Actors from “Wicked,” “Wednesday,” “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” “My Life with the Walter Boys,” and the live-action “One Piece” reveal how they navigate fan interactions and balance their craft.
Marissa Bode, USC alum Joy Sunday, Leah Jeffries, Iñaki Godoy and Nikki Rodriguez spoke on the “Fandom Fueled, Character Driven” panel at the 2025 Teen Vogue Summit. The actors shared how they each balanced the pressures of fan expectations while maintaining their own creative identity. Many of the actors expressed a love for the passion within their fandoms.
“I am such a big fan of fan edits, and I appreciate the outpouring of love and the connections and different interpretations that fans have from the films,” Bode, who plays Nessarose Thropp in “Wicked,” said.
With the actors’ increase in fame following their breakout roles, many experienced fan encounters that impacted their lives on and off set.
For Rodriguez, she said that because of her role as Jackie Howard in “My Life with the Walter Boys,” she’s become accustomed to replying when addressed as “Jackie” in public. For Godoy, he recounted meeting a young fan at a Comic Convention who was inspired to become an actor because of Godoy’s role as Luffy in the live-action “One Piece.”
The actors noted the joy and inspiration that fan-produced content has brought to their day-to-day lives. Godoy said that he loves seeing fan art of him alongside the animated version of Luffy, which has left him with numerous wallpaper options for his phone. Sunday mentioned that the cosplays for her character, Bianca Barclay in “Wednesday,” make her hope to continually inspire viewers.
“Growing up, I didn’t have very many characters to model myself after, who truly look like me,” Sunday said. “We need more of it. We need more examples of expansive characters who look like everyone up here.”
For Jeffries, who plays Annabeth Chase in “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” she said she felt honored to reimagine the role, which is described as a white character in the original book series, and wear her hair in braids as a Black actor.
“There was this girl who came up to me at the mall, and she has brown skin like me,” Jeffries said. “She looked like she was about to cry. She was like, ‘Leah, you don’t understand. Seeing someone who looks like me on TV that’s so brave and so strong means a lot to me.’”
Just as Sunday and Jeffries seek to add to the diversity on screen, Godoy strives to reach each of his fans internationally. Godoy was originally born in Mexico City, Mexico, and his first major projects were based out of Mexico. The first project he landed outside of Mexico was “One Piece.” He said while it was initially out of his comfort zone, he continued forward with an open mind. Understanding that a large portion of his fanbase is based out of Japan, since the original “One Piece” anime was created in Japan, Godoy took it upon himself to learn Japanese to better communicate with his fanbase.
At the Teen Vogue Summit Panel, Godoy turned to the audience and asked everyone in Japanese if there were any “One Piece” fans in the audience from Japan. A fan stood up amongst the crowd, introducing herself in Japanese and sharing how she works in the anime industry. The audience applauded at the exchange, creating a moment of cross-cultural connection from international to American fans.
Even with the joy of interacting with fans, the actors shared how they personally ground themselves in their craft and remain confident in their interpretations of their characters. For shows like “My Life with the Walter Boys” or “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” fans are constantly rooting for the main characters’ love interests through hashtags like #TeamCole and #TeamAlex on TikTok.
When faced with fan expectations, Rodriguez turns her focus inwards.
“I really just try to be truthful and authentic to however Jackie is feeling in that moment,” Rodriguez said. “It’s great to see how opinionated people are. It’s just awesome that people are so invested and caring.”
Amid busy press tours and days filming on set, Sunday and Bode enjoy grounding themselves in their own goals and the people around them. In moments of heightened stress and pressures from all angles, Sunday finds peace within herself.
“I think you make expectations for yourself, instead of allowing other people to make them for you,” Sunday said. “It’s a learning curve. We can’t be perfect. We’re still human, after all.”