Anne Hathaway to Campaign for Best Actress at the Oscars for 'The Odyssey'

According to exclusive information from Variety reports that Universal Pictures will nominate Anne Hathaway in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role as Penelope in Christopher Nolan 's The Odyssey. The decision resolves a question that had been circulating among awards observers since the film's release.

With this, Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus, solidifies his position as the only cast member in the running for Best Actor. Hathaway will compete alongside her co-star Samantha Morton, whose Circe has received some of the best reviews of the production. Universal now has the chance to secure two nominations in the same category, something that has happened before in Oscar history.

The choice also places Hathaway in a category that, at the start of the season, seems less competitive than that of lead actress. In that category, the race has centered around Julianne Moore, winner of the Oscar for Still Alice , whose new film, The Debut , made a splash at Telluride and went on to Toronto.

If Hathaway and Moore win, it would be the first time in three decades that two women have won a second acting Oscar on the same night. The last time was in 1995, with Jessica Lange and Dianne Wiest. Hathaway would also become the third woman to win Best Supporting Actress twice, alongside Wiest and Shelley Winters .

Everything you need to know about The Odyssey

The film is yet another adaptation of Homer 's classic heroic poem, a continuation of the Iliad that tells the story of Odysseus (Ulysses in some translations), who spends 10 years trying to return home to Ithaca after his victory in the Trojan War. Enraged, the god of the seas, Poseidon, does everything he can to prevent him from returning to his wife, Penelope

Matt Damon plays Odysseus, Anne Hathaway plays the character's wife, Penelope. Tom Holland plays Telemachus, son of Odysseus, with Zendaya playing the goddess Athena, Charlize Theron as Circe, Benny Safdie as Agamemnon, and Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife.