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Matt Damon has a new movie coming out this summer, and he had to do more than learn his lines to prepare for filming.
Damon stars in The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan, and also features A-listers Tom Holland, Zendaya, Elliot Page and Robert Pattinson. In order to play Odysseus, the director wanted the star to have a specific body type, so Damon had to work hard on his diet and exercise regimen, as he explained to Jason and Travis Kelce on this week's episode of the "New Heights" podcast.
Speaking about filming, Matt told Jason, "I had a beard like yours for like a year."
Jason segued that tidbit into talking about how fit the actor looked during that time as well.
"I was in really good shape," Matt agreed. "I lost a lot of weight. [Christopher Nolan] said he wanted me, like, lean but strong."
He explained, "Just because of this other thing that I did with my doctor, I stopped eating gluten. I lost — I used to walk around at between 185 and 200, and I did that whole movie at 167. And I haven't been that light since high school. So it was a lot of training and a really strict diet."
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The actor also went on to compare his fitness journey with the training plan for professional athletes like Jason and Travis.
"It feels almost like a season, in a — I would imagine it would look like for you guys, where you're preparing," he said. "It's just part of your day, it's part of your job. You get really routinized about it and kind of build your day around all that stuff. That's kind of the physical side of getting ready."
Asked if he's started eating gluten again since filming wrapped, Matt said, "I'm done. I'm gluten-free everything. I found a gluten-free beer. It's been so long since I've had gluten; I can't tell if it's good or not, so that's a good sign."
Also on the podcast episode, the three men discussed how successful the trailer for The Odyssey has been already — unsurprising given the cast and crew — as well as talking about Matt's longtime friendship and collaboration history with fellow Hollywood star Ben Affleck, fatherhood, and much more over the 90-minute-long episode.
The Odyssey is scheduled to hit theaters across the U.S. on July 17.