Leah Sava’ Jeffries on Bringing Annabeth to Life in ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’
Leah Sava’ Jeffries stars as Annabeth Chase in season two of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, based on The Sea of Monsters, which is the second installment of Rick Riordan’s book series. All episodes are now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu, and the show’s third season is currently in production.
In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.
“I think it’s her intelligence [that I’m most proud of], honestly, because a lot of characters, and I’m not saying that this is how it is now, obviously it’s a lot different in these generational years, but I feel like back then, people, just in general actually, not even in filming, I feel like they always made Black girls like the angry Black girl, the girl that was not smart enough or the really sassy one,” she explained. “I feel like for me to play Annabeth especially, since she has so much intelligence and she’s smart, she has a funniness to her, but it’s also a certain innocence as well, it’s not like, ‘Oh, Annabeth is known as that mean girl, and she’s Black, but she’s very furious, and she’s a bully.’ It’s like a presence that people find comfort in, and not something that they’re like, ‘Oh, Annabeth, she’s that girl because she’s always mean and she’s a bully.’ People that even aren’t Black can look up to her.”
Jeffries continued to share, “I kind of like how I have braids because it’s giving both sides. I would love to have my own natural hair in here, too, but I like how I have braids because for girls who have straight hair, [they] can kind of relate, and then for girls who are Black, [they] can also relate because it’s braids, you know what I mean? So it’s like, I’m still showcasing both sides. Even though my skin color is not obviously white, it’s still showing that I can kind of play both sides. It’s like, oh, Annabeth struggles to put her hair up in a ponytail — both sides can do that because it’s straight hair, and it’s a lot, but it’s also, Black girls struggle to put their hair up in a ponytail because they have curly hair. It’s those little things that I feel like really help, and playing Annabeth, it’s like she’s an all-in-one, and I’m grateful that I get to play that because I kind of like to be that. I like to explore and do all things, so that’s the one thing that I really love playing about her.”
I caught up with the actress to discuss why she’s proud to be recognized for this role, exploring Annabeth’s different relationships, filming the Sirens scene, which season three moment changed her, and much more.
Watch my interview below:
