Christopher Nolan has revealed that Samantha Morton’s performance in The Odyssey earned an ovation that he hadn’t seen since Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.

• READ MORE: ‘The Odyssey’ could be Christopher Nolan’s biggest blockbuster yet

The Oppenheimer director’s epic arrives on July 17, with Matt Damon starring in the classic story of a king’s treacherous return from war. In a new interview with the LA Times he recalled the impact Morton had with her performance as goddess Circe in the movie.

“This was a massive film and she is someone who comes in and changes the dynamic,” Nolan explained. “In some weird way, the film lived or died over that character. She was the fulcrum. I’ve always admired Samantha’s work, she brings so much depth of thinking about her role, there are no limitations on her performance. After one of her takes, the crew gave her a great round of applause. I was talking with Emma [Thomas, Nolan’s producing partner and wife] afterwards and she remembered that the last time that had happened was with Heath Ledger on The Dark Knight.”

Released in 2008, The Dark Knight is the most beloved of Nolan’s Batman trilogy, with one of the reasons for that being the iconic performance from Heath Ledger as The Joker. The actor died before the film’s release, and received a posthumous Best Supporting Actor award at the 2009 Oscars.

In the same interview, Christopher Nolan discussed why The Odyssey used modern English and American accents as opposed to the theatrical delivery normally found in period pieces. “I was maybe being naïve, it might bite me on the ass, but I wanted an earthy narrative,” he explained. “To me it was a no-brainer.”

The Odyssey’s London premiere occurred this week, with critics coming away from the movie calling it a “triumph”. Recently, cast member Tom Holland discussed how a misunderstanding led him to think Nolan hated his performance.