Matt Damon admits strict diet for The Odyssey 'completely changed' his life

Matt Damon has reflected on the way his strict diet and exercise regime for The Odyssey required a "complete lifestyle change".

In an interview for the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast on Tuesday, host Amy asked the actor what it was like to get "jacked in your 50s" to play Odysseus in Christopher Nolan's new feature compared with his preparation to portray Jason Bourne in the Bourne franchise when he was in his 30s.

"Just put your foot on the gas and that's it," he declared. "That's the only way to do it... and eat a little less."

Matt went on to share that he gave up gluten as part of his eating plan and was surprised to find that he felt much healthier after doing so.

"I didn't realise the level to which it was affecting me," the 55-year-old continued. "It's completely changed my life these last couple years of not eating it."

However, the Good Will Hunting star joked that missing out on carbs has been a "bummer" at times.

"I'm a big fan of bread and beer, pasta and pizza and all that stuff," he laughed.

Elsewhere in the conversation, Matt recounted how he had just five hours of sleep some nights while shooting the new film.

"If you could get five hours, you were thrilled," he remembered. "That's not a lot of sleep, but it was enough. I did realise that five was the cutoff because there were some four nights, there were some no nights... I had two nights where I did not sleep because I got home and I was overly tired. And then I just did that thing where I'm just sitting there, and I missed the window and now I'm panicking."

The Odyssey, an adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek epic, also stars Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, and Lupita Nyong'o. It will be released in cinemas on 17 July.