Actor Logan Lerman plays the titular role in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, about a New York teenager who finds out he’s the son of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon. Directed by Christopher Columbus, the film also stars Steve Coogan, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan and even more big names. Here Logan talks to View London’s Matthew Turner about his love of Columbus’ films, getting recognised by his fans and brushing up on Greek mythology.

Are you prepared for the fact that this could turn into a long-running franchise, like the Harry Potter films?
Logan Lerman (LL): Of course. I guess that's the decision you make when signing on in the first place. I'm very passionate about working with directors that inspire me and Chris really inspires me to be in this business and to hopefully work with him on all the films - if we're fortunate enough to be able to make all of them - is a dream. Part of Chris's genius is that you can watch his films from when you're seven years old until you're 60 or 70 or however old you live till and you're always going to find something new, it's always going to be the first time you watch it. There's something for every audience in there, that plays to some things that might go over children's heads or might really land with the parents and it's really something that will last forever. It's not just directed at children.

You've been acting since you were very young. What made you want to be an actor?
LL: It's film-makers like Chris and the people who inspire me that really got me into this business and probably movies like Home Alone or maybe Jackie Chan's first movies. I started really young - I'm from LA so it's really accessible to give it a shot and to get an audition for a commercial. There's always somewhere round the block that you can wait in line for an audition. And you slowly climb the ladder and now I'm here and I don't know how I ended up here! I just kept going with it.

How do you think you'll deal with the recognition?
LL: I'm really proud of this film and if people recognise me because of this film I'm fine with it, that's very flattering. It's the biggest compliment, so as long as it's for the right reasons I'm ready for the recognition.

What did you really know about Greek mythology before you took on the film?
LL: My knowledge was like any other elementary school student in California, but being a part of this has given me a nice opportunity to brush up on my knowledge. It inspired me to go deeper into the roots of Greek mythology and I think it will inspire a lot of other people.

Were you familiar with the Percy Jackson books before you read the script?
LL: I discovered the script first, before the books. Right below the title on the script it had Chris' name and that's what really attracted me because his films really shaped my childhood. - I'm such a big fan and really wanted to be a part of his film. I fell in love with the script and then the book.

Uma Thurman plays Medusa in the film. What was it like working with her?
LL:
We didn’t talk much at all, I kind of have a thing where I tend to dislike the people I’m supposed to dislike, so in the beginning I was like, ‘I’m gonna hate working with Uma Thurman, it’s gonna be horrible. She’s gonna be the worst.’ But the truth is she was so sweet that it was kind of harder to get into the scene.

How easy did you find the green screen work on the Medusa scenes, reacting to all the snakes that weren't actually there?
LL: Just working with CGI in general, you hear all these people say, 'Oh, it's so restricting,' that it's hard to lose yourself when you're working with a tennis ball or working with a skull cap and green screen marks, but if you're able to really grasp your imagination, you can create whatever you want. You're able to have a lot of control over the other character and add little character traits to the other character, which gives you more freedom, in a way.

Daniel Radcliffe was always asked how he compared to Harry Potter. How similar are you to Percy Jackson?
LL: I am a big fan of the Harry Potter series and that was one of the reasons why I wanted to work with Chris - he has a long list of movies that have made an impact on me. As for my character I wanted to make sure that it wasn't me playing myself - it's a performance that I can stay away from after six months of filming. That's something that was new for me and a bit of a challenge. Chris and I talked a lot and we had meetings and really developed the character, starting with the look, the accent and the way he walked. Percy's very different to me.