Spiderwick Chronicles: Jack Dylan Grazer Reveals How Much He Took From Martin Short for New Series

The Spiderwick Chronicles is debuting on The Roku Channel this weekend, and it marks the first adaptation of Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black's book series of the same name since the 2008 movie was released. ComicBook.com recently had the chance to chat with Christian Slater, who plays Mulgarath in the new film. The iconic actor spoke about taking on the role that was played by Nick Nolte in 2008. Turns out, Slater isn't the only actor who has been thinking about previous performances. We also spoke with Jack Dylan Grazer, who plays Thimbletack, the role previously played by Martin Short. Of course, considering the age difference between Grazer and Short, fans can expect a different take on the Brownie. 

"I did," Grazer revealed when asked if he borrowed from Short's performance. "It's the first thing I did, and they were like, 'Don't do that.' And I was like, 'What did I just do all that research for?' No, it wasn't actually chore-research, it was very fun. I also grew up loving the movie, a big obsession with it, actually. I had all the toys and hobgoblin and the monocle and everything." 

"I went in there doing a pirate-y thing ... and then they were like, 'Don't do that, that's weird, you're not a pirate or a leprechaun, you're a kid. You're a 2,000-year-old teenager,' so I was like, 'Oh, that's easier. Kinda lame, I wanted to be a leprechaun pirate.' And they were like, 'No, no,'" he continued. "What ended up happening was we took different takes of me doing different things with more gravel or more pitch, then they combined it for certain bits." 

You can watch our interview with Grazer at the top of the page. 

What Is The Spiderwick Chronicles About?

In Roku's The Spiderwick Chronicles, the Grace family moves from Brooklyn, New York, to their ancestral home in Henson, Michigan: the Spiderwick Estate. Helen makes the move with her 15-year-old fraternal twin boys, Jared and Simon, and her older daughter, Mallory. Shortly after moving to the Spiderwick Estate Jared discovers a boggart and realizes that magical creatures are real. The only one to believe him is his great-aunt Lucinda, who implores Jared to find the pages of her father's field guide to magical creatures and protect them from the murderous Ogre, Mulgarath. 

The cast of The Spiderwick Chronicles includes Joy Bryant, Lyon Daniels, Noah Cottrell, Mychala Lee, Jack Dylan Grazer, Christian Slater, and Alyvia Alyn Lind. The series is showrun by Aron Eli Coleite, with executive producers including Coleite, Kat Coiro, Tony DiTerlizzi, Holly Black, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg, Julie Kane-Ritsch, and Grace Gilroy.

The Spiderwick Chronicles debuts on the Roku Channel on April 19th.