Meg rings in the New Year by welcoming star of Percy Jackson and the Olympians Dior Goodjohn to the podcast!
"What Clarisse was learning and going through this season, I was also as Dior. It was a very therapeutic process playing her not only in terms of the pressure and intensity of how she was raised, but also in what she had to learn for herself about herself and the world—it's the exact same thing that I was having to deal with, learn, and go through in my own personal life while I was shooting the season." -Dior Goodjohn
Dior kicks off the episode by sharing the grounding routine that keeps her centered, then takes us back to the early inspirations that first ignited her love for performing—including the High School Musical 2 DVD she practically wore out.
When talking about her work as Clarisse La Rue on Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Dior opens up about the emotional preparation that shaped her performance, rooted in pieces of her own lived experience. She explores the unexpected connection Clarisse and Percy forge this season, a bond that proves vulnerability can be its own kind of power.
"Once you utilize how to make things work for you and within a space that makes you feel comfortable and connected to your body, the way that you can get things done, and the speed and agility like that you can do things is just insane. When I stopped trying to force myself to work in a very traditionally masculine sense—like go, go, go, burn out—everything changed when I started trusting my instincts. It's important to think logically and critically, but not everything is like that. And that's when things really started to shift for me in my life, when I started to trust myself…" -Dior Goodjohn
Dior also talks about how her love of music weaves its way into her work on set, using playlists to lock in the emotional pulse of epic scenes. Across all her creative pursuits, she keeps her focus on what matters most: clear intention, meaningful storytelling, and a genuine sense of gratitude for every step of the journey.
Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is streaming now on Disney+.
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Music composed by Honor Nezzo.
CherryPop is executive produced by Miranda Bailey and Rebecca Odes, produced and hosted by Meg McCarthy, and edited by In Haus Media
Photo Credit: Emilynn Rose
