NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
Matt Damon’s dramatic transformation in The Odyssey brought an unexpected reward.
The Oscar winner revealed on the latest episode of Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast that he cut gluten out of his diet for good after discovering how much it affected him, calling the changes life-changing as he underwent an intense physical transformation for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic film The Odyssey.
“It’s just a complete, complete lifestyle change,” Damon said of how Poehler described it, “when you’re shaking at 50.”
MATT DAMON SAYS HE LOSE TO ‘SCHOOL’ WEIGHT FOR EPIC TRANSFORMATION IN ‘ODYSSEY’
Matt Damon lost up to 167 pounds for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey after cutting gluten out of his diet, calling the change life-changing. (Theo Vargo/Getty Images)
“This is not planned. Any other time I tried to do something like that, it was always like, “My time, my training”… and it was like… just hit the gas and that’s it. And that’s the only way to do that and eat a little less,” he said.
Damon added that going gluten-free “has changed my life.”
When Poehler asked if he still had “any desire” for it, Damon replied, “No, because of what it does to me… I didn’t know.”
Poehler noted that many people of their generation didn’t know about food sensitivities growing up.
Matt Damon and Ralph Fiennes’ grueling workouts have radically changed their toned bodies
Matt Damon says going gluten-free has changed his life forever after he discovered a food sensitivity during intense training for The Odyssey. (Grant Buchanan/Dave Bennett/WireImage)
Damon agreed, saying: “We didn’t talk about it and I didn’t realize how much it affected me. Like it’s completely changed my life the last couple of years I haven’t eaten it…it’s a bummer. I’m a big fan of bread and beer and pasta and pizza and all that stuff, but… what I feel is just (much better).”
RUPERT EVERETT ADMITS: ‘I GOT MYSELF’ TRYING TO BUILD MUSCLES FOR LEADING MALE ROLES
Matt Damon attends the London premiere of The Odyssey at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 6, 2026. (Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Universal Pictures)
Earlier this year, Damon detailed the grueling regimen he followed while playing the legendary Greek hero Odysseus in Nolan’s highly anticipated adaptation of The Odyssey.
Speaking on Travis and Jason Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast, Damon said he’s down to 167 pounds, his lightest weight in decades.
DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
“Yeah, I was in really good shape,” Damon said. “I’ve lost a lot of weight.”
Nolan had a specific vision for the character.
“He said he wanted me… skinny but strong,” Damon explained.
The actor said going gluten-free played a major role in his transformation.
Christopher Nolan directed Matt Damon in Odyssey. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“I literally, just because of what I did with my doctor, stopped eating gluten,” he said. “I used to walk around 185 to 200 pounds. And I did this whole movie weighing 167 pounds.”
“I haven’t been this easy since high school,” Damon added. “So it was a lot of training and a very strict diet.”
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
Damon also noted that working with a personal trainer helped him stay focused throughout the difficult process.
“Coaches ask, ‘What are we doing?’ And they can do anything,” he said. “It’s just having a clear goal and setting it.”
Matt Damon previously lost 40-50 pounds for another film. (Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)
The transformation was not the first in Damon’s career.
For the 1996 war drama “Courage Under Fire,” he lost 40 to 50 pounds in about 100 days—a drastic weight loss he later revealed almost cost him dearly.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
According to Damon, the doctor warned him that it “could permanently shrink my heart.”
Stephanie Jung-Paunon is an entertainment columnist for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Stephanie.giang@fox.com and on Twitter: @SGiangPaunon.