'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' cast: Meet the gods, demigods and monsters

More than 18 years after the world first met Percy Jackson, his story is headed to the TV screen.

"Percy Jackson and the Olympians," based on the five-book middle-grade series by Rick Riordan, premieres on Disney+ Dec. 20, kicking off an eight-episode adaptation that has the original author at its helm.

Based on the events of the first book in the series, "The Lightning Thief," the show follows a 12-year-old kid named Percy who learns he's the son of a Greek deity, making him a demigod. At Camp Half-Blood, he befriends a fellow demigod, Annabeth, and a satyr named Grover.

When Zeus' lightning bolt goes missing, Percy becomes Suspect No. 1, and the trio goes on a nation-wide adventure to find it and save his reputation.

Like their characters, the three main actors are all under 18. And similar to the shenanigans Percy (Walker Scobell), Annabeth (Leah Jeffries) and Grover (Aryan Simhadri), find themselves in, filming the show led to plenty of hilarious memories, they told TODAY.com at a red carpet for the show.

"I love them both," Scobell told TODAY.com of his castmates. "I feel like we all have a similar chemistry as Percy, Annabeth and Grover do."

During filming, he recalled shooting a scene set in a train — or trying to.

"I don't know what it was, but it was so hot in there, and there was just like weird lighting. And everything kind of started to be funny," he said. "It was impossible to film anything."

Showrunner Dan Shotz said the kids "had so much fun" throughout filming. He remembered leaving set one day and stumbling upon a "giant water gun battle."

"They just took us all down, all three of them, and it was quite overwhelming and awesome," Shotz said.

Riordan said he knew they had chosen the right crew when he stumbled upon Scobell and Simhadri dancing together after the first day of filming.

"They were like ballroom dancing," he said. "They were so excited, right there in the parking lot — it was such a joy to see."

Here's everything to know about the cast of "Percy Jackson & the Olympians."

Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson

Walker Scobell, who previously starred in "The Adam Project" as Ryan Reynold's younger self, stars as the 2023 show's titular character.

Before casting Scobell, the show’s director James Bobin says the crew looked at "hundreds of people."

"We saw Walker pretty early," Bobin says. "And then we met him, and when you meet someone, you kind of have a real sense of it. Even before they read the lines — he just felt like the guy I read about in the books."

Scobell follows in the footsteps of Logan Lerman, who played Percy Jackson in two film adaptations of the series subtitled "The Lightning Thief" in 2010 and "The Sea of Monsters" in 2013. (The film series did not continue, and Riordan has publicly come out against the adaptation, citing its deviation from the source material and his lack of involvement in the project.)

Before the show premiered, Lerman sent a message to Scobell, which was shared at a recent live taping of the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast.

“The show looks amazing,” Lerman told the cast. "I can’t wait to see you all crush it in your roles. You’re making a lot of people happy bringing these characters to life. I can’t imagine a better fit for Percy Jackson than Walker. You were so brilliant in ‘The Adam Project.’ I hope you like eating blue food the next few years. I think you have a hit show on your hands.”

A younger version of Percy Jackson is played by Azriel Dalman.

Leah Jeffries as Annabeth Chase

Before "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," Leah Jeffries appeared in a handful of episodes of "Empire" as well as a supporting role in the 2022 romantic comedy "Something from Tiffany's."

Jeffries' character, Annabeth, is a daughter of Athena, the Greek god of wisdom. She's known for intelligence and battle strategy, a Yankees baseball cap that makes her invisible and her coining of the infamous nickname for the series' son-of-Poseidon titular character: "Seaweed Brain."

Annabeth is a main character of the original "Percy Jackson" series as well as its spinoff, "The Heroes of Olympus."

Scobell said he and Jeffries hit it off right away.

"She acts just like Annabeth, and I thought that was really great," he said.

Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood

Aryan Simhadri is best known for his role in the Disney+ remake of "Cheaper by the Dozen" starring Zach Braff and Gabrielle Union.

His character, Grover Underwood, is a satyr and Percy's protector, meaning he's responsible for ensuring he arrives safely at Camp Half-Blood. He also quickly becomes Percy's best friend.

Simhadri says his favorite memory occurred when the trio was filming late at night at a diner. In between takes, the kids actually put in an order — specifically for eight hot chocolates.

“(The guy at the diner) just looked at us really sad, and we immediately regretted our decision, but he made them anyway,” Simhadri says.

Virginia Kull as Sally Jackson

Kull, known for "Big Little Lies" and "Super Pumped," appears in "Percy Jackson" as Sally, Percy's beloved mother, who raised her son on her own after a romantic tryst with the Greek god Poseidon.

In the original books, there's nothing Sally wouldn't do for her son, including marry a repugnant man for their protection.

Kull’s favorite on-set memory was also her “most traumatic.” Along with Scobell and Simhadri, Kull spent many days shooting a scene set in a car, which involved “spinning around,” “lots of rain” and “lots of Dramamine.”

“Meanwhile, Walker and Aryan were just back there having the time of their lives,” she said. “It was so silly and so fun and so cool, and also like, vomit-inducing.”

Riordan previously told TODAY.com the show will go deeper into how Sally's relationship with Poseidon came to be.

"It’s been really fun to go back and tell the story faithfully, but with additional nuance and additional depth," Riordan said. "For instance, how did Sally and Poseidon interact with one another when Percy was young? What was that like? And you get a glimpse of that in the series."

Charlie Bushnell as Luke Castellan

Bushnell’s previous Disney+ credit includes a starring role on "Diary of a Future President" with Gina Rodriguez.

He stars in “Percy Jackson” as Luke, a son of Hermes and one of the older kids at Camp Half-Blood. He quickly becomes a mentor figure to Percy.

Like the character of Sally, the TV adaptation goes deeper in Luke's backstory compared to the book, with Riordan teasing that the history between Grover, Annabeth and Luke will be brought to the forefront.

Bushnell said he and Scobell became fast friends — despite an awkward introduction.

“As soon as I arrived on set from the airport, we kind of walked past each other from a distance, and I went for like a fist bump, and he went for a high five,” Bushnell said. “And then he was in a rush to get somewhere so we didn’t really get a chance to officially meet.”

“Then 30 minutes later, there was a knock on my trailer door, it was just Walker,” Bushnell continued. “He didn’t even say anything. He was just holding up a pack of Mentos, and he was just offering me one. Right then and there I was like, ‘We’re going to get along.’”

Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse La Rue

Clarisse La Rue is brought to life by Dior Goodjohn, who previously appeared in "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"

Clarisse is a daughter of Ares, the god of war, and quickly becomes one of Percy's main antagonists at camp.

In addition to acting, Goodjohn is also an aspiring singer. If she was a demigod like her character, she told TODAY.com she'd consider herself to be a daughter of Apollo.

Lance Reddick as Zeus

Reddick, who notably starred in "The Wire," died of natural causes in March at age 60. One of Reddick’s posthumous credits include his role in “Percy Jackson” as Zeus, the king of the Greek gods.

Riordan shared a tribute to Reddick in the wake of his death, writing, “I feel so fortunate that our paths crossed, if only briefly.”

"It will be difficult working on those scenes in which Lance appears — not just because we mourn him, but because they will remind us of how much brilliance we have lost. At least it’s comforting to know that we’ll be able to share that performance with Lance’s millions of fans, and we will get to see his artistry in action one more time," Riordan said on his website.

Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes

Hermes, the Greek god of trade, also known as the messenger god, is played by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Miranda, no stranger to adapting books to other formats, is best known as the creator and original star of the hit Broadway musical "Hamilton."

Fittingly, Scobell told The Daily Beast that on set, Miranda would "randomly break out into song."

Glynn Turman as Chiron/Mr. Brunner

Glynn Turman, who starred in "The Wire" and more recently the movie adaptation of "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," appears in "Percy Jackson" as Chiron, a legendary centaur who mentored heroes like Achilles and Jason, leader of the Argonauts.

In this modern adaptation of mythology, Chiron helps hone the skills of future heroes as one of the leaders of Camp Half-Blood, along with an Earth-bound Dionysus, the god of wine, played by Jason Mantzoukas.

Before Percy learns of his demigod status, Turman poses as his Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner, disguising his hooves with a wheelchair.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com