SimplyAbuDhabi XLIX

Let’s talk about athena’s relationship with odysseus because it’s like she believed in him when others didn’t. and what do you think that says about the importance of having someone in your life who can see the potential in you, even when others don’t? Zendaya: I think it’s interesting this idea of redemption. And I think there is so much that Odysseus throughout his journey has to confront in order to get home and has to face up to his wrongdoings and the harm that he’s caused. And it’s like, he can’t go around it. He has to go through it. And she is a manifestation of that pain that he’s caused and having to really deal with it and come to terms with it in a real way. And so when she appears, there’s a peace that comes, but also there’s a little bit of introspection that needs to come too. You know when she’s there, there’s a lesson to be learned or something deeper to try to understand. SHE DEFINITELY MAKES HIM FACE HIS OWN DEMONS IN AWAY, AND YOU AND MATT ARE SO GOOD TOGETHER. ZENDAYA: Thanks. Your performance as athena is very commanding, but she is also very deeply compassionate towards him as well. how did you kind of balance this divine authority she has while also being, you know, she has to be emotionally invested in him as well? Zendaya: Yeah, I think it’s similar to like when I was reading the script and how he kind of interpreted Athena. And kind of reading it first, and I feel like this is probably the same for maybe the on-screen feeling, but seeing her first just as like the goddess Athena and then having a greater understanding of why she’s appearing the way she’s appearing and her intention and how she comes to him and when she chooses to come to him, I think has like a deeper meaning towards the end and really kind of changes, at least for me, how I wanted to like try to portray this like goddess or whatever from a really like human perspective and really think of it that way, you know? Did you find it hard to show humanity when you are playing a goddess? Zendaya: I think her manifestation to Eumaeus is to prove that point that it’s about humanity. The emphasis on humanity. She’s not coming to him as a God. She’s coming to him as a human being. And that human-to-human connection that we so often forget to even think about. I think it’s Zeus’s law, right? One. But it’s also like the golden rule of treating people how you want to be treated. But if he only knew and saw her as a goddess, would the answers come? What is the christopher nolan experience like for an actor? Zendaya: Unlike anything, unlike any experience I think I’ve ever had in all the best ways. I was so nervous. It was really nice to have Tom [Holland] because he kind got to experience it first and he was like, ‘It’s going to be amazing, like you’re going to be good.’ But going in, there’s a level of just wanting to do your best, because everyone is operating on this level that you’re like, ‘Okay, like, I just want to match that.’And so there’s that pressure. But then also, there’s such an ease to his sets as well. Like he is a very confident director and that confidence kind of spills off onto you because you go, ‘Okay, like, he trusts me. And he believes in me. If he’s good with it, I’m good with it.’Also, he very clearly knows what he wants and knows what he’s looking for. And he’s like, ‘Yep, got it. Moving on.’And that assurity is really, really special to watch. What was the most, ‘i can’t believe this is my job’ day on set? Zendaya: I’m like, it’s crazy. I think probably even just my first day on set, I didn’t really know what to expect. And I’m very grateful that Tom came in on his day off because I was so nervous. You can only imagine you read a script and you kind of start to think, ‘Well, how is this going to look, what is this going to be like?’And then you get Simply Abu Dhabi | 151