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most? Yes. One of the moments I'll never forget was when Christopher Nolan came over to my workstation holding the two-dimensional drawing of Odysseus' helmet. At first, he hadn't realized that I was the one who had designed it. He placed the drawing in front of my monitor and said, "See this line? It almost looks like a dagger." What struck me was that it meant he had truly studied the drawing, right down to its smallest details. Did any of your own artistic ideas make it into the final design? Yes. I added decorative p a t t e r n s t o t h e h e l m e t inspired by ocean waves. It was a symbolic detail repre- senting Odysseus' journey, his connection to the sea, and to the entire Odyssey. I liked the idea that such a small ele- ment could tell us something about the character. It carried meaning and had its own story. Did you get to meet any of the cast? Yes. One of the moments I'll never forget was seeing computer, and he had experi- mented with learning the s o f t w a r e . T h a t m a d e m e smile because it showed how curious he is, even from a technical perspective. He genuinely wanted to under- stand the language of the tools we were using. W h a t d o y o u t h i n k a t t r a c t e d h i m t o y o u r style? I t h i n k i t w a s m y w o r k with silhouettes. I focused on making every group immedi- ately recognizable through its shape. The Spartans had ini- tially been envisioned with a very historically accurate approach. Instead, I wanted to create something that was- n ' t p u r e l y h i s t o r i c a l b u t wasn't fantasy either: some- thing more epic, with its own visual identity. We developed highly distinctive armor and helmets, especially for the Spartans and Menelaus. The starting point was always the silhouette: creating some- thing simple, instantly recog- nizable, and capable of telling the character's story through its shape. Is there a particular moment you remember M a t t D a m o n , w h o p l a y s Odysseus, and Christopher Nolan standing in front of my computer looking at the 3D model of the helmet. I was there thinking, "Is this really happening?" Then came the moment when the helmet was 3D-printed and fitted on Matt Damon. I t's har d to describe that feeling: watch- ing an idea begin as a sketch on paper, become a digital model, and then turn into a real object worn by the lead actor in a Christopher Nolan film. W h a t i s t h e m o s t important part of your job? Getting inside the direc- tor's mind. It's a skill that develops through experience: a concept artist's job is to understand what the director is imagining, even when they can't fully describe it yet. I always say you have to tune into the same frequency as the director; it's the only way you can truly translate an idea into an image. That's exactly what happened with Christopher Nolan. After the f i r s t h e l m e t , t h e s e c o n d , third, and fourth became pro- gressively easier because I had started to understand his visual language, the kinds of shapes he was looking for, and the way he wanted those characters to be brought to life. How has being Italian influenced the way you c r e a t e s h a p e s a n d images? A great deal. I realized that especially after moving to the United States. I grew up in Naples, and every day on my way to school, I would walk beneath ancient Roman arch- es. I attended an art high school housed in a former monastery, with soaring ceil- ings and frescoes that were still visible. Being surrounded by that kind of beauty every day teaches you something. It unconsciously trains your eye for harmony, proportion, and c o l o r . I b e l i e v e t h e p l a c e where you grow up has a pro- found influence on your taste and on the way you perceive shapes. These are things you absorb almost without realiz- ing it during your formative years. always been a big part of my work, so it was familiar terri- tory for me. After a week or two, Christopher Nolan came in to review the designs. He liked many of my concepts, and from that moment on, he began selecting different ele- ments for the film's charac- ters. That's when my journey on the project really began. Did your collaboration with Nolan become more direct after that? Yes. With something like a helmet, the process starts with drawings and sketches. Once those are approved, we move into 3D. I began sculpt- i n g O d y s s e u s ' h e l m e t i n ZBrush. At a certain point, Christopher Nolan would come over, stand next to me, a n d p o i n t d i r e c t l y a t t h e model, saying things like, "Move this part," or "Try this s o l u t i o n . " I t w a s a v e r y unique experience. What impressed you most about the way he works? How well he understood the creative process. He even told me that he had tried using ZBrush himself. His son had installed it on his W h e n Christo p h e r N o l a n b e g a n working on The Odyssey, he wasn't looking to create a straightforward historical adaptation of Homer's epic. Instead, he wanted to build a cinematic universe populated by characters with their own history and identity. Helping bring that world to life was Italian concept artist Luca Nemolato, who has lived in Los Angeles for the past 15 years and whose career spans film, television, video games, and advertising. Over the years, he collaborated with directors including Guillermo del Toro, Gore Verbinski, and Jaume Collet-Serra. "My job is to turn ideas into images," Nemolato explains. "It can be a c h a r a c t e r , a c o s t u m e , a creature, a weapon, or an e n v i r o n m e n t . " F o r T h e Odyssey, he helped design some of the film's most iconic visual elements, including the h e l m e t w o r n b y M a t t Damon's Odysseus. "Today, we work extensively in 3D as well, so we don't just create drawings, we often build digi- tal models and images that are very close to what audi- ences will eventually see on screen." How did your collabo- ration with Christopher Nolan begin? I t h a p p e n e d a l m o s t b y chance. I got a call from his c o s t u m e d e s i g n e r , E l l e n Mirojnick. At first, the entire project was completely under wraps. I only found out it was The Odyssey when I arrived at Universal Studios. The moment I learned what it was, I was thrilled. It's an incredible story, and for the kind of work I do, it was the perfect project. What was the first ele- ment of The Odyssey that you worked on? It was designing the Spar- tans, who were probably the most challenging part at that stage. I started by working on t h e c h a r a c t e r s a n d t h e n moved on to their helmets. A r m o r a n d h e l m e t s h a v e Luca Nemolato at San Diego Comic-Con, where he met fans and presented his work in film and character design Photo: Courtesy of Luca Nemolato) THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano Luca Nemolato, the Italian artist who helped shape the world of The Odyssey SILVIA NITTOLI LIFE PEOPLE MOVIES MUSIC BOOKS

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