‘How to Train Your Dragon' Star Mason Thames Explains How an In-Flight Screening of ‘The Black Phone' Changed His Life

Yahoo

19 hours ago

In-flight entertainment has changed the course of Mason Thames' life.
How to Train Your Dragon director Dean DeBlois was already in the process of casting a live-action version of his animated franchise hero, Hiccup, and while he was en route to London-based auditions, he decided to pass the time on his transatlantic flight by watching a movie. He opted for Scott Derrickson's The Black Phone, starring the aforementioned Thames. The Canadian filmmaker was so impressed by the then-13-year-old's performance that he just had to get him on the 'long list' of 15-year-old Viking candidates.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
'How to Train Your Dragon' Star Nico Parker Reacts to Trolls About Her Casting: "I Can't Value Your Opinion on My Hair"
'How to Train Your Dragon' Review: DreamWorks Live-Action Remake Retains Charm but Plays It Safe
What Sold Gerard Butler on Reprising His Role in the Live-Action 'How to Train Your Dragon'
'Apparently, they had been through a bunch of Hiccups. So Dean told me he watched The Black Phone on a plane, and then he was like, 'Why is this kid not auditioning for Hiccup? Let's get him in the room,'' Thames tells The Hollywood Reporter in support of How to Train Your Dragon's June 13 theatrical release. 'It truly does feel like destiny in a way, and it's so crazy that a little coincidence like that has changed my life.'
Thames inherited the role that Jay Baruchel voiced in DeBlois' three animated films throughout the 2010s, and it couldn't have been a better fit for the Texas native. He still remembers his 7-year-old self's first glimpse of the Viking who would bridge generations' worth of conflict between Isle of Berk's Vikings and their neighboring dragons. That led to Halloween costumes and the like.
'I was like, 'I want to be that guy.' I related to Hiccup so much,' Thames says. 'God, I never thought that I'd be given the chance to step into his shoes and maybe affect kids the way Hiccup affected me [as a kid]. It's such an honor.'
As for Thames' other Universal franchise that led him to Dragon, Black Phone 2 just released its chilling first trailer. The story takes place four years after the events of Derrickson's The Black Phone, and despite ending the first chapter on a more confident note after defeating Ethan Hawke's serial killer, The Grabber, the reality (and surreality) of what Thames' Finney Blake survived isn't finished with him or his sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw).
'What [co-writers Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill] have done with the character of Finney is truly incredible,' Thames shares. 'In a lot of horror movies, a character's friends and family will die in a horrible way, and then in the next movie, they're off at college, living a happy, fun life. But the reality of going through something that traumatic is that it will affect you. You will probably not be the same, especially when it's a kid who's dealing with that.'
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Thames also discusses how his mom made a key recommendation during his performance of Hiccup's first dragon-flying scene.
***
Not many people can say they brought one of their favorite animated heroes to life. Has it sunk in yet?
Not really. It's still so surreal to me. I never thought I could be one of my childhood heroes and step into this world. I'm still so honored and privileged, and I thank Dean [DeBlois] every single day and every time I see him for giving me this opportunity.
At 7 years old, you remember saying to yourself that you want to be Hiccup?
I remember watching the trailer for the second movie [2014's How to Train Your Dragon 2] where Hiccup takes his helmet off, and he's older. I then watched the movies, of course, and I put myself in his shoes. I was like, 'I want to be that guy.' I related to Hiccup so much. God, I never thought that I'd be given the chance to step into his shoes and maybe affect kids the way Hiccup affected me [as a kid]. It's such an honor.
I do think it was predestined in a way based on a story that director Dean DeBlois told me. He was on his way to a Hiccup casting session in London, and he randomly watched e on the plane ride there, which got him thinking about you and how old you might've been at the time. Did he tell you this?
Yeah, apparently, they had been through a bunch of hiccups. So Dean told me he watched The Black Phone on a plane, and then he was like, 'Why is this kid not auditioning for Hiccup? Let's get him in the room.' It truly does feel like destiny in a way, and it's so crazy that a little coincidence like that has changed my life. I am so grateful.
I know it's hard to say for certain, but do you think you had an advantage during casting by having a hit movie for Universal already?
Yeah, maybe. I've met a lot of amazing execs from Universal. Overall, when you have a good time and you work with good people, you'll make those connections. [NBCUniversal Chairman] Donna Langley is so incredible, and I love her so much. I think she vouched for me a good bit.
During your casting video, you yelled, 'Mom, did you hear that?' Did she hear it? Did she catch on to the good news being shared?
(Laughs.) She did! She was all the way downstairs, and I didn't know if she was listening, so I just yelled out for her. Her reply was, 'Yeah, I did!' I could hear she was crying, and it really just got me. That was one of the most special moments of my life. A couple of days before, my dad went to Kroger and got me a little dragon balloon for good luck. So she brought that upstairs and handed it to me. It was such a special moment that I'll cherish forever, and now it's on the internet forever.
You were the last actor to read with Nico Parker. Did you feel a connection right away, or did you assume you were toast?
I didn't really know. To be honest, I kind of blacked out. I was so nervous. I remember meeting with Nico, and she, out of everybody, just really stood out. She was so incredible to me. She saw how nervous I was, and so she messed up a line on purpose to make me feel better. That immediately just relieved a little bit of stress, which was everything to me. And ever since then, Nico has kept it up. She's such a caring person, and getting to be her Hiccup is such an honor.
Had you already messed up a line of your own? Or did she just want to give you a second take of the scene?
God, if I had flubbed a line, I would've passed out and died from the nerves. Luckily, I did not, but she just saw how nervous I was before we went in and started reading. I do not remember this, but I was pacing back and forth in some room. So she just saw that and did it on purpose to make me feel better. She'd been there for hours and was tired already, but she wanted to make me feel better. So, thank you, Nico.
Between Nico Parker, Madeleine McGraw and Mckenna Grace, you've been spoiled with some great scene partners.
Oh, I know.
Does each one bring out a different side of you?
Yeah, each movie that I've done with Nico, Mckenna and Madeleine is such a different genre. How to Train Your Dragon is this fantasy world, and getting to do that with Nico is so special. Black Phone 2 with Maddy is such a dark story with such a dark undertone, and getting to do that with her was amazing. And getting to do the romance movie [Regretting You] with Mckenna, she's so wonderful. Doing that type of movie with somebody you don't really know could be very uncomfortable, but me and McKenna, we've always just had this connection. So that made it very easy.
Hiccup's hero's journey is very different from Finney's in . Finney had to slay the dragon, while Hiccup has to spare the dragon. But the characters definitely have some similarities when it comes to their single fathers who are both abusive in different ways. Did you find yourself comparing Hiccup and Finney at all?
Not really. Finney is a character who I couldn't relate with at all. He has a lot of problems and a very tough life. So my inspiration for Finney came from watching a lot of old films, like The 400 Blows. With Hiccup, I obviously had a pretty good blueprint in the original, but I needed to do my own thing. So I would watch stuff like Spider-Man, and I also took experiences from my own life and put them into Hiccup.
My guess would be the 'Test Drive' scene, but what scene were you most looking forward to recreating in live-action?
You guessed correctly! I had no idea how they would do 'Test Drive' in live-action, and even while filming it, I had no idea how it was going to turn out. But seeing it in theaters, God, it really blows my mind. They did such an incredible job, and I'm so fortunate to have been a part of it.
I heard they played John Powell's 'Test Drive' score on set. Did that do half the work for you?
A hundred percent. That was actually my mom's idea. I remember sitting there on the dragon, and we started going. It was basically just me [shifting my shoulders back and forth], which was a little strange. But then my mom was like, 'You should put on the music for him.' And they were like, 'OK!' So they put on the music, and it immediately felt different. I was really in the scene and using my imagination as we were going through those mountains. It was a lot of fun.
Dean did not tell me the part about it being your mom's idea, so I'm glad she's getting credit now.
She's probably smiling right now.
You had a puppet-like head to reference on set, but did you ever find yourself imagining the animated Toothless during a scene?
Luckily, I have a very vivid imagination. They actually built the sets, so if I was with Toothless in the cove, the lighting and everything else was there even if Toothless wasn't. So it was easy to imagine Toothless being there and having a connection with a beast like that. It was a big learning curve, but it was a lot of fun.
I saw footage of you talking to a Hiccup performer at Epic Universe, and he was doing this spot-on Jay Baruchel voice from the animated trilogy. I'm glad you did your own thing, don't get me wrong, but did you ever try that Hiccup voice on for size?
I can do the impression, but if I did an impersonation like that for this film, it would feel rude. What Jay did is so incredible and so iconic, but I had to do my own thing. I still wanted to keep all the important characteristics that people love about Hiccup: his sarcasm and his wittiness. But I also wanted to explore something new about Hiccup — a darker, sadder and lonelier side. He's been cast out by his village, and his father doesn't accept him. Yet all he wants is to make his father proud and be accepted as a Viking. So getting the chance to explore a new side of Hiccup and show some new colors to the character was a lot of fun.
Dean actually showed your reading to Jay?
That's what Dean told me, and that means everything to me. When I started filming Dragon, Jay followed me on Instagram. I haven't got the chance to really speak with him yet, but hopefully I will soon. I would probably just thank him. His version of Hiccup is so iconic. and it was my childhood. It's inspired me so much.
If all goes well, are you already committed to making the whole trilogy in live-action?
Every time that question gets asked, I get nervous because I don't know what I can say. But I'm very excited, and If Dean is there, I'm there. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to whatever happens in the future.
I spoke to Scott Derrickson not too long ago, and he told me that he purposefully waited to make so that you and Madeleine were high school age. Was it interesting to return to that character after growing up so much since then the first one?
Yeah, Scott and [C. Robert] Cargill are such amazing writers, and what they've done with the character of Finney is truly incredible. I love it so much. In a lot of horror movies, a character's friends and family will die in a horrible way, and then in the next movie, they're off at college, living a happy, fun life. But the reality of going through something that traumatic is that it will affect you. You will probably not be the same, especially when it's a kid who's dealing with that. So fast forwarding four years from the first movie and seeing where Finney is at was a lot of fun and a challenging journey.
We saw a couple teasers yesterday in the lead-up to the trailer release, but it sounds like Finney has another tough road ahead.
For sure. That's all I can say, but for sure.
You've accomplished one dream role, so what's the next one you want to manifest?
I would love to do another superhero film — a DC film or a Marvel film. I used to go to the theater with my dad as a kid to watch all the Marvel movies, and that kind of feeling is pretty cool. So maybe I'll get to do one of those one day.
Decades from now, when you're reminiscing about your experience, what day will you likely recall first?
It will ​probably be that moment when I was told I got the job. That's where it all truly began, and since then, How to Train Your Dragon has been such a big part of my life. The movie comes out pretty soon, and we're about to share it with the world. So it's nerve-wracking, but going back to that moment will always be very special.
***How to Train Your Dragon opens in movie theaters nationwide on June 13.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts
Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT
'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now