‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Casts Thaila Role
Season two of Percy Jackson and the Olympians has cast another important role.
Tamara Smart (Netflix’s Resident Evil) is joining the series based on author Rick Riordan’s Greek mythology-laden novels as Thalia Grace, the demigod daughter of Zeus. She’ll recur in season two, which is in production and slated for a 2025 premiere.
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Smart is the latest addition to the season two cast. Daniel Diemer, who plays Tyson the cyclops, will be a series regular alongside Walker Scobell (Percy), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth), Aryan Simhadri (Grover), Charlie Bushnell (Luke) and Dior Goodjohn (Clarisse). Sandra Bernhard, Kristen Schaal and Margaret Cho will have guest roles as the Gray Sisters.
In Riordan’s novels, Thalia is a friend of Annabeth and Luke who sacrifices herself so they can reach Camp Half-Blood safely. Zeus intervenes to stop Thalia from dying, turning her into a tree that anchors the protective veil around the camp. She makes her first appearance (in human form) in the second book, The Sea of Monsters, which is the source material for season two.
“Thalia Grace is one of the most important characters in the Percy Jackson universe, so the right casting was critical,” said Riordan, who’s an executive producer of the series. “Thalia is a powerful warrior, a fiercely loyal friend, and a demigod rebel with a very ‘punk’/‘rage-against-the-machine’ sensibility. As soon as we saw Tamara Smart play this role, we knew we had found our daughter of Zeus. She was, no pun intended, electric.”
Smart also shares a connection to the late Lance Reddick, who played Zeus in season one of Percy Jackson and the Olympians; the two worked together on Resident Evil.
“I’m so grateful and excited to be joining the cast of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It’s so close to my heart,” Smart said in a statement. “Lance Reddick and I always spoke about working together again, so it’s that much more special and important to me to play his daughter once more as Thalia, and to keep his memory alive. I feel his presence all around me and strive to make him proud on this exciting journey.”
Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg created Percy Jackson and the Olympians. They’re executive producing season two with Dan Shotz, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, Albert Kim, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.
In addition to Resident Evil, Smart’s credits include Artemis Fowl and Disney’s The Worst Witch. She is repped by Gersh, ColorCreative, 42 in the U.K. and Shelby Weiser.
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