Meet Devyn Dalton, Matt Damon's female stunt double in 'The Odyssey'
Few would expect a 4-foot-6 female stunt performer to stand in for 5-foot-10 Matt Damon, but Devyn Dalton proved to be the perfect fit. Doubling for Damon in The Odyssey, Dalton earned high praise from the actor, who called her arms "the greatest [he's] ever seen."
Damon revealed in a July interview that he had a female stunt double for his role as Odysseus in the film.
"When we did the forced perspective stuff of the Laestrygonians—I don’t know if there’s been a thing about how we did it—there were these stunt men who were all seven feet,” he said, referring to the giant armored adversaries in the film.
"And then they got stuntmen who were under five feet, and so my double was a woman, a female stunt performer, who had the greatest arms I’ve ever seen,” he added.
In an interview with AP News, Dalton said she took the compliment as validation of the hard work she put into physically preparing for the role.
"I was like, 'I made these for you.' I wanted to make sure that he was well represented," she told the outlet.
To achieve her figure, Dalton followed a bodybuilding-inspired training regimen that included both bulking and cutting phases. She focused on heavy weight training, followed by a cut to maximize muscle definition for the camera.
In a separate interview, Dalton said Damon's praise caught her completely by surprise, revealing that she'd actually pushed herself even harder in training because she wanted to impress him. She added that she's been overwhelmed by the positive response and is thrilled to see people celebrating strong women.
"It's been amazing...the world has been receiving it so well. I knew it was me on the promo posters so it's just so exciting to share that with the world. And I'm just, I'm loving that people are celebrating a strong female. And I never thought I'd be stunt doubling Hollywood's leading man, but here I am. And I didn't think my biceps would be viral, but here we are," she told News Nation.
Behind the stunts
Dalton initially built her career as a dancer before expanding into live theater and motion capture. By the time she transitioned into stunt work, she had lent her physique to numerous productions, including performing the climactic fight with Amy Madigan's Aunt Gladys in Weapons (2025) and portraying one of the child clickers in HBO's The Last of Us.
She shared with the Los Angeles Times that her process begins with studying the script and understanding the character's emotions and motivations before closely observing the actor's movements, mannerisms, and physical habits to seamlessly match their performance.
Before her big break, she admitted that there was a time when she thought her size would hold her back.
"I've spent years thinking my size was something that I'd have to overcome. But it turns out one of the reasons I've had all these opportunities given to me is because I embraced my size and I love it so much, and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world," she told BBC.
She shared how embracing her physique has helped her feel more confident and comfortable in her own skin.
"I think I've never felt more like beautiful and feminine than I do now with my muscles. And I always loved them so much, but it was hard because I always felt like I sometimes had to hide them or, you know, I couldn't just celebrate them. So being able to just lean into it and that be the focal point has been very liberating and freeing for me," she added.
In her interview with LA Times, Dalton expressed excitement over the Academy's decision to introduce an Oscar for Achievement in Stunt Design, a new category that will debut at the 2028 ceremony.
"I’m so excited for stunts to be recognized at that high level because of the amount of skill it takes to execute these stunts and all these films... I hope one day I get to be in that room as well,” she said.
