Skip to content

Where have Hollywood stars Tom Holland and Matt Damon been filming in Scotland?

Steven McKenzie
BBC Scotland News
Peter Jolly/Northpix A close up of Tom Holland, wearing sunglasses and a red life jacket over a dark jacket, is sitting in an inflatable boat. He has his brown hair in his trademark tousled style. Behind him is a grey harbour wall. Peter Jolly/Northpix
Spider-Man star Tom Holland was pictured in Burghead on Monday

Hollywood stars Matt Damon and Tom Holland have been filming scenes for their new movie The Odyssey in Scotland.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, the movie is based on a poem written almost 3,000 years ago about Greek hero Odysseus and his journey home after years away at war.

International locations include Morocco, Greece and Sicily.

In Scotland, much of the focus has been around the Moray Firth coast.

Peter Jolly/Northpix Matt Damon is pictured at Burghead harbour. He is wearing ancient Greek style armour and a grey cloak. His hair is swept to one side and he has a bushy grey beard. The actor is smiling and raises one arm to wave a hand. Behind him are large stones of a harbour wall. On top of the wall are coils of black rope, and a red and white traffic cone.Peter Jolly/Northpix
Good Will Hunting actor Matt Damon was also spotted in Burghead

Jason Bourne and The Martian actor Damon plays Odysseus, while Spider-Man star Holland has been cast as his son Telemachus.

On Monday, the actors were spotted in Burghead in Moray.

The historic coastal village has the remains of a large 1,000-year-old Pictish fort, and is well-known for a tradition called the Burning of the Clavie.

The celebration held on 11 January marks the "old" New Year.

Getty Images The Clavie is a barrel of burning tar. Flames burn brightly from the top of the barrel and casts a group of men around it in an orange glow. The men, some of them wearing protective clothing, are take it turns to carry the Clavie down a street in Burghead.Getty Images
A Clavie is carried through Burghead during a fire festival held to mark the "old" New Year
Peter Jolly/Northpix Tom Holland, wearing sunglasses and a red life jacket over a dark jacket, is sitting in an inflatable boat powered by two large outboard engines. There are at least five other people with him - three women and two men. The boat's engines are causing the water to foam as they head for the harbour entrance.Peter Jolly/Northpix
Holland, wearing sunglasses, heads out to sea from Burghead

From Burghead, Holland and Damon were ferried in small boats to nearby Culbin Forest where a car park has been closed due to filming for several days.

Culbin is large area of sandy beaches, salt marsh and forestry east of Burghead.

Getty Images A large sandy beach under a blue sky. The sea rolls in on side and on the other side of the beach is a thick forest of pine trees.Getty Images
Culbin is an area of sandy beaches and forestry today

Filming of The Odyssey has been taking place over several weeks.

Other locations have included the fishing port of Buckie and the ruins of Findlater Castle near Cullen.

Draken Harald Hårfagre - a boat described as the world's largest Viking ship to be built in modern times - has been moored in Inverness and seen in the Cromarty Firth.

Miele's Gelateria Zendya has brown wavy hair, a pink jumper and is smiling as she poses for a selfie with Joss. Joss has blonde hair and is wearing an ice cream shop outfit.Miele's Gelateria
Tom Holland’s partner, fellow Hollywood star Zendaya, popped into Inverness ice cream shop Miele's Gelateria where she posed for a photo with worker Joss

During breaks in filming, Damon and Holland have visited other parts of Scotland.

Damon has popped up in and around Edinburgh.

On visit with his family to the Alpine Coaster visitor attraction at Midlothian Snowsports Centre he posed with a shirt of local Lowland League club Bonnyrigg Rose.

Holland visited Inverness with his partner and The Odyssey co-star Zendaya. The Inverness Courier said the couple enjoyed coffees and ice creams.

Director Christopher Nolan has also been out and about, including to a small cinema in Elgin.

He watched F1 The Movie starring Brad Pitt, according to the Press and Journal.

The Odyssey is due to be released next July.

Bonnyrigg Rose Matt Damon is wearing a baseball cap, a pair of shades and a white long-sleeved top. He has blue jeans and trainers. He is standing outside and is holding a red and white striped Bonnyrigg Rose top.Bonnyrigg Rose
Damon posing with a Bonnyrigg Rose shirt
More on this story