Mason Thames is no stranger to the spotlight, but 2025 has catapulted the eighteen-year-old actor into a new stratosphere of stardom. With three major films released in a single year—Regretting You, Black Phone 2, and the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon—Thames is proving himself as one of Hollywood’s most versatile and grounded young talents. Each film has demanded a different facet of his craft, and audiences and critics alike are taking notice.
Thames’ journey through these roles is not just a testament to his acting chops, but also to his ability to juggle the pressures of Hollywood with the comforts of home. As PEOPLE reports, he remains deeply connected to his roots in Texas, spending downtime with family and friends—even celebrating his eighteenth birthday with co-star Mckenna Grace by his side. It’s this balance that seems to keep him steady amid the whirlwind of premieres, interviews, and ever-growing fan attention.
In Regretting You, Thames stars opposite Mckenna Grace in the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel. The film, which also features Allison Williams, Dave Franco, Scott Eastwood, and Willa Fitzgerald, explores heartbreak, family trauma, and the resilience of young love. Thames and Grace’s chemistry is undeniable, both on and off the screen. In conversation with PEOPLE, Thames revealed, “We did it every take,” referring to the many improvised kisses that didn’t always make the final cut. Grace added, “That’s the best part. We’re watching the movie, and it didn’t make it!” Their playful banter and easy rapport have fueled rumors of a real-life romance, but both insist their connection is rooted in friendship and mutual respect.
Thames’ character, Miller, is shaped by personal loss—having lost both parents and been raised by his grandfather. “He had to grow up very young. That’s why he can be there for Clara,” Thames explained, drawing parallels to his own experiences with grief and resilience. The film’s emotional depth is matched by its authenticity, thanks in part to the improvisational spirit Thames and Grace brought to their roles.
The duo’s collaboration didn’t end there. They worked back-to-back on New Year’s Rev, a Green Day-inspired comedy that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Thames’ experience working with Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day was a highlight—Armstrong even gifted him a guitar, encouraging his exploration of punk rock and helping him prepare for his musical role.
But it’s Black Phone 2 that has perhaps made the biggest splash this fall. Four years after his breakout performance as Finney in the original Black Phone, Thames returns to a character now wrestling with trauma and the lingering specter of The Grabber, played by Ethan Hawke. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Thames reflected, “Getting to revisit Finney, seeing his journey after such a traumatic event, and seeing where he’s tried to rebuild, was truly fantastic.”
The sequel, released on October 17, 2025, picks up with a 17-year-old Finney and his psychic sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) as they confront supernatural threats at a Christian winter camp in the Rocky Mountains. Their quest leads them to Alpine Lake, where Gwen’s visions of three murdered boys set the stage for a chilling showdown with the Grabber—who, it turns out, isn’t gone for good. The film’s depiction of the Grabber’s Hell as a realm of ice and freezing cold, inspired by Dante’s Inferno, adds a new layer of psychological horror to the franchise. Director Scott Derrickson explained to Bloody Disgusting, “The whole idea of Hell being a cold place, that all comes from Dante... I just think that the idea of the Grabber being the worst of the worst and coming from the ninth circle of Hell, where people are frozen in ice, is a compelling idea.”
The movie’s biggest twist arrives when Gwen and Finney discover their late mother was actually killed by the Grabber, not by suicide as they’d believed. This revelation gives the siblings new resolve to end the Grabber’s reign of terror. With help from friends and family, they recover the bodies of the Grabber’s first victims from beneath the frozen lake, finally laying the spirits to rest and banishing the villain. The emotional core of the film, as Derrickson told The Hollywood Reporter, is Gwen’s journey: “The things that Finn has to get past and deal with in the course of the movie are relatively simple, and what Gwen is dealing with is much more complicated in terms of her mother’s death and inheriting her spiritual gift and feeling like an outsider who’s awkward, crazy and freakish. So it needed to be her story in order for that to play out in any kind of meaningful way.”
Critics have responded favorably to Black Phone 2, with the film earning a 74% score on Rotten Tomatoes and matching the domestic box office opening of its predecessor, which grossed $90 million domestically and over $160 million worldwide. Jeff Ewing of Collider praised the sequel for evolving both the protagonists and the Grabber “in wild new directions,” highlighting the strong performances at the film’s core. Author Joe Hill, whose short story inspired the franchise, is already hopeful about a third installment. He told Variety, “To me, the logical thing is if there is a third film, they are dual stars where they’re sitting trying to save each other. Maybe there’s a way to do that, maybe there isn’t … we’ll have to see.”
Thames’ return to Finney wasn’t without its challenges. Having just wrapped nine months of filming as Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon, he found himself occasionally slipping into the wrong voice on set. “Scott [Derrickson, director] would sometimes say, ‘I hear Hiccup.’ And I’d have to slow down my speaking and get back into it,” Thames told CinemaBlend. The live-action remake of the beloved animated film has already secured a sequel after its box office success, and Thames couldn’t be more thrilled. “That character, even before I got the job, I knew him like the back of my hand,” he shared with The Hollywood Reporter, eager to continue exploring Hiccup’s journey from vulnerability to strength.
Despite the demands of his career, Thames is clear about what keeps him grounded. “The most important thing is keeping your roots and spending time with family,” he said. Whether he’s improvising tender moments, diving deep into psychological horror, or strumming punk rock on a gifted guitar, Mason Thames is redefining what it means to be a young star in modern Hollywood—one role, and one heartfelt performance, at a time.
