Aron Eli Coleite‘s adaptation ofThe Spiderwick Chronicleshas brought in record numbers of viewers and made for somevery happyfans of the children’s fantasy book series. We talked to Jack Dylan Grazer and Alyvia Alyn Lind, who play Thimbletack and Calliope, about how much fun it was to do this show and how their horror roots helped.
InSpiderwick, Jack Dylan Grazer voices the small creature known as Thimbletack. Grazer’s done voice work before, including Alberto in Disney’s Luca, but never a character from theInivisbleWorld. He’s a boggart (sometimes on a tiny rampage) that guards the Spiderwick mansion, but he becomes a helper to Jared and the Field Guide quest.For the actor, it turns out The Spiderwick Chronicles were a pretty influential part of his childhood.
Alyvia Alyn Lind is on the other side of the story for much ofThe Spiderwick Chronicles. As Calliope, she has a complicated relationship with the Grace siblings. She’s a Fetch (akaportentof death) and partner to Christian Slater‘s Mulgarath in his search for the Field Guide pages. Calliope is atotallyoriginal character to the series, not having appeared in the hit booksfromHolly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi.
Our Zoom conversation was briefbutthe insights from these young actorsshowswhy they’re ones to watch.Watch or read the full interview below.
Ayla Ruby: Hi, I’m Ayla Ruby from Awards Radar.
Jack Dylan Grazer: Hello, Ayla Ruby.
Alyvia Alyn Lind: Hi.
Ayla Ruby: It’s nice to meet you both.
Jack Dylan Grazer: Nice to meet you.
Alyvia Alyn Lind: It’s good to meet you.
Ayla Ruby: So I’m going to just jump right into it. So I just finished watching the show. I loved it. And I’d love to talk about what made you both want to do Spiderwick, and what grabbed you about your characters? They’re both very different.
Alyvia Alyn Lind: I will start. I remember reading the script for the first time, and it was just so much fun and so magical. And just, first of all, getting to see it come to life on the screen was such a cool experience. But I remember just reading the script, and I remember Mychala said this, and I was like, “That’s so true.” I remember reading it and thinking that if I didn’t get it, it would be one that I still watched when it came out. Which is so true because I love Spiderwick, I always have loved Spiderwick, and I love adaptations, also. I love when they do adaptations of movies or books that I loved when I was younger. So it was just really, really exciting to know, first of all, that they were doing this. Because just, as a fan, I was like, “Oh my God, they’re making Spiderwick into a show. That’s so cool.” And then, also getting to be a part of it was just the icing on the cake. So it was really fun.
Jack Dylan Grazer: I heard Spiderwick Chronicles in my emails that it was there, and I said, “Oh my God, they’re doing this again? A show? Okay, count me in. Whatever this is, I want it.” Because I love Spiderwick Chronicles. It actually was a big, impactful, influential part of my childhood, the movie was. Totally, it formed my imagination and my creativity. I had the little monocle, I got it as a Happy Meal toy when the movie came out. I had it, and I was going around school looking through it, looking for hobgoblins and thimbletacks and whatnot. And, also, reading the script, I loved the script. I also saw that it didn’t make it in, I guess, because Olivia Newton-John’s too expensive, but there was the song Magic that was in there. I was like, “Oh, this song is going to be in the show. And then it turned out to be a Digable Planets song, which is also really cool.
Jack Dylan Grazer: But it’s just the magic part of it, the magical thing that I feel like is so true, but also so subversive. And as we get older, I think it distances from our lives. But the magic is what’s real. I think when we’re brought into this world, the magic that we feel is the truth. And then there’s all these distractions that come in later. But this show does a great job of encapsulating that magic.
Ayla Ruby: Oh, that’s a great sentiment. Both of you have also done some horror work, Jack, you’ve done It, and Alyvia with Chucky. Did the creature work aid with anything in this show, or was it not really… Is it just totally different acting skills?
Jack Dylan Grazer: It is different.
Alyvia Alyn Lind: Yeah.
Jack Dylan Grazer: I don’t know.
Alyvia Alyn Lind: It was fun because, in Chucky, I’m running away from the villain, and in this, I am the villain. So it was fun to be on the opposite end of it. And in Chucky, the character I play is very… You feel very bad for her. But, also, very similarly, actually, in Chucky, at the beginning of the show, you hate her and you want Chucky to kill her so badly because she’s just the worst. And we hate her. And then she has a really nice arc of the season and, now, everybody loves her and doesn’t want her to die. So I think that that’s very similar to Calliope’s arc, actually. She starts off, everybody hates her, and she’s just horrible. And then, because of our wonderful, amazing writers who we love so much, they end up making her likeable in some ways, which was really hard to do and act out, but very fun at the end of the day.
Jack Dylan Grazer: Like her scent.
Alyvia Alyn Lind: Yes, her scent was very fun. And Lexi doesn’t have that. In Chucky, Lexi smells very good. In Spiderwick, not so much. Calliope hasn’t-
Ayla Ruby: No patchouli.
Alyvia Alyn Lind: Yeah, no patchouli. I love this-
Jack Dylan Grazer: I don’t know why, but that scene, I just think, I don’t know, I have a feeling that scene is going to-
Alyvia Alyn Lind: That was my audition scene.
Jack Dylan Grazer: No wonder. Really? I loved that scene so much. And the way you did it, it was so good. It was so natural and funny and cool.
Alyvia Alyn Lind: I pay him to give me compliments, that’s why.
Jack Dylan Grazer: Yeah, she does. I want that check in the mail by tomorrow, by the way.
Ayla Ruby: Thank you both so much. I really appreciate it.
Jack Dylan Grazer: Thank you, Ayla.
