EXCLUSIVE: Aryan Simhadri, Charlie Bushnell, and Dior Goodjohn Talk Season 2 of ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’

Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians premieres today, December 10 on Disney+. To celebrate the premiere, we got to hear from some of the stars of the series, Aryan Simhadri (“Grover Underwood”), Charlie Bushnell (“Luke Castellan”), Dior Goodjohn (“Clarisse La Rue”).

During the chat, the trio talked the new season, the writing in the new season, their characters independent challenges this season, and so much more. Check out what they had to say below.

On how exciting or challenging it was to step into this season where their characters are much more independent, driven, and dangerous in their own right:

Goodjohn: “Mm-hm. It was quite exciting.”

Bushnell: “It was a bit of both, I would say.”

Goodjohn: “Challenging in a very, like, healthy way. Like, I felt like I was being healthily pushed as an actor for this season, for sure.

Simhadri: “I feel like I have to catch up to Grover in a lot of ways. I think this season really made me realize that.”

Goodjohn: “I kind of feel the same way about Clarisse. It’s like finally catching up to where she always has existed mentally.”

On the writing this season:

Bushnell: “The writing this season and the writers gave us so much to play with.”

Goodjohn: “They stepped up. They gave us so much to work with.”

Simhadri: “And they write around the way that we talk.”

Goodjohn:” It was very detailed and very tailored to us without stripping any of the essence of the character. They did a really amazing job this season.”

Bushnell on how he approached Luke differently this season:

Bushnell: “To be honest, Season 2, I had to really protect my energy when I was on set. I feel like Season 1, the me, and Luke’s vibes…”

Goodjohn: “Very similar.”

Bushnell: “They’re very similar, very similar. Like, me and Walker [Scobell] would just be goofing off up until they said action, and it was fine and we could just get right into it. But Season 2, I feel like his energy is just so much more intense than mine normally is. So, I usually would put my Airpods in and walk around listening to music and just…”

Goodjohn: “Specifically play Cardi and Swan Lake.”

Bushnell: “As well as other classical other things, but I needed a minute before we started rolling to get into it. Obviously, just referencing the book, I think was a big thing for me as well, just going back and reading Sea of Monsters, like, two or three times before we started filming ’cause Sea of Monsters book Luke is so much different than, The Lightning Thief.

It was so exciting and definitely a challenge cause I’d never really played a character yet with that intensity. But it was a lot of fun.”

Goodjohn on bringing Clarissa’s tough exterior and hidden vulnerability to life.”

Dior Goodjohn: “I think the biggest challenge in that was having to be very honest with myself and where I was at in my life, and realizing that I am going through the same experience that Clarisse is going through in the story and not being afraid to put that on display and put that on camera. I feel like a really fun part and big part for me about being an actor is the fact that you get to shed yourself completely and escape into a completely different world and be an entirely different person. But when it came to Clarisse’s story this year, it was hitting very close to home in a lot of aspects. And don’t get me wrong, I have an amazing life, I have an amazing childhood. But there definitely were some aspects of it and in my current- well past tense current, that was happening while we were filming the show that was very eerily similar.

It was a very therapeutic process having to deal with what was at hand for myself and kind of alchemize that and channel it into Clarisse. Of course there were big acting asks, I’ve never been that vulnerable emotionally onscreen before. I’ve never been that vulnerable emotionally onscreen before, so there were big asks for acting, but really, it was more of a self-sacrifice thing that was going on. And Aryan, you actually helped me get through that. And it was a very, very beautiful experience. It’s a core memory. It’ll be in my life forever. Like, this year and this season changed my life before it’s even come out.”

Simhadri: “I did not help at all …”

Goodjohn: “Really, he was just saying 6-7 at me every time. He was like, Bro, why are you- don’t do that? You are getting emotional, don’t do that.’”

Bushnell: “That wasn’t even around until I created it.”

Simhadri: “It wasn’t even- until you created it and put me on it.”

Bushnell: “At Dior’s birthday party.”

Goodjohn: “Yes, he invented 6-7. It’s literally on film. We can roll the clip somewhere.”

Charlie Bushnell: We have it- we have proof. We have proof.”

 

On which scene from the book involving their character were they best prepared to handle:

Simhadri: “I think kind of every scene was like that. It’s one of the things when you’re up there for that month of prep that we get, which is such a godsend and I’m so glad we get to do.”

Goodjohn: “It’s amazing, the fact that we have that, it’s a blessing.”

Simhadri: “You get there and you start all this prep, and you do all this deep dive, like, research on your character and you run these lines, like, millions of times and millions of different ways. You feel ready and it’s weird to think about. Like when you go home, you’re doing all that prep just so you can get there and not think. Like, the second you start to think as an actor is like when you…”

Goodjohn: That’s when it takes you. That’s when you’re acting. You’re not living it.”

Simhadri: “Exactly. I think when it comes to scenes from the book personally, I was really excited to do any of the wedding dress stuff. I think I can handle that easy—I’d been watching a ton of, like, Runaway Bride.”

Goodjohn: “The way his little step in the heel was phenomenal. How he walked, it was perfect.”

Bushnell: “He looked right at home. It was beautiful.”

Goodjohn: “I’ve never seen you feel more like yourself.”

Simhadri: “That’s beautiful.”

Bushnell: “I think all the fights with Percy; I was looking forward to the action stuff. It was- funny story, we had a few weeks of very intense fighting action sequences and then ultimately there were a few nicks here and there, me and Walker made some contact sometimes on action. The one time I actually injured myself in Season 2 was when I was putting on a jacket in the scene. ’Cause okay, they wanted me to do it over the head like 20 times. I remember on one of the takes, I just boom.”

 

Simhardi on how Grover’s arch is inspired by Penelope’s arch from The Odyssey and if he thinks Percy and Annabeth are Grover’s Odysseus?

“Simhadri: “They absolutely are his Odysseus. One of the things I was really excited about to get to do this season is Penelope’s story is something that I feel like not a lot of people talk about, not enough, at least. And it’s an incredible example of  however many years ago The Odyssey was written, it’s this incredible example of this woman who is not really beholden to do anything that anybody wants her to do, and instead she is holding her own on this land that is her own. She’s literally just making all these guys go through all these  dumb tests just so she can go back to her room and  tear up her wedding dress. I think that informed a lot of my performance—I hope it did. It’s funny, cause I don’t even think Grover is as strong as Penelope is, from my very surface-level knowledge of The Odyssey.  I do absolutely think I was waiting for my- my Odysseus in Percy and Annabeth.  But, I think in the book, in the original Odyssey, Penelope is holding her own just fine.”

On which monster they would choose to face, a Scylla or a Charybdis:

Goodjohn: “Scylla for sure. Not Charybdis. I think you can really think your way around Scylla, whereas Charybdis, that’s just brute force and you are not winning.”

Bushnell: “Scylla.”

Bushnell on what he wants audiences to understand about Luke this season:

Bushnell: “What I love about what the show has done is obviously the books are all Percy’s POV. So, we kind of only get Percy’s interpretation of these characters, and I feel like the way Percy views Luke in the show is the exact same way we kind of know Luke in the book.

But it’s so much deeper than that, there’s so many more layers to that, and you know, we really get to see the revolutionary version of Luke in this season, and it becomes very clear that he’s doing this for them. He’s fighting for the people, essentially, against the system and he’s trying to create this better world, and he just truly believes that he’s in the right, you know. This is what he has to do.”

Simhadri: “I think it’s like- just because we are a show, we can explore the things Luke is doing.”

Bushnell: “Exactly. We dive much deeper, the show expands every character’s story and just dives deeper into everyone, and we just get deeper into the reasons why Luke does what he does.”

Goodjohn: Mm-hm.

On if they could play another character on the show, who would it be:

Simhadri: “I think I would play Luke. It seems like a really fun character. Just to be able to mess around with.”

Goodjohn: “I was thinking that during this interview, actually, Luke is like an actor’s dream to play. ’Cause you’re not stagnant in one thing for too long. You’re constantly challenging yourself. It’s like a, like, the best in terms of your, like, cardiovascular health as an actor.”

Bushnell: “No, I feel like I’ve played, like, four different characters already on this show. Like Season 1 and then Season 2 Luke and then Flashback Luke and then even Season 3 Luke.”

Simhadri: “Yeah, different character.”

Bushnell: “I’m not gonna say too much, but it’s still kind of different.”

Goodjohn: “They’re all different. Like, you’re always getting a little different flavor—flavor of the week.”

Bushnell: Exactly. But I think for me, I said this at Comic-Con. Grover. ’Cause I already have the…”

Simhadri: “You already got the walk down.”

Bushnell: “I already got the walk down a little bit.”

*This interview has been edited for clarity and length.