Hollywood actor logan lerman, known for playing the title role in the fantasy-adventure Percy Jackson films, talks about his struggle, bad choices he made and how a television show put him on the right track
He began his career on the silver screen alongside big names like Mel Gibson, Jim Carrey, Russel Crowe, Drew Barrrymore and Ashton Kucher. But the 21-year-old logan lerman is a household name, now that people know him by his onscreen name, Percy Jackson. In the film adaptations of the Rick Riordan book Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The lightening Thief and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, logan plays the role of teenage Percy, who discovers that he is son to Poseidon, Greek God of the Sea. Excerpts from an interview:
Where do we find Percy at the beginning of Sea of MonstersIJ
Well, the first film ended on an heroic note for Percy. In the beginning of this new film, he’s not the hero anymore. He’s not the big guy on campus — that’s actually Clarisse (played by leven Rambin). She’s taken the number one role in the camp and is a bit of a bully. She’s tough, very competitive and stomps on Percy a lot, who is a bit insecure and down on himself, and accepting an average demigod life. To top it all, he finds out that he has a half-brother, who is a cyclops, and is reluctant to let him into his life.
Were you excited to come backIJ
Yes, very much. I have a lot of fun with these films and, ever since the first one, I meet a lot of kids who like this movie and it brings a lot of smiles to their faces and it's a nice feeling.
What attracted you to the films in the first placeIJ
Honestly it was the director Chris Columbus who really attracted me to the first project. I thought he was a great filmmaker and I would put my career in his hands, although I didn’t have much of a career before that movie. I thought, I would invest in him. I really like his work, and that was one of the main deciding factors of that film and I really appreciate it. I’m glad that he chose me.
How does Thor Freudenthal, who directed this film, differ to ChrisIJ
The movies are completely different. I really enjoyed Thor’s vision and liked his movies. They’re fun and have a very specific tone. He has a very good understanding of his tone and what he likes and everything. So I had an idea of the kind of movie that he wanted to make and I approached it in a way as if catering to his vision. It’s definitely lighter than the first one, it’s more comedic. He had mentioned, “I like the first one, but this is what I want to do.” And that was our first conversation. When we started shooting it was a lot of fun and the experience was great because we were really spontaneous and had fun coming up with new ideas that we could implement.
How did it feel reconnecting with Alexandra Daddario and Brandon T JacksonIJ
Everybody in the cast, Jake Abel and everyone, we’ve all remained really close friends. It was kind of funny because, over the years, since the first movie came out we have remained friends. It wasn’t like we needed to reconnect because we were connected beforehand.
Do you enjoy acting in front of the green screenIJ
I love it. My imagination allows me to get into something even if it is a tracking maker. There are a lot of questions beforehand, trying to wrap your mind around what’s going on, so I see conceptual art and related stuff. I wrap my mind around what they want to do. At the end, I have a lot of freedom to give options and my options dictate what can be done in post-production. So it’s a lot of fun.
How different is Percy Jackson from The Perks of Being a WallflowerIJ
It’s entirely different because they belong to different genres. The main challenge of Percy Jackson was the physical work, whereas in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, there was no physical strain. It’s all in the mapping out of intentions and storylines. I enjoy it and I think it’s fun. It’s nice to have a combination of the two. I like a lot of different genres of cinema and am attracted to darker material right now. I’m always trying to find something different and want to stay away from repeating anything that I have already done.
Was acting always on your agendaIJ
I started acting when I was really young. I don’t even remember why I started so young. Everybody in lA gets the chance if they want. To be honest, it’s one of those things you can stand in the line for hours and yet it seems easy. I remember doing it with my siblings when I was a kid. I remember auditioning with my brother for Malcolm In the Middle. And through that I ended up doing a couple of films. I had a bad experience that made me quit but I wasn’t away for long.
I got back into it because I really like movies and I really wanted to learn about filmmaking and what it’s like being on a set. I ended up getting on a television show, Jack & Bobby, which was a great learning experience. That was kind of the start of my film school. So it all started on a television show for me.
Would you ever want to do something else besides actingIJ
I really like movies. It’d be nice to go behind the camera someday. Acting has treated me very well and I really like it. If I ever get the opportunity to make a transition into filmmaking, it would be great. I’d love to be in a position where I can have the resources to do things in the right way. So hopefully if I go on making some right decisions in acting, I’ll be able to transition into filmmaking as well.
Do you watch yourself on screenIJ
Depends on the movie. I typically don’t like to, especially with an audience. But the last film I did was with Russell Crowe, while The Perks of Being a Wallflower was releasing and I was telling him I didn’t want to watch it. He said, “You didn’t watch the movieIJ So how are you supposed to get betterIJ How are you supposed to learn if you don’t watch your filmIJ You have to watch your work. Otherwise you’re not going to get better at all.” I realised that I needed to take his advice because he is one of the best. And then I watched it and I was actually satisfied with it, but there were some parts I thought I could have done differently.
It must be fun to watch yourself be an action hero in Percy Jackson.
Exactly! That’s much easier to watch because it’s fun to see how they put all the effects together and make you look good. And now I feel I can watch it to see how to improve my performance.
Are you always looking for the next challengeIJ
Yes. I definitely want to challenge myself with characters that are difficult. Characters that I read which leaves me clueless in the beginning ad leaves me wondering, “I don’t know what I’m going to do with this.” That stress is kind of a fuel for the fire. But I really look at the filmmaker. ‘Can I trust youIJ Are you going to make a film that I likeIJ’ is what I look for. Because it’s their movie and I’m only catering to their vision. What they ask for, I’m going to try to give them. So I really do try to look at the filmmaker more than anything.
(The movie premieres on October 3 on Star Movies)