running across the stone sets while wearing sandals quickly took its toll. "Oh my God, running through Troy, like, you know, it's all stone," he continued. "You're in these sandals and they're very real. Our feet were all scuffed up." Damon said the sore backs proved even worse than the cuts and scrapes. "It was a heavy Advil movie in those weeks when we were doing all that action stuff," he added. The Odyssey was released in theatres on July 17 and has already earned praise from critics, with some describing it as Nolan's finest film to date. The movie also set a new record as the director's biggest box office debut, taking in $264 million, according to Universal Pictures. Featured image credit: Jamie McCarthy / Getty