Odyssey Star Reflects on Samantha Switch

What's happened

Morton says she was the original voice of Samantha in The Odyssey but was recast with Scarlett Johansson in post-production. The film has earned five Oscar nominations and won Best Original Screenplay. Morton recalls the experience and notes the emotional impact of being replaced.

What's behind the headline?

What’s changed

• The focus shifts from initial casting to post-production decisions and their emotional toll on actors.
• This update comes as the film climbs awards chatter and box office impact remains strong.

Why it matters

• Casting changes can alter audience perception and stunt coordination, particularly for a high-profile project.
• The interview underscores the human dimension behind a star-studded blockbuster and how decisions ripple through careers.

What to watch next

• Will the studio revisit Samantha’s vocal portrayal in future cuts or related projects?
• How will actors navigate similar changes in big productions?

How we got here

Morton’s account aligns with reports that Samantha, the AI, was recast in post-production. The Odyssey follows Odysseus’ return after Troy, with a star-studded cast. Nolan has praised Morton’s on-set impact.

Our analysis

Independent reports confirm Morton’s comments about Samantha’s replacement by Scarlett Johansson and the film’s Oscar nominations; additional context is provided by Business Insider UK and the original Independent piece. Direct quotes from Morton are cited in the articles.

Go deeper

• Would Morton consider similar roles in the future after this experience?
• Will The Odyssey’s vocal performances influence future AI character decisions in cinema?
• How might this casting change affect audience reception of Circe’s character?

More on these topics

• L'Odyssée - 2016 film

  The Odyssey is a 2016 French-Belgian biographical adventure film directed by Jérôme Salle and written by Salle and Laurent Turner, based on the non-fiction book Capitaine de La Calypso by Albert Falco and Yves Paccalet.

• Samantha Morton - Actress

  Samantha Jane Morton is an English actress and director. She is known for her work in independent productions often with dark themes and has received numerous accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a British Independent Film Award and a

• Zendaya - American actress and singer (born 1996)

  Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman ( zen-DAY-ə; born September 1, 1996) is an American actress and singer. Her accolades include two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award, and Time included her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world

• Robert Pattinson - Actor

  Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor. After starting to act in a London theatre club at the age of 15, he began his film career by playing Cedric Diggory in the fantasy film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

• Charlize Theron - South African and American actress (born 1975)

  Charlize Theron ( shar-LEEZ THERR-ən; Afrikaans: [ʃarˈlis ˈtrɔn]; born 7 August 1975) is a South African and American actress and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actresses, she is the recipient of an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

• Lupita N'Yongo - Kenyan-Mexican actress

  Lupita Amondi Nyong'o is a Kenyan-Mexican actress and author. The daughter of Kenyan politician Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, Nyong'o was born in Mexico City, where her father was teaching, and was raised in Kenya from the age of one.

• Emma Thomas - British film producer (born 1971)

  Dame Emma Thomas, Lady Nolan (born 9 December 1971) is a British film producer. She has produced all of the feature films directed by her husband Christopher Nolan, which have grossed more than $6 billion worldwide and are regarded as some of the greatest films of their respective decades. She received the Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Movie Award for producing Nolan's biographical thriller Oppenheimer (2023), becoming the first British woman to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Thomas received a damehood in 2024 for her contributions to film.

• The Dark Knight - 2008 film

  The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced, and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the second installment of Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins, starring

• Heath Ledger - Australian actor

  Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian actor, photographer and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film career.

• Matt Damon - American actor

  Matthew Paige Damon is an American actor, producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among Forbes' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.12 billion at the North American box office, making him one of the highest-

• Spike Jonze - American filmmaker

  Adam Spiegel, known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, photographer, musician, and actor, whose work includes film, skateboard videos, television, music videos, and commercials.

• Circe - Enchantress-goddess in Greek mythology

  In Greek mythology, Circe (; Ancient Greek: [[wikt:Κίρκη|Κίρκη]], romanized: Kírkē, pronounced [kírkɛː]) is a witch, sometimes considered a goddess or a nymph. In most accounts, Circe is described as the daughter of the sun god Helios and the Oceanid Perse. Circe was renowned for her vast knowledge of potions and herbs. Through the use of these and a magic wand or staff, she would transform her enemies, or those who offended her, into animals. The best known of her legends is told in Homer's Odyssey when Odysseus visits her island of Aeaea on the way back from the Trojan War and she changes most of his crew into swine. He manages to persuade her to return them to human shape, lives with her for a year and has sons by her, including Latinus and Telegonus. Her ability to change others into animals is further highlighted by the story of Picus, an Italian king whom she turns into a woodpecker for resisting her advances. Another story tells of her falling in love with the sea-god Glaucus, who prefers the nymph Scylla to her. In revenge, Circe poisoned the water where her rival bathed and turned her into a dreadful monster. Depictions, even in Classical times, diverged from the detail in...

• Odysseus - Legendary Greek king of Ithaca

  Odysseus (; Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, translit. Odysseús, Odyseús [o.dy(s).sěu̯s]), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses (US: , UK: ; Latin: Ulysses, Ulixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem th

• Scarlett Johansson - Actress

  Scarlett Ingrid Johansson is an American actress and singer. The world's highest-paid actress since 2018, she has made multiple appearances in the Forbes Celebrity 100.

• United Kingdom - Country in Europe

  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north­western coast of the European mainland.

• Joaquin Phoenix - American actor

  Joaquin Rafael Phoenix ( whah-KEEN; born Joaquin Rafael Bottom; October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Widely described as one of the preeminent actors of his generation and known for his roles as dark, unconventional and eccentric characters in indepen