Christopher Nolan wanted Zendaya for his upcoming film The Odyssey, and he asked her boyfriend Tom Holland to make the introduction. Holland, speaking with Access Hollywood, described the moment Nolan raised the subject during Holland's own meeting with the director.
"At my meeting with Chris, he asked me a question, he said, 'Do you mind if I ask you a question? And please don't be offended by my asking,'" Holland said. "And I thought he was going to ask me, like, 'Can we put lifts in your shoes or something to make you taller?' I didn't know what he was going to say. And he went, 'Would you be offended if I asked Zendaya to play Athena?' I was like, 'Why would I be offended?'"
Holland told Nolan he would be honored and offered to pass along the news himself. When he got home, he did not tell Zendaya directly. Instead, he told her to read the script again. She pushed back. He held firm.
"I just said to her, 'You should read the script again.' And she was like, 'Well, I read it.' I said, 'No, no, no. Just trust me. Like, you should read it again.' And she was like, 'What are you talking about?' I said, 'Just read it again, but read Athena, like, really closely.' And the little corners of her mouth went up. It was amazing."
Holland plays Telemachus in the film. The Odyssey releases in theaters on July 17.
The casting news comes as Holland heads into a packed stretch. Spider-Man: Brand New Day opens just two weeks after The Odyssey. Getting both films made required moving the Spider-Man production schedule, which Holland says ultimately strengthened that film. He credited Nolan's efficiency and reputation for making Sony comfortable with the delay. "I think one of the reasons why Sony were happy to move is because Chris has that reputation of, 'This movie isn't going to go five months over, and we aren't actually going to lose Tom for two years,'" Holland said.
The extra time gave Spider-Man director Destin Daniel Cretton room to develop the script further. "He wouldn't have been ready to make the movie when we were ready to go," Holland said. "We wouldn't have had the six-month period to develop the script with Destin to get it to a place where it is now. And I truly believe that we've made the best version of any 'Spider-Man' movie going."
