Samantha Morton’s Near-Fatal Accident: The Untold Story Behind Her Lost Voice
You ever watch a film packed with Hollywood heavyweights — just dripping with Oscar winners and scene-stealers — and walk out only raving about the one actor most people wouldn’t recognize in a Starbucks line? Welcome to my current obsession: The Odyssey. Sure, Matt Damon’s there, Tom Holland’s flexing, Anne Hathaway’s dazzling, but guess who’s got Christopher Nolan tossing around accolades usually reserved for Heath Ledger’s Joker? That’s right — Samantha Morton. Tell me, when was the last time a supporting role totally upended your “A-lister must steal the show” expectations? Morton isn’t just holding her own against the big names, she’s apparently the “fulcrum” of Nolan’s epic fever dream. If you’re wondering what kind of magic makes a director stop the whole set to lead a round of applause, you’re not alone . I have thoughts, some envy, and, honestly, a renewed curiosity for actors who quietly change the game. Buckle up — this isn’t the usual fanfare . LEARN MORE
The Odyssey may be full of Hollywood A-listers from top to bottom, but the actor who Christopher Nolan hints to have given the best performance in the film isn’t Matt Damon, Tom Holland or Anne Hathaway. Step forward, Samantha Morton.
While a huge star in her own right with Oscar nominations to her name as well as Emmy and Golden Globe wins, Morton for many, won’t carry the ‘name’ like many of the other celebrity actors appearing in The Odyssey. But Christopher Nolan likened her performance to Heath Ledger’s Joker in a recent interview, and that can’t go unnoticed.
Speaking to the LA Times, Nolan said: “This was a massive film and she is someone who comes in and changes the dynamic.”
Morton plays Circe, with the director adding: “In some weird way, the film lived or died over that character. She was the fulcrum.”
Charlize Theron, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton and Mia Goth attend the World Premiere of The Odyssey (Grant Buchanan/Dave Benett/WireImage)
Nolan then said that, after one of her takes, the crew gave her a round of applause, something that last happened on one of his sets when Heath Ledger played the Joker in The Dark Knight.
If Morton’s performance really lives up to that hype, they will likely be interested in knowing more about the actor, best known for her roles in Minority Report, The Walking Dead, and her Oscar-nominated roles in In America and Sweet and Lowdown.
For those looking, however, Morton has lived a wildly eventful life; a life that almost came to an end due to a freak accident on the set of the 2008 movie Transsiberian.
Morton left the film in 2006, being replaced by Emily Mortimer, after a piece of her ceiling fell down on her in her new home.
Christopher Nolan has hailed Morton’s performance (Aalok Soni/Getty Images for Universal Pictures)
This freak head injury caused her to have a stroke, forcing her to relearn how to walk and leaving her ‘close to death’, stating in a 2008 interview with The Guardian that when ‘a bloody great chunk of ceiling’ landed on her head it cut her vertebral artery.
She continued, saying: “I came out of hospital and the first thing I said was: ‘I want another baby!’. So we had another baby.
“I still have a slight disfluency, sentences are spaced differently, but I was given a clean bill of health.”
The British actor made a full recovery, however, and told People magazine that being cast in The Odyssey ‘changed her life’.
Morton in The Odyssey (Universal Studios)
She said: “Christopher Nolan is obviously a master of what he does and for me, it’s utterly life-changing to get the moment to progress my craft because I’m always learning.
“I’m 49 years old, I’m always learning, I’m always getting better. And I felt so honoured and privileged to be in a situation where I could do that with a master.
“It’s life-changing from the minute I got the call to meet Christopher Nolan to getting the role of Circe, to filming it, to going home when I first saw it for this special night tonight, I will remember it for the rest of my life. It’s always going to be with me.”
The Odyssey is available to watch in cinemas now.
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