New fantasy film Percy Jackson and the Lightning thief hits the screens on February 12th and hopes are high that we might have a new franchise on our hands. Based on a series of popular books the plot blends Greek mythology with a coming of age story in a contemporary setting. We caught up with the three young leads to find out more about the film...

Brandon T. Jackson

The books aren't well-known in the UK, can you tell us a bit about them?

I think Greek mythology is well known, and this is set in a modern day setting taking those elements. The main character has ADHD and dyslexia, then finds out he is the son of a god... i mean that is appealing. To know that you could be something great...

Bit of a change from Tropic Thunder...

I have never heard of that, what movie is that? [Laughs] No it is a big change from that obviously. That's the good thing about being an actor, you can do more things. Not just being a comedian that's what Chris [Columbus] allowed me to do... not going overboard but expressing myself within the confines of this film. That was very important, i watched a lot films to see how to do that. It was good to work with Steve Coogan again from Tropic Thunder as well, he's someone who can do that well.

Did you see him much on either film?

I saw him a lot, we bonded on the set definitely. We chilled and went out in Vancouver, he played Hades straight as a Rock star and i think he is an amazing comedian as well as an amazing actor. I actually think he's funnier than me too, i'm looking for a nice two-hander so we can battle it out... haven't had one of those in a while. He was asleep one time on set though! you know the scene after he gets hit by a lightning bolt? Well there is a long monologue after that and he had to stay in the eye line and he went to sleep right there.

Where does the interest in comedy come from... you come from quite a religious family don't you?

Yeah, my family is religious. It was kind of a situation where i saw my dad speaking in front of people and i knew i wanted to do something similar to that... but i wasn't sure what. I always wanted a voice, and i'm not your average African-American male, i come from a certain background and a two parent home... it's not a typical 'from the hood' stereotypical background. I feel like a Fresh Prince story in real-life and to be an example of that i want to express my voice.

Your character, i thought, differentiated from some of the other's we've seen in fantasy type films in as much as he is just as aware as the 'lead'. Infact we are introduced to him as a protector... was that important to you in terms of the film.

Absolutely. I mean in the books he's a lot more nervous but i wanted to play it strong. I asked Chris that if we do another one can i please have some more action... i did it in Tropic Thunder with guns so i think i can definitely pull it off with some goat legs! Grover is in the books a character with a lot of heart, and in the films as well he doesn't have his horns yet so he can't be totally bad-ass but at the same time maybe he gets more action after his time with Persephone.

When you do a franchise film like this do you read ahead in the series or do you go book-by-book?

I actually read the first three books, but it changes because Chris adapts it to make more sense as a film. We're all attached to do three films but i do think there will be more changes in terms of the series.

Do you believe in the adage what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?

Yeah, don't eat those Lotus flowers either! Actually they created that whole casino in Vancouver... it was a massive set. That whole scene was really long but it was really cool. I had this great dance sequence which was like something out of The Mask, but i knew it was going to get cut. It would have made the film too long, i even told Chris at the time this is way too long, but it was such fun. They should definitely put it on the extras on the DVD. It was weird though to see them scrap the sets afterwards though... like Camp Half-blood just went and was put into a closet. You walk around and think i'm in this mythical place and then it's gone.
 
What was the most challenging thing for you on set?

Chris made it very easy; you know it goes from the head down. So if you have a stressful director then you know what it's going to be like. I felt like we were all these magical characters and Chris made it a great experience. I'm doing a move next called Lottery Ticket which is a lot smaller.

Alexandra Daddario

The books aren't well-known in the UK, can you tell us a bit about them?

As a child i loved fantasy books, i loved Harry Potter and the idea that there is something 'out there' is inspiring to kids and inspiring to me. It's exciting and i think people can relate to it. Even if things are difficult or bad for you, the idea that there is something special within you is positive and true.

Did you enjoy the action and swordplay involved with your character on screen?

I loved it. I didn't do a lot of training beforehand but we did a lot in the period of time after casting because i came on board after the boys. They had a lot of trouble finding the character so i only came in three weeks before filming. So i had three weeks to go from light jogging to intensive sword fights for 12 hours a day. I was lucky that i got into shape so quickly and we had an amazing stunt team... at first i didn't look very good with a sword and i'm supposed to be a bad-ass so i had to learn the techniques to look good on screen and real and intense. I think it's empowering.

There seem to be some quite strong female characters in the Fantasy films of recent years, is that important to you?

It is very important. I read a lot of scripts for women who are the girlfriends or 'hot girl' or a side note and are just there to wear a dress. There aren't that many strong characters for women or strong leading role... there are only some films based around women. I think i lucked out with a fully-developed character in my first big movie. I think there will be more.

What sort of character do you mean by a 'side note'?

The sort of girls stood in the background in a dress you know like the side note you put into an essay or something.

And how does being attached to a franchise like this feel?

Well i'm just grateful to be working. We're attached to do three movie so if all five in the series come out we should be very wealthy by the fourth one [Laughs]. I'm joking of course, we'll just see how it goes and then obviously i think there will be some changes... they did that with Twilight as well because i think Robert Pattinson's character isn't in one of the books and they wanted him in the film so there have to be some changes along the way from books to the screen.

This must have been very different for you from The Squid and the Whale?

I have a very small part in that movie, people keep crediting me for that because they can't find anything else. I was one of the kids in that and probably in set for about a week. I did get to work with some great people and be on set so that was of course a great experience. I do like working on television but i prefer film. I just want to work mainly but the pace on a movie is slower and you get to form more of a family. There is more time to work with whereas as TV is faster paced.

Christopher Columbus is renowned for working well with young cast members from his previous films, did you find that to be helpful on set?

Chris is one of the nicest people i've ever met, so honest and genuine. I'm from New York and it felt like a breath of fresh air talking to him, he has such an excitement about him that it is contagious. I've never seen a film set that happy and comfortable... it's wonderful. Everyone was great on it though... we had long day and nights of filming yet very rarely was anything stressful or miserable.

What was the most challenging thing for you on set?

Just from moving to where i was in my life to working on a huge film like this was a challenge. The physical aspect as well at the start but it wasn't stressful because i was so happy to be there. I have no idea what i'm doing next but it is a great journey so far.

Logan Lerman

What was it like working on a big special effects movie like this?

It was unreal, I mean you hear all these stories about how everything needs to be painted green and how everything needs to have a very specific marker on it but they were like we can change it up afterwards. I haven’t worked with visual effects before so I was surprised.

You’ve had so many distinguished fathers on screen from Jim Carrey to Mel Gibson and of course on this film, have you taken anything away from those experiences?

I stopped taking anything away from after working with Jim Carrey. I was such a big fan and wanted to learn how to completely lose myself in the scene and so when I found out there was a film coming up with him I kinda forced myself onto that project and luckily it was the role of his son. He’d sit down and talk with me for hours on set and I’ve kind of taken that and used that process in every project I’ve done subsequently. You have to go past the fact that they are the celebrity and work with the character and play within that and explore the scene.

So what is next for you?

I’m looking at a couple of projects at the moment. This has been a long one with all the publicity and everything so nothing signed yet.

Do you deliberately look for something quite different to follow up?

It’s mainly down to the filmmaker, they are the artists and we are the paint. It will be a combination of the character and the filmmaker which attracts me to a project.

You’ve grown up in LA, so presumably you’ll be familiar with the whole process?

LA has been good and bad you know. It’s great because it is the centre of the movie business and as someone who loves movies it’s a great place to grow up. But then you can get caught up in a lot of the BS if you don’t have the right perspective on it. It is kind of a fantasy place where you can lose yourself. None of my family are in the business, except now my mom who is managing me so that’s someone who I trust. No one person should be bigger than the movie they are in.