"He’s still there, he won’t leave me," Thames says of his character.Filming for the new live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon may be over, but the character of Hiccup hasn't left star Mason Thames.

As Hiccup, the 17-year-old actor is shouldering the weight of Universal’s new live-action franchise — and living out his childhood fantasy.

The actor, who will celebrate his 18th birthday next month, also explains why he did not try to match original actor Jay Baruchel's voice: "if I did an impersonation like that for this film, it would feel rude.