Percy Jackson And The Olympians’ Jay Duplass on becoming Hades

One of the most entertaining aspects of author Rick Riordan’s takes on mythology in his novels—whether they’re based on Greek, Norse, or Egyptian lore—is how he updates legendary gods and monsters and incorporates them into modern life in unexpected and fun ways. In the Disney+ adaptation of Percy Jackson And The Olympians, showrunners Jonathan Steinberg and Dan Shotz faithfully incorporate that spirit into the show. One of the most obvious examples is the casting, especially when it comes to the Olympians themselves. Just look at the pantheon of gods we’ve met so far: Jason Mantzoukas as Dionysus, or Mr. D, Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes, Adam Copeland as Ares, and Timothy Omudson as Hephaestus, all inspired choices.

In the most recent episode, “We Find Out The Truth, Sort Of,” we got our first look at the show’s version of Hades, played by Jay Duplass. This episode, the seventh and penultimate of the series, finds Percy (Walker Scobell), Annabeth (Leah Jeffries), and Grover (Aryan Simhadri) traveling down into the Underworld in search of Percy’s mother and Zeus’ stolen Master Bolt. But once they get there nothing goes as expected, including a tense audience with Hades himself.

In addition to appearing in shows like The Mindy Project, Transparent, Search Party, and Industry, Duplass is a filmmaker himself, who frequently collaborates with his brother Mark. Their work together includes The Puffy Chair, Cyrus, and Jeff, Who Lives At Home. He also co-created the HBO series Togetherness and Room 104. Duplass spoke with The A.V. Club about playing Hades in Percy Jackson just before heading out to Park City, Utah, for this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where he’ll be hosting an event along with his brother in honor of the 40th anniversary of the festival’s short film program.

Jay Duplass: I have been a fan probably for about, maybe, 10 years? Well, my kids, it’s their favorite piece of art of all time. And I am not exaggerating when I say that my kids have probably read every book maybe five times, maybe not read every book, but definitely listened to an audiobook at least. They’re obsessive about it. I heard about it nonstop as they were growing up. I heard it in cars and in the background and read them the books. So I was very steeped in it. And when I saw that the show was being made and that Rick Riordan was going to be very core to the creation of the show I told my agents right away that I would love to be a part of it, if possible. And so now my kids call me Hades, so that’s what I get.

AVC: What do you think it was about you that made you right for Hades? What do you think they were looking for in the role?

JD: I’ve never thought about that. You know, I didn’t quite know totally what I was getting into until I actually got to Vancouver and we started really exploring, like, hair and wardrobe and everything that Hades was going to be and what he was going to look like. I don’t know. I mean, I think what’s so cool about this series is they’re looking for really grounded actors and people who are very well lived in, or want to live in their characters. So, I don’t know. Maybe it was that. I was banging down their door, you know? I was into it. But yeah, I mean, I think that one of the coolest things for me is that although it is a very fantastical series, it’s very grounded. It’s a very human unfolding. And the interactions feel personal and feel real, you know? In terms of the emotional content and what people are going through.

CW: Did you feel any trepidation or responsibility in taking on this role? Your kids are fans, and there are millions more out there. Did you wonder if they would accept you as Hades?

JD: Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah. I mean I’m still feeling it, because the show’s good and the show is loved already. So I don’t want to mess it up. I’m kind of looking forward to getting it over with and hoping that everybody is like, “You’re good. Everything’s good.” And I’m also just a little bit nervous that, like, things are going to be different at my kids’ schools, after this. You know, my kids are already, like, calling me for dinner like, “Hades! Dinner!”

CW: Is it reassuring to know that the show is well received before you’ve appeared on it? Does it take some of the pressure off?

JD: Yeah, yeah, the opposite would not be nearly as fun as it feels right now. I mean, now I just have to worry about whether I can deliver when it happens, because I don’t know what it looks like yet. But yeah, I mean, my kids are thrilled with it. They just think it’s super, super well done. We watch it together as a family every time it drops, and so many times I hear them going, “Oh, that’s exactly how I imagined it.” Which was not the case with the movies. So it’s a big deal. It’s a really big deal.

CW: Well, this time around Rick is really involved with it. So that makes a difference, doesn’t it? Did you have any conversations with him about the character of Hades or the story in general?

JD: Yeah. I mean, he’s there and he’s a real part of it. It just feels like a tight-knit team and he’s at the core of it. The conversations were definitely about making Hades feel lived in and making him feel like a real person, or a real god, but just like a real being that could feel relatable on a lot of levels. And I think what made it so fun is the combination of living in the netherworld, but also just being a guy who was, like, kind of happy to have some company, you know?

CW: I’ve noticed that all of the gods in the show, and in the books, are portrayed as these ordinary figures who can kind of just blend into their surroundings. You might pass them walking down the street or sitting in a diner and they wouldn’t seem out of place.

JD: Yeah, they’ve just been around a lot longer, you know? They do blend in, and they have their own issues, and it really feels that way. They have these great powers and they’re just operating on this wildly different time scale, I think. The fact that they’re keeping it very grounded was the most exciting thing to me. And that the kids in particular were just really functioning primarily on what it means to be a child in the world and wanting to connect and wanting to be in touch with your parents.

CW: Is there anything that you think will surprise fans when they tune in, whether it’s in your episode or the finale?

JD: It’s interesting, because most of the viewers, including my kids, know everything. So I don’t know. It’s a very different experience for me, because usually I’m involved in totally original made-up pieces of art. Like my kids, not minute to minute, but they know what’s going to happen with everything that’s unfolding more than even I do. Like they’re just waiting for it to unfold. And so these, I would say, subtle human moments and little pieces of humor are what’s really tickling them the most. Like, they just want it to feel real, and they want it to feel alive. And I think that’s what this team really got right.

CW: It must be such a different feeling watching it than being there on set when you’re making it, isn’t it?

JD: For whatever it’s worth, when I walked on the volume stage for the first time, I was struck, really emotionally struck, by how realistic Percy’s mom looked in the scene. Like, it got me. I was fully aware that, like, a boy was going to walk up and see his mom frozen in time. Because of course they did a fantastic job and it was incredibly detailed. So there was another person in the room, in a way. She’s right there, just literally right over my shoulder, like we’ve been hanging, you know what I mean? That kind of vibe. So that was the thing that struck me the most. I was like, “Oh, this isn’t just an idea. The stakes are right here on the table, literally.” So that was what struck me the most. And when he walked up, Walker had to play this scene with his mother right there in the room.

AVC: What was it like acting with Walker and Aryan? When I talked to Rick he said that he now writes the characters with these actors in mind.

JD: Isn’t that wild? Yeah. I thought the kids were incredible. They were, like, fun to hang out with as well as being so grounded. They knew exactly what they were doing and why they were there. So it just felt like a tight-knit family. They’re holding this space between, like this gigantic, fantastic world and the people who are interacting with it. It was very personal, very grounded. And they just kept the vibe very, like, human. If that makes sense. Which is weird. It’s kind of hard when you’re on a volume stage and you actually feel like you’re in the Underworld, you know? So it’s really a testament to them and how they envision the series and the ethic that they created to keep everybody really grounded. But those kids are incredible. I mean, you know, they’re some of the better actors I’ve ever worked with. So it was really cool to just like, come and enter their world. And, you know, I got them on the tail end of like a good, I don’t know, seven months of shooting? Something like that. They were still in good spirits and it felt really positive.

CW: Did you look at any other portrayals of Hades and in other media before you did this? There’s Hades video game and the musical Hadestown, and Hades from Disney’s Hercules and all the other different versions. Did you take any of that on board? Or did you want to make yours a completely different thing?

JD: I did not take it on board at that time, just because I really want to just tune in to what Jonathan and Dan and Rick were looking for and what they saw in me. I mean, I went to Jesuit High School for five years and studied all the classics. Like, I’m probably pretty steeped in Hades culture already. So I really wanted to see how they wanted it to be and feel. One thing they wanted was for me to be a complicated person, with my own life and my own needs and my own stuff going on. And, once I got a whiff of that, I was like, “Okay, great.” That’s exciting to me. This is where I live.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is available to stream now on Disney+ and Hulu.