Highlights
- Anne Hathaway will be campaigned for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Odyssey
- Matt Damon is expected to compete in the Best Actor category for playing Odysseus
- Hathaway could potentially share the Supporting Actress race with co-star Samantha Morton
Anne Hathaway’s Oscar campaign for The Odyssey has found its category. According to Variety, Universal Pictures will campaign for Hathaway to receive a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 2027 Academy Awards for her role as Penelope, the wife of Matt Damon’s Odysseus.
The decision gives a clearer picture of how the Christopher Nolan epic could feature in the acting races, with Damon expected to lead the film’s Best Actor campaign.
Anne Hathaway will compete in Supporting Actress
In The Odyssey, Hathaway plays Penelope, who rules Ithaca while Odysseus is away fighting in the Trojan War.
Universal’s decision means Hathaway will enter the Supporting Actress race rather than compete for Best Actress. However, being campaigned for a category does not guarantee an Oscar nomination.
Hathaway could potentially be joined in the same category by her The Odyssey co-star Samantha Morton, who plays the witch Circe. Morton has received strong attention for her performance and has previously been nominated for two Academy Awards.
She received Best Supporting Actress nominations for Sweet and Lowdown in 1999 and Best Actress for In America in 2002.
Matt Damon leads the acting push
Damon plays Odysseus, the central figure in Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic poem. He is expected to be the film’s main contender in the Best Actor category.
Other The Odyssey cast members have also generated awards buzz. Tom Holland plays Telemachus, Robert Pattinson appears as Antinous and John Leguizamo plays Eumaeus. They could potentially enter the Best Supporting Actor race, although their campaigns and nominations have not been confirmed.
The film's acting awards prospects come as The Odyssey continues a major run at the box office.
The Odyssey heads towards the 2027 Oscars
Released in July 2026, The Odyssey has reportedly earned around $1.72 billion worldwide, making it Universal’s highest-grossing film and Christopher Nolan’s biggest box-office success.
The film has also received strong reviews and is expected to compete across several categories at the 2027 Oscars.
If Hathaway and Morton both receive Supporting Actress nominations, The Odyssey would join a notable Oscar trend. Having two performers from the same film nominated in the Supporting Actress category is the most common two-nominee combination in the Academy’s acting history.
Hathaway previously won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Les Misérables in 2013 and was nominated for Best Actress for Rachel Getting Married in 2009.
For now, Universal’s campaign decision simply establishes where Hathaway will compete. The final Oscar nominations will determine whether she and her The Odyssey co-stars make it into the race.
