PERCY JACKSON’S ARYAN SIMHADRI ON COMMUNITY AND CAMARADERIE

BY: CLARA SEELY-KATZ

PHOTOGRAPHER: DYLAN PERLOT, FASHION DIRECTOR: ANDREW PHILIP NGUYEN, CREATIVE DIRECTOR: DINA VIBES, GROOMING: AIKA FLORES @ EXCLUSIVE ARTISTS

Aryan Simhadri has recently been thrust into the spotlight due to his major role in the new Disney+ adaptation of the Percy Jackson novels, and although this may be the first you hear of him, it certainly will not be the last. Even though he is only seventeen, Simhadri has been around for a while now, having spent much of his childhood commuting to and from LA for auditions and shoots.

In the Percy Jackson series, Simhadri plays the affable and placating Grover, and just as Grover has been a fan favorite of the beloved children’s book series, Simhadri’s portrayal of the character has been met with the same amount of love. In fact, he has taken on the role of Grover so well that it's hard to believe that the two aren’t one and the same, at least in character (if not in hooves).

Read on to learn more about Simhadri, who he thinks his Greek-God parent would be, how he has balanced high school with starring in a television series, and what he hopes to accomplish in the future.

I read in your Teen Vogue interview that you grew up in Irvine, live there, and commute for work. Do you feel like you missed out on certain aspects of childhood because of acting/commuting?

I did grow up in Irvine! I love it here, but since it's so far from LA, we had to miss some stuff anytime I had to go for an audition or a class. While it was tough at times to miss a birthday party or a field trip just to drive up to Los Angeles for a two-minute audition, there’s nothing I’d rather be doing, so it was worth it. My parents and I joke that I've spent half my life in LA and the other half in the car. Since I kind of associate LA with work, who I am in LA does feel slightly different from who I am in Irvine unless I'm visiting friends.

How do you navigate balancing school and being an actor? I just graduated from college, and I know you must be applying this year; how are you handling all that in addition to a career?

Congratulations on graduating! I am applying this year, and it's kind of stressful. This semester, I had the SATs, and for whatever reason, I decided to take two APs, which is something I've never done before. Those with the press tour, which was way more than I expected it to be, kind of led to me submitting all of my work way past the deadline. Thankfully, my teachers were willing to accept all of my late work, but this semester was definitely one of the most stressful few months of my life. The press tour was really fun, though.

There has been a strong consensus online that your portrayal of Grover in the new Percy Jackson series is one of the best performances of the show. You play Grover so naturally. Do you think that you share any similarities with your character counterpart?

I do owe a lot of my performance to our acting coach, Andrew Mcilroy, who doesn’t get nearly enough credit. He really helped ground all of our performances. As for the similarities I share with Grover, I read the books at such a young age that all of the characters left a big impression on me. I think my humor is very similar to Percy’s, and I really admire Annabeth’s perseverance and intelligence. I think Grover left the biggest impression on me growing up, though. He’s the perfect friend, and I always wanted to be like him because of how kind and caring he was. I’m not arrogant enough to say that I’m that empathetic, but I absolutely try to be as similar to him as I can.

If you were a half-blood, who would be your Greek godparent and why?

Apollo? He's kind of a jack-of-all-trades, and I always imagined that actors would naturally be children of Apollo or a muse. Either that or Hephaestus because my dad is incredible when it comes to engineering and carpentry.

Do you feel as though you have found a sense of community through working on projects such as “Cheaper by the Dozen” and “Percy Jackson”?

Absolutely! Since I was always bouncing between Los Angeles and Irvine, I only have a few really close friends at home. Most of my friends are the people I’ve met acting, which is definitely what builds that sense of community for all actors.

From working with some truly formidable established actors, what have you learned? Do you feel as though your acting style has changed as you’ve gotten older and been around different actors?

Definitely, even in Percy Jackson alone, I've learned so much from Virginia, Jason Mantzoukas, Adam Copeland, and everyone else who was on the show. Even Walker and Leah, who are established actors in their own right, are people I’ve learned a lot from. All of the adult guest stars we've had on the show have been so ridiculously talented, so anytime I get to do a scene with them, it just makes me want to get better and better so I can match their level. It's really an incredible experience getting to act with people like that.

**LEFT:** Hoodie: XIVI, Suit & Boots: ASOS **RIGHT:** Button Up: DUSHYANT LA, Shirt: KSUBI, Boots: DR. MARTENS, Jewelry: LOUPN

If you could go back in time, would you still choose to pursue acting from such a young age?

Yeah, in a heartbeat. There’s really nothing else I can imagine myself doing as a career and enjoying this much. I’m glad that I’m one of the very lucky few who are fortunate enough to know what they want to do for the rest of their lives.

In your free time, what do you enjoy doing to decompress from the stressors of long shooting/press days?

When we were up filming in Vancouver, I mostly hung out with the rest of the cast or did school. Since I wasn't on summer break during shooting, most of my time away from school was on set. If I was on break, though, I would go to the gym or play video games whenever I was free.

What is your least favorite part about doing press tours for projects? What is your favorite part?

There's nothing that really bothers me on press tours. I guess the only thing I can think of is answering the same question for everyone, but I do really like talking about the show, and if I'm doing an interview with Walker and Leah, it's even less of a problem. My favorite part is seeing who has the best questions or the most interesting "game" segments for the interview. My favorite ones are when the interviewer clearly knows a lot about Percy Jackson or is a fan of the books.

Button Up: DUSHYANT LA, Shirt: KSUBI, Boots: DR. MARTENS, Jewelry: LOUPN

What other aspects, if any, of the film/TV industry interest you? Have you ever wanted to try writing, directing, editing, etc.?

I’d love to be a camera operator. I’ve always been interested in directing, but I’d definitely love to have more experience under my belt before I even think about it. Me and Walker talk a lot about producing one of the episodes of the later seasons, which I think would be cool.

Do you feel a responsibility to act or portray yourself a certain way now that you have an audience, especially on social media?

Not really? The only thing that I do differently now is post more on social media, which is something that I didn't really do beforehand. Not that I post a lot or anything like that, but between posting once a month to not at all, I definitely feel like it’s a significant enough change. I always felt like if I started to change who I am in order to make people happy, I’d never stop, so I try to do whatever I want that I feel is true to myself and I enjoy.

What is your least favorite aspect of the filming process and why?

Having to stop filming to do school. Now that I'm graduating, I hear a lot of "Oh, you better get ready to work all day," but that's what I'm here to do. Having to stop before we get a take just right in order to go do school for 20 minutes can get kind of jarring sometimes, and it’s hard getting back into the headspace once you’re there on set. I’m looking forward to being able to work longer so that we can get whatever we need just right.

How has growing up in front of a camera affected the way you see yourself/life in general (if at all)?

The one thing I do regret about acting from such a young age is that I can’t really enjoy shows or movies from the perspective of the audience anymore. It’s not a bad thing, but if the film isn’t drawing me in, I tend to start thinking about the way the movie was made as an actor as opposed to just enjoying the good and bad of the film as an audience member. Even if the story is awful, if the acting is great, I tend to feel more positively about the film instead of enjoying it objectively, if that makes any sense.

If you could work with any actor or director in the whole industry, who would it be and why?

Oooh, great question. I'm not going to say I want to work with Meryl Streep because that's too easy of an answer, but Keanu Reeves is someone I really look up to as both a person and as an actor, and I'd love to work with him. Steven Yeun is also one of my favorite actors of all time, and definitely an inspiration and someone I look up to very much. As for directors, most of my favorite comedies are directed by Adam McKay, so I’d love to work with him.

From your recent press events, it is obvious that you know how to put together fits. Do you work with a stylist, or do you just have a passion for fashion? Who do you draw inspiration from when it comes to style?

I did work with an amazing stylist for the press tour, and this was my first time working with one. I never had a huge interest in fashion, but she definitely helped a lot when it came to experimenting with jewelry, shoes, coats and a lot of incredible clothing. I always value comfort over style, so the fact that she really seamlessly blended the two was perfect. As for inspiration, Andrew Garfield always looks great on red carpets, so that’s something I wanted to emulate.

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

Oh man, I guess Calvin and Hobbes? Other than Percy Jackson, I grew up on Calvin and Hobbes, and I was a huge fan of the comics when I was a kid. I definitely think both Percy Jackson and Calvin and Hobbes contributed to the kind of books I read and the media I consume today.