The Odyssey cast reveal how Circe's shocking pig scene was filmed without CGI

24 July 2026, 15:11

By Sam Prance

Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland have revealed the secret behind how Circe transforms Odysseus' men into pigs.

Want to know how Circe's gruesome pig scene in The Odyssey was filmed without CGI? We have the official answer.

As soon as Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey came out, fans singled out the segment with Samantha Morton as Circe as one of the highlights of the entire film. In the visceral scene, Odysseus' men go to Circe's cottage in the hopes of food. However, she transforms them into pigs before Odysseus figures out what's happened and rescues them.

Not only are the performances brilliant but the scene is filmed so it looks like the actors are genuinely becoming pigs. To add to the magic, no CGI was used. Now, Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland have explained how it was done.

• Read more: When will The Odyssey be on streaming? How to watch online

The Odyssey movie was the 'HARDEST thing' Anne Hathaway and Matt Damon have ever done! | Capital

Discussing the pig scene in an interview with IMDb, Tom Holland said: "When they turn the people into pigs, that's all real. It's all animatronics. It's an animatronic head and she pulls their jaws apart. That's real."

Anne Hathaway then chimed in by saying: "That's not CGI. That is a practical effect. They worked with an artist to create something that Samantha could sculpt with live on camera."

Tom added: "We were there and I watched it and was like, 'So they must have used CGI then?'"

Tom then explained that he was so confused by it when he watched the film, that he had to ask director Christopher Nolan how it was filmed: "He was like, 'Oh it's just camera angles and animatronics and a bunch of actors that were really game to do something crazy."

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So there you have it! All animatronics and practical effects. Pretty legendary if you ask me.

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