Two Tom Hollands, One Odyssey: Exclusive Conversation on Christopher Nolan’s Epic

In an internet-breaking exclusive, two Tom Hollands come together for a special conversation about Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming historical epic, The Odyssey - a meeting guaranteed to cause chaos for search engines everywhere.

Tom Holland, who plays Telemachus in the film, joins historian and The Rest Is History co-host Tom Holland to discuss the extraordinary scale of Nolan’s adaptation, the experience of acting in IMAX, and how the film balances historical reality with ancient myth. The actor also discusses Anne Hathaway’s portrayal of Penelope, the film’s depiction of war and its consequences, and why Homer’s ancient story still feels so relevant today.

The Rest Is History, produced by Gary Lineker’s Goalhanger, is one of the world’s biggest podcasts, attracting more than 25 million streams a month. It was recently crowned Show of the Year by Apple Podcasts. Recent guests have included Disney CEO Bob Iger, Paul McCartney, Conan O’Brien, Ken Burns and Tom Hanks, while the show has continued to grow through multiple international live tours and its recent festival at Hampton Court Palace.

The special conversation arrives as the historian finds himself at the centre of an unlikely culture-war clash with Elon Musk over Nolan’s film, after defending The Odyssey against critics dismissing it as “woke”.

Tom Holland - the historian, to avoid any further confusion - is an award-winning author, broadcaster and translator. His books include Rubicon, Persian Fire, Dominion and Pax. He has translated Herodotus’s The Histories and Suetonius’s The Lives of the Caesars, and adapted works by Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides and Virgil for the BBC. His work has won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize, the Runciman Award and the Classical Association Prize.