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It's no secret that Rick Riordan's Greek mythology inspired Percy Jackson and the Olympians has had a huge impact on multiple generations of young readers. Disney+ adaptation series co-creator and executive producer Jon Steinberg has even shared that over the process of adapting the series to the small screen, he learned that "it's a part of how a lot of people see themselves." That deep fandom stretches far and wide in the young cast of the show, many of whom grew up with the books.

That fandom doesn't change with the series' newest young cast member Daniel Diemer, who will be playing Tyson, Percy's cyclops brother. At D23's Percy Jackson and the Olympians panel, Diemer told the audience a little about his own connection to the books. When asked whether or not he was a fan of the series before he signed on to play Tyson, Diemer replied, “Huge fan. Like ‘waiting for the books to still be written’ fan. I started reading these when I was like ten years old. I’m a little older than the rest of these guys… It was huge for me. I’m so excited to be here.”

If Diemer was reading these when he was 10, that would mean he was ready Percy Jackson as early as 2006 when the second book, the Sea Of Monsters, came out.

Someone on the panel pointed out that Diemer's last name also served as a sort of Easter Egg, and Diemer elaborated that his surname sort of translated to "diety" and "god of the sea." In Diemer's words, "It's kind of meant to be."

Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 1 is currently streaming on Disney+, with season 2 announced for 2025.

Popverse's top stories of the day

• Harley Quinn is making April Fools Day 2025 one to remember with a not-so-sweet-smelling DC comic book special
• Watch the D&D, Warhammer, Mega Man, and more anthology panel Secret Level from Prime Video, filmed at NYCC 2024
• Nintendo's long-time Mario voice actor reveals the secret behind voicing Mario's Dad in the movie (and how it goes back to his original audition decades ago)