'Took My Breath Away': Lydic Gushes Over Page's Odyssey Performance

Alex Christy
July 23rd, 2026 10:16 AM

Text to Speech

00:00 00:00
Font Size

The late night comedy shows have spent the past two weeks promoting The Odyssey, but Wednesday’s edition of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show decided to insert itself into the debate surrounding some of the casting decisions. Host-of-the-week Desi Lydic welcomed transgender actor Elliot Page and gushed that “your performance…truly took my breath away.” For good measure, both also hyped Canada’s socialist health care system.

Page was in the movie for about five minutes out of a three-hour film and basically served as a plot device for Odysseus, but Lydic still declared that, “Your performance is incredible in this. It truly took my breath away. You have such an important role in the film, in that you—you are really the heart and soul. And your character stays all the way through the end. I mean, in a way, you are kind of embodying Odysseus’s shame and selfishness.”

 

She then wondered, “Going into this role knowing that, is that thrilling for you as an actor? Or does it terrify you?”

Page answered that “You know both in the best way. And getting to work with someone like Chris [Nolan], who obviously just has such impeccable vision and execution. And, you know, I think those were the initial conversations I had with Chris about this character, in Sinon being this sort of consciousness facing Odysseus and the impacts of war, the brutality of war, and violence. And so I think I was terrified and just wanting to make sure I did an okay job, you know? And pulled it off in the movie and so—but it was the good kind of— you know—the good kind of nerves, of course.”

The decision to cast Page was definitely one of Nolan’s biggest mistakes. Having a feminine voice come out of a male soldier just didn’t work.

Later in their discussion, the duo was discussing challenges during the filming process. Page claimed that, “And I would say the challenging things were probably just weather and temperature and you know, but I am lucky in that I grew up working in Canada as a kid. So, I am used to some pretty brutal working in some pretty brutal temperatures.”

Lydic then chimed in to add, “Yeah, take it easy. You have health care, all right? You do get health care in Canada," as Page agreed, “This is true. This is true.”

 

 

Is it? Considering the country’s long wait times, Lydic might want to reevaluate her idealized image of the Canadian health care system.

However, Lydic quickly got back to The Odyssey, where the duo conflated Nolan’s adaptation with Homer’s original story with allusions to the fact that Wednesday marked The Daily Show’s 30th anniversary, “The Odyssey is a 3,000-year-old story, been around almost as long as The Daily Show… But it clearly is still so resonant today. Was there a part of the story you connected to deeply?”

Page replied, “I think that—I think what I connected to deeply, particularly when seeing it, was how much it resonates in terms of our times, in terms of war, the impact of war, and the lies that are told to go to war. And so I would say that is what resonated with me the most, and those themes throughout the film.”

In the original story, Odysseus does not feel guilt or shame over the sack of Troy, but in Nolan’s version he does because Nolan reinterpreted Zeus’s Law as the Golden Rule. Odysseus’s guilt and misadventures on the way home are therefore a result of him breaking divine law, and the movie’s central theme is what happens to civilization when divine law is broken. Ironically, Lydic and Page have a worldview where “my truth” overrides the truth, and while their deceits may not lead to the literal sacking of cities, they still have society-wide consequences.

Here is a transcript for the July 22 show:

Comedy Central The Daily Show

7/22/2026

11:35 PM ET

DESI LYDIC: Your performance is incredible in this. It truly took my breath away. You have such an important role in the film, in that you—you are really the heart and soul. And your character stays all the way through the end. I mean, in a way, you are kind of embodying Odysseus’s shame and selfishness. Going into this role knowing that, is that thrilling for you as an actor? Or does it terrify you?

ELLIOT PAGE: You know both in the best way. And getting to work with someone like Chris, who obviously just has such impeccable vision and execution. And, you know, I think those were the initial conversations I had with Chris about this character, in Sinon being this sort of consciousness facing Odysseus and the impacts of war, the brutality of war, and violence. And so I think I was terrified and just wanting to make sure I did an okay job, you know? And pulled it off in the movie and so—but it was the good kind of— you know—the good kind of nerves, of course.

…

PAGE: And I would say the challenging things were probably just weather and temperature and you know, but I am lucky in that I grew up working in Canada as a kid. So, I am used to some pretty brutal working in some pretty brutal temperatures.

LYDIC: Yeah, take it easy. You have health care, all right? You do get health care in Canada.

PAGE: This is true. This is true.

LYDIC: The Odyssey is a 3,000-year-old story, been around almost as long as The Daily Show.

PAGE: Congratulations, by the way.

LYDIC: Oh, thank you! But it clearly is still so resonant today. Was there a part of the story you connected to deeply?

PAGE: Good question. I think that—I think what I connected to deeply, particularly when seeing it, was how much it resonates in terms of our times, in terms of war, the impact of war, and the lies that are told to go to war. And so I would say that is what resonated with me the most, and those themes throughout the film.

Donor Privacy Policy