Grace, who had a scene-stealing role in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, has a starring turn in the next Hunger Games installment; Jeffries has a starring role as Annabeth Chase in the critically acclaimed Percy Jackson and the Olympians series on Disney+ (season two coming soon!); and Thames, who helmed the blockbuster live-action How to Train Your Dragon film this summer, appears alongside Grace in the latest Colleen Hoover adaptation, Regretting You.
Each actor has important memories of interacting with fans, whether at Comic-Con, other fan conventions, or being stopped by kids on the street. A young Black girl once told Jeffries how meaningful it was to see Annabeth portrayed as a Black teenager in a complex, fun leading role. Thames has expressed how much he feels a pressure to “do right by” the fans who adore Hiccup. Grace has seen how fandom becomes intergenerational in the response to Ghostbusters, with grandparents, parents, and teenagers all bonding over different iterations of the beloved story.
They have also seen some of the negative sides, of course, but all three stars come back to how fun this is all supposed to be. They’ve learned when to step away from the screen and how not to take the bad aspects too seriously. They’re growing up, figuring out the kind of adults they will become, alongside the fans who love their work and see themselves in their trajectories.
Below, explore their cover stories, written by Kaitlyn McNab (Leah Sava Jeffries), P. Claire Dodson (Mckenna Grace), and Crystal Bell (Mason Thames).