“Christopher Nolan is obviously a master of what he does and for me, it’s utterly life-changing to get the moment to progress my craft because I’m always learning,” Morton, 49, tells PEOPLE at the movie’s Monday, July 6 premiere in London. “I’m 49 years old, I’m always learning, I’m always getting better. And I felt so honored and privileged to be in a situation where I could do that with a master.”<\/p>\n
Multiple movie critics noted Morton’s performance in The Odyssey as Circe \u2014 a goddess whom Matt Damon<\/a>‘s Odysseus encounters on his years-long journey to return home after the Trojan War \u2014 in their first reactions to the film<\/a> on July 6.<\/p>\n Samantha Morton attends the world premiere of “The Odyssey” at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 06, 2026 in London Oscar-winning filmmaker Nolan, 55, also sang Morton’s praises in a July 7 interview with the Los Angeles Times<\/a>, saying he and his wife, producing partner Emma Thomas<\/a>, favorably compared Morton’s impact on the production to that of Heath Ledger<\/a>‘s iconic performance in their 2008 movie The Dark Knight<\/a>.<\/p>\n “This was a massive film and she is someone who comes in and changes the dynamic. In some weird way, the film lived or died over that character. She was the fulcrum,” Nolan told the outlet, noting that he built a filming schedule around Morton’s availability so she could appear in the film. “I’ve always admired Samantha’s work, she brings so much depth of thinking about her role, there are no limitations on her performance.”<\/p>\n “After one of her takes, the crew gave her a great round of applause,” he added. “I was talking with Emma [Thomas] afterwards and she remembered that the last time that had happened was with Heath Ledger on The Dark Knight.”<\/p>\n Ledger died at 28 in January 2008<\/a>, six months before The Dark Knight’s release. He posthumously won an Academy Award<\/a> at the 2009 Oscars for portraying Batman’s arch-nemesis, the Joker, in The Dark Knight, and his work in the movie is considered among the best big-screen villain performances of all time.<\/p>\n Heath Ledger as the Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’ Nearly 20 years later, Morton’s Circe hits the big screen in The Odyssey with an ensemble cast that also includes Tom Holland<\/a>, Anne Hathaway<\/a>, Robert Pattinson<\/a>, Zendaya<\/a>,\u00a0Elliot Page<\/a>, Jon Bernthal<\/a>,\u00a0Mia Goth<\/a>,\u00a0Charlize Theron<\/a>, Benny Safdie and Himesh Patel<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n “There are no off days,” Morton tells PEOPLE on the red carpet, when asked what downtime looks like on a movie set with the famed director and the movie’s large cast of high-profile actors.<\/p>\n She continues, “You are on for the rest of your life, in a good way. It’s life-changing from the minute I got the call to meet Christopher Nolan to getting the role of Circe, to filming it, to going home when I first saw it for this special night tonight, I will remember it for the rest of my life. It’s always going to be with me.”<\/p>\n Morton has been acting for the screen since 1991 and has appeared in movies like Minority Report, Synecdoche, New York, She Said, The Whale and, most recently, Anemone. She has been nominated for two Oscars in her career for the movies Sweet and Lowdown and In America.<\/p>\n When Morton and Patel, 35, appeared on the British news show This Morning<\/a> on July 6 to promote The Odyssey, she said that the standing ovation she received from the movie’s crew “makes me want to cry, actually.”<\/p>\n![\"Samantha](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/afb4b4c301efc5925ad2b8663267464f.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Mike Marsland\/WireImage<\/p>\n![\"Heath](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/19a26c48f1a4aa527956cf7ca7876afb.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Everett<\/p>\n