Remaking a classic can be incredibly risky. However, when you’re Vikings, that’s just an occupational hazard! One that the cast and filmmakers of How to Train Your Dragon absolutely nailed, in one of this summer’s best blockbusters! All this week, we’ll be bringing you the most incredible interviews from all of them, starting with Hiccup and Astrid themselves, stars Mason Thames and Nico Parker!

We can’t sugarcoat the fact that when the duo was initially cast, they faced an uphill battle. First off, fans of the franchise were always going to compare them to the original depictions of the characters from the 2010 animated masterpiece. Secondly, and most frustratingly of all, Parker received a wave of horrible online toxicity from people who refused to accept that a POC actress was playing Astrid.

Well now, at last, How To Train Your Dragon is flying into theaters. And you know what? As someone who has seen the movie, I can personally tell you all that Thames and Parker were 100% THE PERFECT choices to bring these characters to life. While the film is incredibly faithful to the original, the sheer fact that Thames and Parker have managed to breathe new life into the characters, giving us unique performances that aren’t just rip offs of the animated ones, is incredibly astonishing. And yet, they also still manage to stay true to who these characters are at their cores. Combined with the fact that there’s a richer real-life history regarding Vikings coming from all over the globe, as alluded to in the film, and you have yourself a richer narrative that affords terrific actors the opportunity to perfectly inhabit these roles.

And that’s exactly what Thames and Parker do! Take a look at what they had to say about this right here:

Be on the lookout for more How To Train Your Dragon interviews coming this week! And be sure to catch How To Train Your Dragon, only in theaters June 13!