Several of the cast members of Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated The Odyssey movie have also made appearances in The Walking Dead and its spinoffs. An adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic poem, The Odyssey will star Matt Damon as Odysseus and chronicle his long journey home to Ithaca following the Trojan War. With an estimated production budget of $250 million, The Odyssey is billed as Nolan’s most expensive movie to date, and this has given him the freedom to cast some remarkably talented stars alongside Damon, including a number of The Walking Dead veterans.
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Matt Damon was the first star cast in The Odyssey after working with Nolan on Oppenheimer and Interstellar. Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, and many more joined soon after, contributing to one of the most star-packed and exciting movie casts of our generation. The Odyssey will mark the biggest step in the careers of some actors from AMC’s The Walking Dead, too, with five stars from the series currently being cast in a variety of interesting roles.
5) Corey Hawkins
After a number of bit-roles, Corey Hawkins rose to prominence when he joined The Walking Dead season 6 as Heath, a survivor residing in the Alexandria Safe Zone. Heath mysteriously disappeared from The Walking Dead during a run to Oceanside with Tara (Alanna Masterson) in season 7, as Hawkins departed to film other projects, including Kong: Skull Island, BlacKkKlansman, and 24: Legacy. In February 2025, Deadline reported that Hawkins had joined the cast of The Odyssey, though there’s no word yet on who he’ll be playing in Christopher Nolan’s next movie.
4) Josh Stewart
Although he hasn’t appeared in the parent show, Josh Stewart starred as Chase in the four-part 2012 web series, The Walking Dead: Cold Storage. Chase seeks refuge in a storage facility in the early days of the zombie apocalypse, but comes to blows with the facility’s steward, B.J. (Daniel Roebuck). Stewart shared the news on Instagram, boasting his previous roles in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, The Dark Knight Rises, and Tenet. The Odyssey will mark Stewart’s fourth movie with Nolan, though, again, it hasn’t been confirmed who he’ll be playing in the 2026 movie.
3) Ryan Hurst
Ryan Hurst had a prominent role throughout The Walking Dead seasons 9 and 10 as Beta, the second-in-command among the Whisperers, survivors who wear Walker faces as a form of camouflage. Beta also made an uncredited cameo appearance in Fear the Walking Dead season 5, making Hurst one of the few actors to cross over between series. Hurst is perhaps best known for roles in Sons of Anarchy and Remember the Titans, and The Hollywood Reporter revealed in March 2025 that he’s now set to make his mark in The Odyssey in an undisclosed role.
2) Samantha Morton
The Odyssey is set to actually mark a Whisperer reunion, as not only will Ryan Hurst be appearing in the movie, but Samantha Morton has also been cast. Morton debuted in The Walking Dead season 9 as Alpha, the sinister and terrifying leader of the Whisperers – a role that she reprised in the Tales of the Walking Dead anthology series, which explored the origins of her use of Walkers’ faces as camouflage. Morton is the recipient of numerous accolades, becoming one of the most celebrated British actors of her generation, so she’ll be a huge asset to The Odyssey’s cast.
Samantha Morton’s casting in The Odyssey was confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter alongside several other actors. This includes Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, and Bill Irwin, all of whom have worked with Nolan before on Inception, Tenet, and Interstellar, respectively. The Odyssey marks Morton’s first role with Christopher Nolan, but given her prominence in the British film industry, this could just be the first of many.
1) Jon Bernthal
The most prominent The Walking Dead actor cast in The Odyssey must be Jon Bernthal, who originated the role of Shane Walsh in The Walking Dead seasons 1 and 2, and made a number of cameo appearances as the villain in subsequent years. Since starring as Shane, Bernthal rose to stardom with roles in projects such as The Wolf of Wall Street, Sicario, Baby Driver, and Widows. His most popular role, however, must be as Frank Castle’s Punisher in the MCU, a character he first portrayed in Netflix’s Daredevil series, and has since reprised in Daredevil: Born Again.
It’s still unclear who Jon Bernthal will be playing in The Odyssey, but he’s seen alongside Tom Holland’s Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, and Lupita Nyong’o in the movie’s first teaser. The Odyssey is scheduled to premiere on July 17, 2026, and both Bernthal and Holland will be seen together again in the MCU’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day only two weeks later on July 31, 2026. Bernthal will also be returning as the Punisher in his own MCU Special Presentation in 2026, so next year will be a huge one for the veteran of The Walking Dead.
Who are you excited to see in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey? Let us know in the comments!
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