Zendaya reacted to Christopher Nolan‘s rare praise during The Odyssey filming. She recalled the scene in which she received that particular compliment and how much it meant to her. She further shared that Tom Holland and Matt Damon envied that they didn’t receive such praise as she continued to share her positive experience working with the legendary filmmaker.

Zendaya’s The Odyssey praise from Christopher Nolan has a funny backstory

In a conversation with ScreenRant, Zendaya was asked about Nolan, who gave her a “perfect” compliment during the filming of The Odyssey. She reacted, “No one can tell me anything now (laughs).”

She was further asked if she could recall that specific day and scene. “Yeah. You know what’s so funny is I didn’t know how precious that was. I mean, it was precious for me just because it was him, but I didn’t know that like, “Oh, y’all wasn’t getting perfect,” she continued.

She said that she’s aware that Holland and Damon were disappointed that Nolan didn’t give them such rare praise before going on to laud the director for his craft. She reflected on how Nolan has such trust and confidence in his actors, often taking the opportunity to let them know how good they are doing.

“You kind of start to question like, “Oh, did I do the right thing? Does he like what we were doing? Am I on the right track?” I found that if he’s good with it, you’re doing good. You’re doing well. Yeah, you’re doing just great. Perfect,” she further elaborated.

Earlier, in a conversation with Elle, Damon shared how he and Holland reacted when Zendaya received the unexpected compliment. “Literally, Tom and I were obsessed with this. She got a ‘perfect’? I’ve never even gotten a ‘great.’ She got a ‘perfect’? He and I b—-ed about it for the entire rest of the film. ‘Did you get anything today?’ ‘No, I got a ‘good’ — moving on.’ ‘Yeah, me too,” he elaborated,” he said.

The Odyssey is set to hit the theaters on July 17, 2026.