Jon Bernthal defends The Odyssey co-star Lupita Nyong'o amid casting backlash

Jon Bernthal has defended his co-star Lupita Nyong'o following backlash over her casting in The Odyssey.

Director Christopher Nolan was accused of being "woke" by prominent social media users - including Elon Musk - for casting a Black actress as Helen of Troy, who is often referred to as "the face that launched 1,000 ships".

Addressing the backlash in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bernthal - who plays Helen's husband Menelaus - defended his co-star.

"I haven't read any of that stuff - I've heard rumblings of it - and for me, it's like, we're making comments about a movie that people haven't seen. It's crazy," Bernthal stated before heaping praise on the Oscar-winning actress.

"Besides being unparalleled in her beauty, Lupita is able to convey so much through so little. I'm just so glad it was her, and I can't imagine anybody else playing that part."

Nolan recently responded to the discourse surrounding his film in an interview with The Telegraph, saying, "(It) comes with the territory... But look, these conversations that happen before people see the film - they're always irrelevant, because no one having them knows what the film actually is yet."

The 12 Years A Slave star, who also plays Helen's sister Clytemnestra in the film, dismissed the hate herself back in May.

"I'm very supportive of Chris's intention with it and with the version of this story that he is telling. Our cast is representative of the world," she insisted to ELLE. "I'm not spending my time thinking of a defence. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not."

"It's quite something to be a part of The Odyssey, because it is so grand. It spans worlds. So that's why the cast is what it is. We're occupying the epic narrative of our time."

The Odyssey, starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland, is in cinemas now.