Samantha Morton was moved to tears after being offered a part in The Odyssey

Samantha Morton "started to cry" when she was approached to star in The Odyssey.

The 49-year-old actress features as sorceress Circe in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster and confessed that she was "blown away" when the acclaimed director offered her the role in the historical epic.

Morton told Variety: "When I got the call, I started to cry.

"Then we had a get to know you chat, and I read the script. But I didn't know if it would go any further. So when he called and said, 'Would you like to do it?' I was blown away. He could have had anybody on the planet, and he chose me."

Morton's alter ego features in a powerful scene where she transforms Odysseus' (Matt Damon) men into pigs and she drew on her family's military background to play a character who uses her magic to protect against sexual violence.

The two-time Oscar nominee said: "My family is a military family. War is complicated. Men are complicated. Our relationships with men as wives, sisters, daughters are complicated. I drew on that. And there are people in my family that have been sexually assaulted and raped, and I thought of that as well."

Morton enjoyed how collaborative Nolan was with the movie's cast – which also includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and Zendaya.

The Under the Skin actress said: "He's so hands-on. Chris just made sure I had everything I needed and the time I needed to do what I had to do. There was an unbelievable sense of freedom and trust, and then just the gentlest, kindest suggestions and guidance to get me where I had to go."

Morton detailed how shooting her first scene on the flick – which was filmed entirely with large and noisy IMAX cameras – was an "interesting" experience.

She said: "I would be lying if I didn't say the first take was... interesting.

"The cameras are just immense and they're right there in your face. So at first I was like, 'Whoa!' But eventually I forgot about it. It became like any other camera."

Morton described how the role in The Odyssey feels like a "rebirth" for her, although she isn't focused on the Oscar buzz that her performance is generating.

She said: "It felt like a rebirth. I got to do what I do best for the best. To get the role felt like a second chance to be seen by the wider world.

"If your peers feel that you're worthy of an accolade that means something, but I've never been somebody that chased that kind of gratification.

"I just love what I get to do for a living."