Exclusive: Percy Jackson and the Olympians Getting Diversity Right | web series

After two films adapted from Rick Riordan’s books, the character of Percy Jackson is now finding renewed life in an upcoming series. It stars a new generation of actors in the beloved roles of Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood. Walker Scobell, 14, Leah Sava Jeffries, 14, and Ariane Simhadri, 17, bring new blood and perspective to their characters, originally written nearly two decades ago. They discuss this and more in an exclusive interview.

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Just another child

Walker Scobell was quite confident when taking on the character better known by Logan Lerman in the movies. A fan of the books and movies, Walker was well acquainted with Percy Jackson. But he admits that playing him made fans notice in him what Percy is: just a kid.

“I need to discover his childish side if that makes any sense. Because you don’t think about it, but they really are 12 years old. They are children! They are looking for criminals for destroying a national monument, sorry. It was interesting to go back and watch. Because when you’re playing him, it’s out of your mind that he’s a kid. He doesn’t really understand those emotions and how to control them,” Walker said.

backlash against

Leah Sava Jeffries was also young when she received backlash for her casting as Annabeth Chase, who was originally cast as a white character in the books. After she and the creators came under intense trolling for the subversive casting, everyone from writer Rick Riordan to actress Alexandra Daddario (who played Annabeth in the films) came out in support of Leah. Now that the episode is over on her, Leah thinks it only made her stronger to be a better performer on set.

“Well, these people say all these things. Let’s prove them wrong, Leah said.

“I think that reaction happened because no one had seen me play Annabeth before. But now it’s done, it’s all tied together, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it. Because people judge based on what they see, what they hear, what they feel, without actually waiting for it. The things that came to me and what people were saying were really motivational things. I took all these things into account and thought, “Well, these people are saying all these things. Let’s prove them wrong, Leah said.

Act in diversity

She added that her co-stars kept her moral when she was questioning herself. “Even my co-stars said, ‘You’re great, don’t pay attention to all this.’ So everyone has been very supportive of this series. It’s coming together really well, and I can’t wait to see you,” said Leah. Arian Simhadri, Indian-American actor as Grover Underwood, praised creators’ push to be more inclusive and diverse. “Obviously, I don’t speak for Leah. But the increase in diversity and the time and money and genuine effort that goes into finding talented creators and finding people of color has been incredible these past two years,” – said Arian.

For Indian people specifically, in the last generation or before this increase in diversity, we were nerds and geeks. This is a very specific type or stereotype that we have.

“I’m so happy to be playing a character that means so much to so many people and not just the funny guy next door. It’s an honor,” he added.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians premieres on Disney+ Hotstar on December 20.

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