Jon Bernthal confirms The Odyssey features his iconic Walking Dead dialogue

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey pushed John Bernthal and Lupita Nyong'o to step into legendary roles as King Menelaus of Sparta and Helen of Troy, respectively, while also directing the largest cinema project. Both actors opened up on CBR about Nolan's unique approach to filmmaking and the process behind how their theatrical background affected shaping their characters. The actor and actress further shared how they enjoyed their unforgettable experience of watching the completed film.

The online interview footage, including Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway, revealed the characteristics of Helen of Troy. The cast described her as the most beautiful in the world, but later pointed out that in this version, she became scared, burdened with regret, and carried pain and complexity beneath her looks.

Jon and Lupita also revealed that even with its huge budget, the film almost felt like an indie movie. Instead of sitting in a 'video village' and watching through a monitor, Nolan stood right next to the camera to see their performances directly. The movie didn't use any green screens; instead used real environments to give the movie a raw feeling.

The Odyssey: Jon Bernthal confirms the use of his viral Walking Dead dialogue

Interview footage was released online on July 7 about a conversation between the interviewer, John, and Lupita. The interviewer brought up a story about Jon Bernthal's popular dialogue from his The Walking Dead era and said that its usage in The Odyssey is a perfect example of the line she has ever seen. She further asked John about how he enjoyed finding ways to fit the line into his performance in the film because the fans are waiting to hear him say it.

The dialogue:

"Let me tell you something."

John explained that he no longer tried to slip the catchphrase in on his own. He opened up that the line first originated naturally within his mind during his time on The Walking Dead because he thought that the dialogue might fit his character, named Shane. Therefore, he often added it through ad-libbing.

The writers began including the punchline in nearly all of his scripts after it turned into a major internet meme. John further pointed out that it later appeared in The Punisher, in his current Broadway play, and now in his dialogue with Telemachus in Nolan's upcoming film.

After hearing John's reply, Lupita found his story very funny and admitted that she had no knowledge of the meme or the history behind this dialogue. She then laughed at the fact that John had to repeat the line on Broadway every night and joked that the line seemed to follow him wherever he went. She further added that she would now wait for him to say it each time.

The cast shared their experience of working on The Odyssey

The Odyssey cast shared that they didn't have to imagine the set because everything was physically built around them. For the cyclops sequences, the crew transformed 'Nestor's Cave' into a full working set instead of using a standard soundstage.

The cast further explained that the stylized scene with Circe was created through heavy makeup and practical effects rather than CGI. They also remarked that Nolan's team relied on a wide range of practical methods, which proved that the production didn't require computers to accomplish cinematic magic.