Matt Damon’s commitment to his role in “The Odyssey” led to a personal revelation that would change his life forever.

In a recent episode of Amy Poehler’s podcast “Good Hang,” the Academy Award-winning actor opened up about permanently removing gluten from his diet. The decision came as a serendipitous discovery while undergoing a significant transformation for his role in Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated film, “The Odyssey.” Damon described the dietary change as life-altering, highlighting how the absence of gluten positively impacted his well-being.

“It’s just a complete, complete lifestyle change,” Damon explained, as Poehler jested about the challenges of “getting jacked in your 50s.”

The actor admitted this transformation wasn’t something he could meticulously plan. “Any other time I tried something like this, it was always about ‘My time, my workouts’,” Damon recalled. “This time, it was just about pressing down on the gas pedal, and that’s the only way to do it—alongside eating a little less.”

Damon also noted his newfound dietary regime which, according to him, “changed my life,” highlighting the profound impact that removing gluten had on his lifestyle.

When Poehler asked whether he still had “any desire” for it, Damon replied, “No, because of what it does to me … I didn’t know.”

Poehler noted that many people in their generation weren’t aware of food sensitivities while growing up.

Damon agreed, saying, “We didn’t talk about it, and I didn’t realize the level to which it was affecting me. Like it’s completely changed my life these last couple years of not eating it … it’s a bummer. I’m a big fan of bread and beer, and pasta and pizza and all that stuff, but … how I feel is just [so much better.]”

Earlier this year, Damon detailed the grueling regimen he followed to play the legendary Greek hero Odysseus in Nolan’s highly anticipated adaptation of “The Odyssey.”

Speaking on Travis and Jason Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast, Damon said he dropped to 167 pounds — his lightest weight in decades.

“Yeah, I was in really good shape,” Damon said. “I lost a lot of weight.”

Nolan had a specific vision for the character.

“He said he wanted me … lean but strong,” Damon explained.

The actor said eliminating gluten played a major role in the transformation.

“I literally, just because of this other thing I did with my doctor, stopped eating gluten,” he said. “I used to walk around between 185 and 200 pounds. And I did that whole movie at 167 pounds.”

“I haven’t been that light since high school,” Damon added. “So it was a lot of training and a really strict diet.”

Damon also credited working with a personal trainer for helping him stay focused throughout the demanding process.

“Trainers are like, ‘What are we doing?’ And they can kind of do anything,” he said. “It’s just having kind of a clear goal and setting it.”

The transformation wasn’t the first of Damon’s career.

For the 1996 war drama “Courage Under Fire,” he shed between 40 and 50 pounds in about 100 days — a drastic weight loss he later revealed nearly came with an extreme cost.

According to Damon, a doctor warned him he “could have shrunk my heart permanently.”

American soccer star Folarin Balogun has addressed the country’s disappointing World Cup departure, expressing his sorrow and apologizing to fans through an emotional post on social media.

Balogun became a focal point of international attention last week following his red card incident in the match against Bosnia. This controversy quickly escalated until an extraordinary appeal by Donald Trump resulted in the overturning of his suspension, allowing him to face Belgium.

Despite Balogun’s presence on the field, the USA was unable to fend off Belgium’s impressive performance, suffering a 4-1 loss that sealed their fate and ended their World Cup journey.

In the wake of heavy criticism that followed the defeat, Balogun emerged on Instagram to share his perspective and address the situation after allowing some time for the initial reactions to pass.

‘My first World Cup experience,’ he began, posting with a snapshot of him celebrating his Bosnian goal. ‘It’s painful to endure a four-year wait for a chance to compete at our sport’s peak level.’

‘I want to say sorry to our fans, it was not good enough when it mattered most and we let you down. 

‘Soccer in America will only become bigger – the belief, the talent, and the passion is continually growing and I know the best days are in front of us, the future belongs to those who never stop believing, this moment will fuel us. We will be back

‘Why not us? For the nation. For the flag.’

The likes of Landon Donovan and Carli Lloyd have been among the harshest critics of the players in the wake of the Belgium loss, but Balogun was met with positivity in the comment section of his post.

One rallying cry came from another US soccer icon in Jozy Altidore, who wrote: ‘Why not us?’

Rebecca Lowe, meanwhile, who is FOX’s lead host for the tournament, told Balogun: ‘The best days are yet to come but these were still some GREAT days.’ 

For Balogun and his teammates, the tournament came to a crashing halt in the last-16, with 37 million watching on FOX when the third Belgium goal went in – the peak of the broadcast.

The Monaco striker will now have some time out to reflect on the tournament before he returns to his club team to begin preparations for next season.

When he next joins up with the USA for international duty, he will have his one-match suspension to serve, after it was pushed back by FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino.

The wild situation sparked fury around the world, and began with the player being shown a red card shortly after scoring against Bosnia in LA last week.

Controversy then took over when Trump implored Infantino to review a red card that would’ve meant a suspension for Balogun. 

FIFA went on to invoke the little-known Article 27 of their disciplinary code and suspended Balogun’s ban – allowing him to take part in the crucial fixture. 

Moments after Sunday’s announcement, President Trump, who has become close friends with Infantino, wrote: ‘Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP.’

White House sources confirmed to the Daily Mail that Trump took the extraordinary step of reaching out to Infantino, ahead of FIFA’s staggering decision to suspend the ban, before the President confirmed the news himself at a Monday press conference. 

However, while Trump and millions of USA fans across the country celebrated the one-game ban suspension, the Belgian FA were left furious over the matter and launched an appeal to FIFA, shortly after the news was announced.

On Monday morning, they discovered the fate of that appeal after it was confirmed that the Belgian FA’s request had been rejected by FIFA. 

In a statement, the Belgian FA said: ‘The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has received the decision of the FIFA Appeal Committee, signed by its member Mr Salman Al-Ansari, which declares the RBFA’s case inadmissible and confirms the earlier decision allowing United States player Folarin Balogun to play.

‘To date, the RBFA has still not received any grounds for this decision, nor has it received the information it has been requesting since the start of this procedure id est a copy of the decision and the motivation declaring the player eligible as well as the referee’s report. Which is a breach of FIFA regulations.

They added that: ‘The RBFA has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee’s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open.’

That fury fell on deaf ears though, with their appeal ultimately rejected to pave the way for Balogun to play against them.