Percy Jackson is back and better than ever! Fans of the popular book series have finally received the live-action adaptation that they truly deserve — with author Rick Riordan at the helm. On top of that, the Disney+ show’s cast is already being praised for their near perfect portrayal of the beloved characters — from Walker Scobell taking on the titular role to Leah Sava Jeffries‘ Annabeth Chase and Aryan Simhadri‘s Grover Underwood.
J-14 sat down with the golden trio, where they revealed the “reassuring” advice Riordan gave them on set, their favorite scenes to film and which book from the series they’re most excited to bring to life. Keep reading for our exclusive interview.
“It was an amazing experience,” Leah said of working with the Percy Jackson author, explaining that it was an “honor.”
“A lot of the advice that he says gives us relief when we’re filming because this is a huge fan base,” she told J-14 exclusively. “So, bringing new kids and stuff into filming a part that’s been out for two decades, it’s a lot.”
Thankfully, Leah revealed one of the best parts of having Riordan on set was his reassurance when the cast needed it.
“It was really cool filming [because] as soon as we got off the set, we would turn our heads and be like, ‘Was that good?’ He’d be like, ‘Yeah.’ So it was really good to [have] him there [for] a little reassurance.”
As for some of their favorite scenes to bring to life from the book — Leah and Walker both agree on the “tunnel of love scene.”
“The tunnel of love was, I mean, obviously the Ares fight too, but the tunnel of love was pretty awesome,” Walker gushed. “I think with the whole inside of the tunnel of love, when there’s a whole story going by us on the walls, all these lights — that was all volume stage, there was no cgi. And it’s crazy what they can do. That was all real.”
For Aryan, his favorite scene to film had to do with some action that didn’t quite … hit the mark each time.
“My favorite one was when I got dragged down to Tartarus in the Underworld,” the Cheaper By the Dozen actor recalled. “That was such a fun and difficult day. There’s a take where Walker jumps down to get me, and there’s a take where he misses entirely, lands on my head, and then rolls over me, and then I’m in between his legs,” he laughed, before adding: “And it was totally worth it in the end.”
As the originally written series includes five books, we can hope that five seasons of the show will follow. After asking which book the trio is most excited to potentially bring to life, Walker and Aryan simultaneously say “five,” while the actress behind Annabeth says the fourth.
And which characters are they most excited to see in future seasons?
Walker reveals: “I’m just going to say two, which are the best two — I think Nico and Thalia.”
Percy Jackson’s first two episode are currently available to stream on Disney+, with new episodes premiering every Wednesday.
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