Percy Jackson and the Olympians made a wonderful job of bringing Rick Riordan‘s creation to life on the small screen. One of the biggest challenges the young hero had to face was crossing paths with Ares, the dangerous God of War. Ares was played by a man who made a name for himself in the going to was in the wrestling ring, Adam Copeland. His career as an actor has allowed him to deliver some of the most interesting performances across each show he’s been cast in. Percy Jackson was not the exception. During a recent interview with Awards Radar, Copeland was happy to discuss different aspects of the show and his work in it.
Copeland had heard about the world of Percy Jackson before, but he never imagined he would be a part of the television adaptation. “I got the audition. I had obviously heard about Percy Jackson.” The actor said, “I hadn’t read the books and I didn’t see the movies when they came out because I was on the road (as a wrestler) for 250 days a year at that point. If anything happened in terms of pop culture, it just flew by my radar. When the audition came through, I thought (Percy Jackson) could be interesting. Then I saw it was Ares.”
Stepping into the shoes of Ares in the Percy Jackson adaptation was very different from what Copeland has done in his career in the ring: “I didn’t really fully understand (acting in a dramatic television role) until I did a show called Haven. The executive producers of the show saw me retiring from wrestling. They called WWE and asked if I was available. One episode of that show turned into forty-one. I like to say that it felt like my college in acting. By the time I finished Flash and got to Vikings, I felt okay saying I’m an actor. Looking back, it was a great set of tools pro-wrestling gave me in order to become an actor.”
Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson novels provide almost limitless storytelling opportunities for the Disney+ television series. But Copeland was excited to see what he could bring to the table as Ares, “More than anything, I really concentrated on the scripts. Just because I noticed some subtle differences (from the books). He was funnier in the script. There were scenes in the scripts that weren’t in the books at all. The diner scene that Ares and the kids have wasn’t in the books. When I read that, I thought, “There’s so much to sink my teeth into here””.
Percy and his friends managed to defeat Ares during the first season of the Disney+ hit. But Copeland wasn’t shy when it comes to teasing the future of the character: “If you’ve read the books, you know that the gods don’t go away. Like a fungus, Ares is going to come back up at some point (laughs). What’s really cool, too, is looking forward to seeing the scripts because, again, the whole diner scene wasn’t in the books. I feel like it added a lot to the character of Ares. (Which) I was very thankful for.”
Many professional wrestlers, such as Dave Bautista and John Cena, have transitioned into acting during later stages of their career. Copeland can’t wait to see what the future holds for him as a performer: “I don’t really worry about being known (for a specific genre). More than anything, I just want to have fun. That is right now the most important work criteria for me. If it’s not fun, then I’m not gonna do it. I have to read something and go “Ah, this sounds like a blast. This sounds like it could be a lot of fun to portray. Same goes with wrestling. If it’s not fun, then why do it?”
Percy Jackson and the Olympians brings the famous character created by Rick Riordan to life on Disney+. The first season of the acclaimed series made a wonderful job of introducing the heroes and villains of this modern world where important figures from the Greek mythology are still alive in the shadows. Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been renewed for a second season. Audiences might get a chance to see what happens after Ares swore to take his revenge on the protagonist of the story. A release date for the second installment hasn’t been announced by Disney+.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is now streaming in Disney+.
