‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ interview: Aryan Simhadri on decoding Grover’s growth and the quest for Pan

Grover Underwood, the satyr and titular demigod Percy Jackson’s (played by Walker Scobell) champion friend, is connected a quest to find the Greek deity of the chaotic Pan, successful Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2. Based connected the 2nd publication successful Rick Riordan’s phantasy bid titled, The Sea of Monsters, the sophomore outing successful Disney’s adaptation finds Grover imprisoned by the Odyssean monster Polyphemus, wearing a wedding formal to fool the cyclops. It is simply a instrumentality favourite publication moment.

“It was incredible,” says Aryan Simhadri talking implicit a video telephone from Los Angeles. “Everywhere I go, astatine each instrumentality event, radical are perpetually asking maine astir the wedding dress. And I legally americium not allowed to say!” We saw a small spot of it successful the premiere and determination is much to come.

Eight fittings

“Getting to enactment it unneurotic was a beauteous process,” says Aryan. “It took 8 fittings. It started disconnected arsenic a clump of antithetic layers that were sewn together, and past we ruined it. We dragged it done the mud. My humor is virtually connected the dress. I had a nosebleed connected set, and I bled onto the dress, and they kept it successful due to the fact that it fit. Bringing specified an iconic publication infinitesimal to beingness was awesome. It is what I was looking guardant to since I signed connected for the show.”

“Grover realising helium has to find Pan himself is simply a large portion of Season 2,” helium says. “Grover can’t speech astir it with Percy and Annabeth. I’m definite helium could, but they wouldn’t needfully recognize however important it is for him.”

Breaking it down

To hole for thing similar that, Aryan says, “You person to spell implicit it a ton of times. It’s each we did successful prep. We sat down and talked astir the script. Some of the things that came up for investigation erstwhile we broke it down were: what is it similar for Grover to get person to Pan but not really find him? What does the quest for Pan mean? What is Pan? I’m truthful fortunate to person our unthinkable acting coach, Andrew McElroy. It was a good, aggravated process.”

Physically, the astir challenging country for Aryan was erstwhile helium is being dragged crossed the sand. “That’s not ever fun. It was amusive for me, but erstwhile you support uncovering soil successful your pants for the adjacent fewer weeks, that’s erstwhile it doesn’t consciousness truthful bully , but successful the moment, it was great.”

Pretty gnarly

For the 19-year-old actor, the astir challenging country mentally was erstwhile Grover sees Polyphemus. “Seeing the bodies and skeletons of his household oregon relatives that person failed determination was beauteous gnarly, and thing that Grover doesn’t person clip to digest. It conscionable hits him successful the infinitesimal and helium doesn’t cognize what to bash with it.”

Grover’s reed tube infinitesimal was immense for Aryan. “It was thing that I talked to a batch of the writers about. I talked to Daphne Olive, who is portion of the unthinkable writers’ team, and she gave maine this thought that possibly it comes to him aft helium gets a searcher’s license, which wholly made consciousness to me. We wrote it into the publication that Grover finds the tube astatine a shrine to Pan connected the skeleton of a satyr who had passed.”

Final piece

It is simply a beauteous passing-of-the-torch infinitesimal for Grover, says Aryan. “He gets this weapon, the last portion of his kit. And erstwhile helium gets it, he’s complete. That’s Grover’s quality coming afloat circle. It was a immense infinitesimal for me. There is simply a small spot of Pan pipe-playing successful Season 2; there’s a batch much successful Season 3 and I’m getting beauteous bully astatine it, not to brag.”

Craft service, which helps with snack stations stocked with apples, croissants and vigor bars to assistance the formed get done the day, besides had a manus successful an impromptu performance 1 evening, says Aryan.

Bob Dylan time

“Chris, 1 of the guys astatine Crafty’s acceptable up a karaoke basal each Friday night, and we could travel implicit and petition songs. I wrapped aboriginal that day, and Charlie (Bushnell, who plays Luke, the lad of Hermes) besides happened to beryllium there. So Charlie and I sang Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe”. It’s 1 of my fondest memories.”

Talking of his go-to snack connected set, Aryan says, “It’s hard to find a bully snack, due to the fact that you don’t privation to devour thing that’s going to messiness up your quality to talk. I similar grapes. Oh and banana bread! It is the cleanable snack connected set. Banana breadstuff with thing blistery is simply a cleanable combination.”

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 streams connected JioHotstar with play occurrence drops till January 21, 2026