Percy Jackson DP Reveals Walker Scobell’s Shocking Skills During Underwater Scenes (Exclusive)

Percy Jackson’s hero origin story is writing its final chapters. Percy Jackson and the Olympians gradually brought its titular demigod into the greater Greek mythological universe, scattering monsters through the mist throughout his adolescence before dialing up the attacks to an 11 by the time he got to Yancy Academy. Upon arriving at Camp Half-Blood, Percy learned of his roots: he is a son of Poseidon. This revelation opened Percy’s demigod status up to a world of possibilities, as his water-bending abilities would be just the first of his sea-based powers that he would unlock.

Walker Scobell’s Legitimate Percy Jackson Powers

In the final shot of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians mid-season finale, Percy discovers he can breathe underwater.

“[Showrunner] Dan [Shotz] definitely wanted to shoot him underwater. We didn’t want to do CG hair. We shot Walker underwater,” Percy Jackson and the Olympians director of photography Pierre Gill told ComicBook.com. “We built up a tank because there was no pool available. We go in a stage and we built a 40 feet round tank by 12 feet high and filled it with water.”

Even though the underwater scenes made up a small fraction of the season’s runtime, going practical with them was important to the Percy Jackson crew due to how crucial that element is to Percy as a character. Going the extra mile meant putting more responsibility on actor Walker Scobell.

“Walker is quite an amazing guy. He’s a great guy. He’s nice, he’s fun, he’s clever,” Gill praised Percy Jackson‘s leading man. “He has so many lines. He can learn the stunts. He knows the camera. From a technical standpoint, he’s very good, which is a big, big deal. These are very, very important things for an actor to know.”

Scobell was tasked with reciting his lines underwater. Given that his character has the ability to breathe in that element, it was suggested that Scobell deliver his lines without creating air bubbles. 

“He learned how to do his lines with no bubbles. In this one, he has to talk, and the idea was to have no bubbles coming out,” Gill continued. “He’s so good that he was able to breathe, get his bubbles out, and then he’s talking. There’s maybe a few VFX touch ups. Most of it is completely him not breathing, not making air, and staying there for almost a minute and a half. He could stay underwater that long. That was unbelievable, and that was the last day of shooting. We finished the shoot that day after 150 days of shooting.”

Percy Jackson and the Olympians debuts new episodes every Tuesday at 9 PM ET on Disney+. Tune into ComicBook Nation presents Riptide Radio – A Percy Jackson Aftershow immediately after for an in-depth discussion and exclusive interview!