Universal is officially in the live-action remake game with their release of How to Train Your Dragon. Their live-action version of the 2010 franchise-launching animated hit is less a reimagining and more a re-creation, according to critics and fans who have seen it. The movie even features the same director as the animated version (Dean DeBlois), the same composer (John Powell), and a returning key cast member in Gerard Butler, who voiced Stoick the Vast in the original.

The newcomers to How to Train Your Dragon, though, are its young leads Mason Thames and Nico Parker. ScreenRant’s How to Train Your Dragon review stated that Thames “knocked it out of the park” with his performance of the role originally voiced by Jay Baruchel, and Parker has garnered a fair share of praise for her performance as Astrid. Mason Thames is otherwise known for his work on The Black Phone, and Parker for The Last of Us season one.

ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan interviewed Mason Thames and Nico Parker about their work on the How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake (which is enjoying a coveted fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes). They discussed stepping into the rich world of the franchise and shared which moments from the animated movie they were most excited to bring to life. Plus, they revealed the challenges of filming a CG-heavy film.

How Mason Thames & Nico Parker Brought Fan-Favorite Moments To Live-Action

The How to Train Your Dragon franchise was full of memorable moments and unforgettable lines, to the point where Thames and Parker looked forward to performing their own takes on some of them. “One scene I was really looking forward to–at least one line,” Mason Thames said, “was when we’re on the cliff and [Astrid says,] ‘What are you going to do about it?’ and then it was ‘I don’t know, something stupid.’”

The actor was also excited to perform one scene with his on-screen father played by Gerard Butler: “Then, [it was[ probably when Stoick comes up to me after he saves me and Toothless out of the water and we have that interaction. He’s like, ‘I’m proud to call you a son,’ and I was like, ‘And that’s all I need.’ That was fun. That was cool.”

“I think all of it was very exciting and daunting at the same time,” Nico Parker said. “[I] couldn’t even conceptualize how they were going to film … the whole romantic flight sequence,” she added, “because it starts off so crazy.” “When we watched it in the [animated one], I remember me and Mason both being like, ‘I don’t know how…’ just because it’s so mad.”

“We never knew how it was going to turn out,” Thames added, “and I’m so happy that everything looks so great.”

On-Set Toothless Was Less Than Inspiring

The Lovable Dragon Was “A Foam Head With ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Green Eyes”

Even from early trailers, How to Train Your Dragon was praised for how it realized the look of Toothless, the lovable dragon from the animated films. But that wasn’t nearly the case during filming. “Toothless was a foam head with ᴅᴇᴀᴅ green eyes,” Thames shared, making it easy to imagine the difficulty that must have gone into turning in a believable performance alongside such a co-star. But he wasn’t alone, he said: “Luckily, we had an amazing puppeteering team who really brought him to life, and it was a lot easier.”

“I didn’t know if I was going to be working with a tennis ball or just a picture of Toothless suspended up in the air,” Thames continued, saying, “but with them and the amazing crew, it made it really easy to have something to touch and work with. I could even improv with Toothless, which made it in the film a couple of times.”

Check out our other interviews with the cast and director of How to Train Your Dragon.

• Gerard Butler
• Dean DeBlois (director)
• Nick Frost