<\/p>\n
Matt<\/strong>Damon<\/strong> is leaving fans shocked by his physical transformation in the 2026 box office hit The Odyssey<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 55-year-old actor dedicated hours and hours of training to portray Odysseus with incredible strength, and it shows. Damon\u2019s long-time trainer Jason Walsh spoke to The Independent<\/a><\/em> about his process.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI love Matt Damon<\/a> so much,\u201d Walsh said. \u201cHe\u2019s all over the news right now, and rightfully so \u2013The Odyssey<\/em> is an incredible film by an incredible director. He\u2019s 55 years old and he looks fantastic. But there\u2019s a bigger story here than just [his physique in] The Odyssey<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n He started working with the actor in 2012 after a previous sports injury caused issues with Damon’s shoulder and back.\u00a0<\/p>\n Damon was retaining weight from his work in The Informant<\/em>, for which he raised his body fat percentage with a Burger King-heavy diet. His family began calling him \u201cFatty Matty\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt that time, he was disenchanted and upset because he had worked out with a dozen different trainers, but at forty-something years old he was in shambles,\u201d Walsh explained. \u201cThese people were trying to impress him. They would promise to get him from nought to 60 faster than anybody else, and they made him do things that his body wasn’t ready for.\u201d<\/p>\n The We Bought a Zoo<\/em> actor gave the fitness professional a two-week trial period. They\u2019ve been working together ever since.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe took him from Fatty Matty to incredible shape for Elysium<\/em>,” he said. “But what I\u2019m most proud of is that I gave him a new lease of life in a way in which he can live pain-free.”<\/p>\n Adding, \u201cHe was strong. He looked good. And he had built an amazing foundation of fitness so he could go anywhere he wanted to go. This is the new norm for him. We set him on a path to better fitness for life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The duo knew getting into shape for The Odyssey<\/em> was going to be difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c[Odysseus was] an extremely daunting and physical role to take on,\u201d Walsh shared. \u201cIf he didn\u2019t have that base and that evolution of his fitness, he would probably have got hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published by <\/em>Parade<\/a><\/em> on Jul 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the <\/em>Health & Wellness<\/a><\/em> section. Add Parade as a <\/em>Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.aol.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MattDamon is leaving fans shocked by his physical transformation in the 2026 box office hit The Odyssey.\u00a0 The 55-year-old actor dedicated hours and hours of training to portray Odysseus with incredible strength, and it shows. Damon\u2019s long-time trainer Jason Walsh spoke to The Independent about his process.\u00a0 \u201cI love Matt Damon so much,\u201d Walsh said. 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