Vancouver stunt woman Devyn Dalton says she never expected her biceps to go viral. But then Matt Damon credited his four-foot-six-inch stunt double in “The Odyssey” for having “the greatest arms” he’s ever seen. He didn’t identify her in the interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, but after friends tagged her name in the video on social media, Dalton said her phone blew up at 4 a.m. in New Zealand where she’s filming a new project. “I’m like, what is going on? And of course I’m ignoring it, and then when I woke up, I saw the video and my friends are so sweet — they had tagged my name in the video, and then that is how people actually found out,” said Dalton. The attention, she said, has been “awesome.” Dalton, 34, stands in for Damon during a scene filmed in forced perspective, in which Odysseus faces giant cannibalistic giants, the Laestrygonians. The illusion was created not with CGI, but by using what Damon described as seven-foot stuntmen as the giants alongside stand-ins for Odysseus and his crew who were all under five feet tall. “When she came into the catering tent was the first time I met her,” Damon said of Dalton. “I went up and I hugged her. I thanked her for all the work she had put in.” Dalton said she felt “so humbled” by receiving attention from people who are excited about seeing strong female stunt performers thriving. And yes, she said, that’s her in one of the posters for the movie that shows an armoured Laestrygonian towering over Odysseus. Dalton said it’s not very common for women to double for men, but it can happen when directors prioritize a performer’s skill sets and athleticism. In addition to being a stunt performer, Dalton is a dancer, athlete, actress, and motion-capture artist who has been performing in film for about 17 years. She has more than 90 credits to her name. Dalton said she has doubled for children, both boys and girls, and had also done “creature work,” as zombies, demons and apes; she was fresh out of high school when she got her first role in 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, playing the chimpanzee Cornelia in a motion-capture role. “And through that, I met amazing stunt people. Shout out to the Vancouver stunt community, because we have so many incredibly talented people there, and they kind of showed me the stunt world,” said Dalton. “And it’s so much fun when you get to dive into a character and transform into something else. I find it so liberating and freeing as a performer and an artist, and that’s why we call it acting, right?” Dalton said that when she isn’t working, she is training — running, biking, swimming, dancing, yoga and martial arts, from jiu-jitsu to boxing. “I’m always ready to go because fitness is my lifestyle,” said Dalton. “It’s actually something that I think is so important. I just encourage everyone to get out there and move and take care of yourself.” Dalton said her small frame has not hindered her career and the key to success was not being scared to push boundaries. “It’s easy to kind of be put in a box or maybe stereotyped, but I think you just embrace whatever your difference is and you believe in it,” said Dalton. “I always knew that I could do more than just what people thought I should play with my size or my look. But if you believe in yourself and you put the training in, and the time and the dedication, you can do whatever characters you want.” This report by Nono Shen, The Canadian Press, was first published July 25, 2026.
