‘The Odyssey’ Star Tom Holland Says He “Could Relax” Knowing Robert Pattinson Was Cast As Villain: “You’re So Good At Being A Dickhead”

While Christopher Nolan‘s latest effort, “The Odyssey,” is lighting up the global box office, we’re hearing a bunch from the cast, with some interesting tidbits coming up during the ongoing press tour for the impression and Oscar-bound Greek epic. One of the main dynamics of the film is the escalating tension between Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson‘s characters as the Kingdom of Ithaca is on the line, with the life of Holland’s Telemachus (son of King Odysseus, played by Matt Damon) also at stake as a large swath of suitors are looking to take over the island.

Well, the two have had previously worked together on “The Lost City of Z” and Netflix film “The Devil All The Time“, and seemingly because of that past history together as Holland spells it out during an Entertainment Weekly roundtable (via Deadline), he “could relax” knowing that Pattinson would bring the right kind of “dickhead” performance for the villainous part of smug and treacherous Antinous (one of the toxic suitors vying to marry Anne Hathaway‘s Queen Penelope, and inherit the Kingdom in the process).

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“Rob [Pattinson] and I have made three movies together now, all very different,” Holland said. “I’ve loved every minute of working with Rob, and I’ve always felt like I’ve left the set a better actor because he raises the stakes of every scene. What was really exciting for me, and also really daunting, was that we get to establish the stakes of the movie for Matt’s [Damon] journey right at the beginning. I felt the weight of that pressure…The friction between our characters is so important for my entire journey,” Holland explained.

“I was really nervous about trying to make sure that it felt authentic and scary enough for my character to make this desperate decision to go on this journey…I knew when I found out that you were playing Antinous that I could relax because you’re so good at being a dickhead.”

Ultimately, that existing working relationship paid off, as the two actors playing off each other were among the more complex dynamics in the movie, adding a level of cutthroat suspense often reserved for projects set in the world of “Game of Thrones.” Pattinson’s Antinous is not only a great snake but also, as the movie reveals, a huge coward, as highlighted in the third act, when his tough-guy persona simply withers when actually confronted with the threat of death.

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You can watch/listen to that full roundtable exchange with the cast (Damon, Holland, Hathaway, Pattinson, and MVP of the film John Leguizamo) and Nolan below.