How to Train Your Dragon’s Astrid Actor Gives Strong Response to Casting Backlash in Remake

How to Train Your Dragon star Nico Parker, who portrays Astrid Hofferson in the upcoming live-action remake, gave a strong response to the critics of her casting in the remake. Notably, America Ferrera voiced the character in the original animated trilogy and the associated projects.

Nico Parker on fan reactions over her casting in How to Train Your Dragon remake

Nico Parker spoke on the backlash against her casting in the How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake during an interview with The Times of London. The controversy is that Parker didn’t have certain features of her animated counterpart, including blonde hair and blue eyes. Parker began by acknowledging that there were critics who love the originals and have some reservations about the remake.

“There’s some people that really love the animated movies and really want to see an exact play-by-play of that film, and I hope that you can watch [the new version] and find something that you love about it, regardless,” Parker said.

She then proceeded to dismiss the criticism leveled against her casting for her appearance. “But for the people that just hate inclusivity, hate change — when it comes to that side of things, I just don’t care,” she added. “If I wouldn’t value your opinion on most things in life, I can’t value your opinion on my hair. If I did, I would go mad.”

America Ferrera lent her voice to Astrid in the animated movies and other projects. Her parents are originally from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. As for Parker, she is the daughter of actress Thandiwe Newton and screenwriter and filmmaker Ol Parker.

According to Parker, there was a significant dearth of “mixed race or Black icons” in Hollywood in the past. She believes that while things have changed over the years in terms of representation, “there’s still a long way to go — for women in general, in terms of new parts, original material and female-led stories.” She mentioned that “everything’s changing” and that she would like to “contribute to that change at some point.”

How to Train Your Dragon debuts in US theaters on June 13, 2025.

Originall reported by Tamal Kundu on SuperHeroHype.

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