Benny Safdie’s "Gutsy" Lesson on the Set of Christopher Nolan’s 'The Odyssey'​

Imagine all the things you could learn just by being on a set with Christopher Nolan and seeing how he gets things done?

Well, in a recent interview snippet from Project Big Screen, actor and director Benny Safdie shared a hilarious (and slightly painful) behind-the-scenes story from the set of Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film, Odyssey.

Let's dive in.

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The Local Experience Gone Wrong

He had a day off while filming, and Safdie decided to fully immerse himself in Moroccan culture. He hired a local guide to show him around, wanting to see the sights and, most importantly, taste the local cuisine.

Safdie admitted to diving in headfirst:

"I ate the food, I drank the things..."

The "Nolan" Warning

But Safdie did all this without talking to Christopher Nolan, who has some experience in these areas, shooting in faraway lands.

When Safdie casually asked Christopher Nolan about the local water quality, Nolan gave him the advice he should have had before his food tour: "You don't drink it".

That was not the answer Safdie wanted to hear.

"Something's Going On In There"

The situation escalated quickly enough that Safdie ended up seeing a doctor. He shared a funny moment where the doctor placed a stethoscope on his stomach and was visibly shocked by the internal chaos, remarking, "Whoa, something’s going on in there".

That was not the only lesson he learned while on the set, but it was the one that stuck with him for the remainder of shooting.

The Scale of The Odyssey

Despite the digestive detour, Safdie couldn't stop praising the experience of working on a Christopher Nolan production.

Now, Safdie has made some big movies himself, but nothing to this scale. He said that the sheer size of the production is something people wouldn't believe unless they saw it.

The cool thing is, Safdie even consulted Nolan about using IMAX technology and was inspired by the way Nolan moves with such massive cameras. He was able to pick up some of the strategies he saw Nolan do with those giant, noisy cameras.

A lot of these lessons just came from watching Nolan work and then getting excited to try something with the cameras, which Safdie did on some scenes in Smashing Machine. And then he was able to upscale his 16mm footage for IMAX, which, again, he got the idea for from being on these massive sets.

And being there to learn in real time from Nolan was also a massive influence on him because he got to see how the director walked and talked on set. They're now frequent collaborators, having worked on two films together.

Safdie is grateful to be in that world and to be able to have such a good time on these sets and to work with so many talented people.

You can watch a long-form interview here where he goes into more details.

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Summing It All Up

I think this is such a good interview because it shows you that Safdie is a sponge when he's around information. You can tell he studies the sets and filmmakers he's gotten to be around and then is able to transport those lessons to his own work.

It's a reminder that we should all be sponges for those lessons, and lean into asking questions on set and collaborating with people who want to talk and listen.

Let me know what you think in the comments.