The Emmy-nominated actor debuted in the Nolan-verse with a supporting role in 2020’s Tenet — but this one feels different. Clearly Nolan was taken enough with Patel to circle back to him with a no audition, straight offer for The Odyssey. “I didn't think I'd gotten to the point where he could offer me a role,” Patel admits. GQ: It’s an honor to be speaking to the owner of the best beard in The Odyssey. We shot the movie fairly chronologically, so it was just growing and growing and growing and growing, and by the end, it was an absolute mess.