The Odyssey star Samantha Morton reveals foster mother preferred co-star’s performance

Lauren MorrisSun, August 2, 2026 at 3:49 PM UTC

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Samantha Morton’s performance as sorceress Circe in The Odyssey has been generating a lot of awards buzz since the film’s release last month – however, the actor isn’t the blockbuster’s breakout star in the eyes of her foster mother.

Morton, 49, has revealed her foster mother’s candid review of the Christopher Nolan epic, with her former guardian preferring Anne Hathaway’s turn as Odysseus’ wife Penelope.

The Bafta-winning actor grew up in Nottinghamshirecare homes and various foster care placements throughout the 1980s. She previously shared that her birth mother suffered with mental health issues, while her birth father was an abusive alcoholic and her stepfather was jailed for attempted murder.

In a new interview with The Sunday Times, Morton revealed that she’s learnt not to be “a bighead” thanks to her childhood in foster care. “I just think Circe is a gift. But competition in art is a strange thing, isn’t it,” she said.

Samantha Morton with co-stars Luptia Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway and Zendaya (AP)

“You can’t be a bighead. I’m only as good as the other good person; we are just equal and maybe that is a Nottingham thing, a working-class thing, me spending time in care.

“Art, though, depends on how we connect – I had a message from my foster mother saying, ‘You are good, but Anne Hathaway? She is amazing.’”

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The actor also revealed that “trauma is a constant battle” for her, having recently lost her sister and her birth father. “I sadly lost my sister on April 22 this year. She was 53,” she said. “And I am still dealing with the coroners. And the trauma.

“I lost my real father 18 months ago. Trauma. So the past is always with me and I’m not saying I’m not going to be all right next week, but every day I wake, say a prayer and say, ‘Please help me.’”

Morton, who received Oscar nominations for her performances in 1999’s Sweet and Lowdown and 2003’s In America, revealed in 2014 that she was sexually abused by two residential care workers at a council-run children’s home when she was 13. “I wouldn't say that I live in a constant state of illness, but I do think that when you have been sexually or physically abused, it is a life sentence,” she said in an interview at the time. “It does stay with you for ever.”

Samantha Morton with her Bafta Award in 2024 (EPA)

In 2024, she received the Bafta Fellowship award and dedicated it to “every child in care, or who has been in care and who didn’t survive”. Meanwhile last year, she said that the “care system isn’t fit for purpose” while accepting an OBE for services to drama and charity.

Morton is now a mother to three children of her own, including actor Esmé Creed-Miles, 26, who she shares with ex-partner Charlie Creed-Miles. She also shares Edie, 18, and Theodore, 14, with partner Harry Holm.

Morton is one of the many stars that make up the stellar cast of The Odyssey, which follows Greek king Odysseus (Matt Damon) as he spends over ten years trying to get back to Ithaca and his family after the Trojan War. The join the likes of Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya and Charlize Theron in the critically-acclaimed film.

If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”