Showrunner Dan Shotz said that Reddick’s wife Stephanie told him that Tamara Smart “is very important to our family and there is something so magical about her.”

How Lance Reddick inspired a key casting decision on Percy Jackson and the Olympians after his death

Showrunner Dan Shotz said that Reddick's wife Stephanie told him that Tamara Smart "is very important to our family and there is something so magical about her."

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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December 27, 2025 1:05 p.m. ET

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Lance Reddick; Tamara Smart in Los Angeles on Dec. 3, 2025. Credit:

Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty; Savion Washington/Getty

- Tamara Smart portrays Thalia Grace, the demigod daughter of Lance Reddick's Zeus, on *Percy Jackson and the Olympians*.

- Showrunner Dan Shotz said that Reddick's wife Stephanie urged him to consider Smart for the role.

- Smart previously portrayed Reddick's on-screen daughter on Netflix's *Resident Evil*: "There is something so magical about her."

A year after his death, Lance Reddick inspired a key casting decision for *Percy Jackson and the Olympians*.

Dan Shotz, the showrunner for the fantasy-adventure series, explained in a recent Instagram post how the late *John Wick* actor guided the decision to cast Tamara Smart as Thalia Grace, the demigod daughter of Reddick's Zeus.

"After a worldwide search to find Thalia for @percyseries, in mid-July ‘24, I got a call from Stephanie Reddick, the wife of the late, great @thereallancereddick, saying there is this young actress you should take a look at for Thalia," Shotz wrote on Dec. 26 alongside a carousel of photos with Smart.

The showrunner recalled Stephanie saying, "She played Lance’s daughter on another series, she is very important to our family and there is something so magical about her. No pressure, just take a look at her tape."

Tamara Smart in 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians'.

Disney/David Bukach

Shotz wasn't confident that the recommendation would pan out. "All I could think about is how do I tell Stephanie Reddick that most likely this isnt going to be the person," he wrote. "Then her tape came in (woah), then I met her (oh my), then she read with @walker.scobell and his first words after the read were… 'we are casting her, right?' Magical is so the right word."

The showrunner went on to praise Smart's talents. "[She] is a force, a talent with a deep, profound soul and I know she is honoring Lance with every word that comes out of her mouth," Shotz wrote. "Thank you to Stephanie and Lance Reddick for finding us our Thalia."

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Smart previously portrayed Reddick's on-screen daughter in Netflix's *Resident Evil* series in 2022. The actress explained how the Reddicks introduced her to the Disney+ iteration of *Percy Jackson* in a conversation with **.

"I remember the first season of *Percy Jackson* coming out, and I knew Lance and so I watched it with his wife, Stephanie, and I just loved it," she said. "I remember the second season being announced and since I'd read the books, I knew Thalia was going to be around and I was like, 'I can't wait to see who they cast.' Because I thought I was way too old!"

Smart said that she discussed the project with Stephanie after securing an audition. "I remember immediately messaging Stephanie and being like, 'This is crazy. I am going to do my best for this. I'm giving it my everything,'" she said. "I was trying to stay very calm but this was a very big sentimental thing for me."

Tamara Smart and Lance Reddick in West Hollywood, Calif., on July 11, 2022.

Charley Gallay/Getty for Netflix

The actress said that Stephanie accompanied her to set on her first day of shooting on *Percy Jackson*. "It was such a supportive day. I had Stephanie with me, Lance's wife — she came out for my first day," she said. "It was really emotional but incredible. I felt like I was living this day for Lance and I felt like he was there with me and very proud, so I don't think I'll ever forget that day. It's such a weird twist of fate that I'm even on this show, and I'm also very grateful to the legacy that they've left for Lance and the way that they've been so respectful about it."

Reddick died at 60 on March 17, 2023, from a combination of coronary artery disease and atherosclerotic heart disease. Smart told EW that *Percy Jackson* helped her grieve her former on-screen dad.

"Watching [season 1] very much helped me heal on my grief journey with Lance," she recalled. "And as much as I was so excited and honored to be a part of the show, I found it quite difficult at times because shooting the show is a constant reminder of Lance in what now, I think, is the best way. But at the time, I found it very difficult to handle. I was a lot more emotional, and a lot of scenes just felt very charged for me because they were being related to a place that was so deep-rooted in my heart. That was something that I definitely struggled with."

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Courtney B. Vance took over as Zeus in season 2 of the series, and Smart said that meeting the actor for the first time was a "beautiful" experience. "I remember him shooting last season and he did a minute of silence for Lance, which was just such a beautiful ode to him before he ever even played the character," she recalled. "I remember him snatching the mic out of our assistant director's hand and being like, 'Hey, we're not shooting yet. This is what we're doing.' He's incredible, and I can't wait for everyone to see how truly, truly incredible he is in this show."

*Percy Jackson *releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.

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