“I’m not trying to be like anyone else. I want to be myself, and I want to make sure that other girls understand that too.” -Leah Sava Jeffries
Leah Sava Jeffries (Beast, Rel, Something From Tiffany’s) is the teenage, Black female lead of Percy Jackson and The Olympians based on the wildly popular Percy Jackson fantasy book series, of the same name written by bestselling author, Rick Riordan. Set to premiere on December 20th on Disney+.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians follow Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) on a dangerous quest with the assistance of questmates Annabeth and Grover (Aryam Simhadri). In the new television series, Jeffries plays Annabeth Chase, a young daughter of Athena, the Greek Goddess of war. Like her fictional mother Athena, Jeffries’ Annabeth is fearless and the most skilled fighter in the camp.
In a recent interview with Essence, Jeffries shared that while in the book series, Annabeth Chase is white and blonde, she did not let that deter her from attending the casting call wearing her hair in its natural, authentic state. She quips that the casting teams loved her reads even more when she showed up with her natural hairstyles. “My first two self-tapes were braids, and my third audition and chemistry read, I had my natural hair out. I feel really great when I film with my natural hair. It just makes me feel like I can play more of any character, especially strong characters.”
Despite both backlash about being cast as Annabeth Chase, and many new loyal fans, Jeffries’ inner strength and fearlessness are by design. She is surrounded by maternal supportive women who model for her the type of woman that she strives to be. Jeffries attributes her fun persona and courageousness to her mother, aunt, and the influence of her grandmother, the matriarch of her family.
“First, I have to say that my mother [has the greatest influence on me], because I am definitely a mini version of her. We have the same name “Leah” and I love her so much. She is the person who stays up late at night and wakes up early in the morning and does my hair, and she helps me with picking out my clothes, and everything. I’m definitely her mini-me, and people even say we sound alike. And, of course, my grandmother, because she taught my mother everything that she knows. And, my aunties, because when we are together, they share inspiration with me, and even help with my makeup. So, I stay pretty grounded.”
Jeffries understands the power of representation, showing up authentically as yourself, and realizing that fans will always have opinions. But, she also realizes that it’s important not to internalize the opinions of others. “I listen to people say things and try to tear me down. They say you are not her [Annabeth]. You can’t play her like Alexandra Daddario. But, you know what? They’re right. I’m not her, and I cannot play like her. But, I’m going to show you who I am, and how I’m going to play it. I’m not trying to be like anyone else. I want to be myself, and I want to make sure that other girls understand that too.”
Backlash is a gift, because it helps to develop inner strength and character. For Jeffries, it has helped to propel her forward. Despite some of the controversy over the casting, the executive teams and Disney have been very supportive of Jeffries throughout the casting process and beyond. The series co-creator Jon Steinberg and executive producer Dan Shotz both echoed that Jeffries was cast as a result of her acting and on-screen appeal above all else. In a statement to Essence, Steinberg stated, “We had no idea what we were looking for, but when Leah walked in and did her reads, we knew. Their talent speaks for itself, and you’ll recognize it when you see it on screen. All of the kids were exceptional.”
And, not only have the production team and author Riordan been vocal about their stance on their casting choices for the lead talent in the series, but they were also very supportive behind the scenes, too. Jeffries wants to make it known that the hair and makeup teams on set were both culturally and ethnically diverse as well. “Sometimes, I had African-American people do my hair [on set], and I had other people of different races do my hair as well. I actually like that they were all different because I think it’s important for people who are not Black to know how to do my hair, too. And on set, there were times when like five different people [of various backgrounds] were doing my hair at once. It was amazing.”
Percy Jackson and The Olympians premieres on Disney+ on December 20th.
