How to Train Your Dragon cast and character guide: Who plays whom in the live-action adaptation?

The live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon has a promising cast, including Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler, and Nick Frost. The film will hit theaters on 13th June 2025.

Directed by the original helmer of the animated film series, Dean DeBlois, the film explores the story of a boy named Hiccup, who defies tradition and an age-old rivalry by befriending a dragon named Toothless.

Its official synopsis goes as follows:

"On the rugged isle of Berk, where Vikings and dragons have been bitter enemies for generations, Hiccup stands apart. The inventive yet overlooked son of Chief Stoick the Vast, Hiccup defies centuries of tradition when he befriends Toothless, a feared Night Fury dragon. Their unlikely bond reveals the true nature of dragons, challenging the very foundations of Viking society."

Let us find out more details about the cast and the characters they embody in How to Train Your Dragon.

Who plays whom in How to Train Your Dragon?

1) ) Nick Frost as Gobber the Belch

Nick Frost plays Gobber the Belch, a close associate of Hiccup’s father, Stoick the Vast. Gobber works as a blacksmith in the village and also trains youngsters in combat skills.

Unlike the animated version, Gobber's injury shifts from the right leg to the left in this adaptation. While speaking on the BBC’s The Scott Mills Breakfast Show, the actor revealed that his left knee needed an operation, so the helmer suggested incorporating that physical experience into the film.

In the interview, Frost mentions what Dean DeBlois had told him:

".. So let's not have the operation. Let's do the film and use that agony".

Along with his work in this film, Nick Frost is also known for the Three Flavours Cornetto film series (2004, 2007, 2013), Penelope (2006), The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), The Nevers (2021–2023), Krazy House (2024), Seize Them! (2024), and many more.

2) Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast

A still from 'How to Train Your Dragon' | Image via Youtube/UniversalPictures

Gerard Butler returns to his role as the village chieftain Stoick the Vast from the animated series. Butler now embodies the character in its physical form in live-action, having previously voiced the character in the animated films. He is the father of Hiccup, with whom he has conflicting views about the human-dragon relationship.

Apart from his portrayal in this film, Butler is well known for Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Tale of the Mummy (1998), Reign of Fire (2002), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life (2003), Dracula 2000 (2000),The Phantom of the Opera (2004), 300 (2006), P.S. I Love You (2007), RocknRolla (2008), The Ugly Truth (2009), A Family Man (2016), Kandahar (2023), and many more.

3) Nico Parker as Astrid Hofferson

Nico Parker stars as Astrid Hofferson in the film. She is a brave fighter who is also a friend of Hiccup and shares a romantic relationship with him.

Apart from her role in this film, Parker has appeared in Dumbo (2019), The Third Day (2020), Reminiscence (2021), The Last of Us (2023), Suncoast (2024), and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025).

4) Mason Thames as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

Mason Thames embodies the role of Hiccup, an unrecognized teen who forms a friendship with a dragon in a world where the relationship between the two species has been fractured.

Apart from this film, Thames has worked in For All Mankind (2019), Walker (2021–2022), The Black Phone (2022), and Monster Summer (2024), to name a few.