Now that Dragons: Race to the Edge Season 5 is available in its entirety on Netflix, you can do what I did and totally binge all 13 episodes in one dragon-sized sitting. If and when you do, you'll find that you've met a bunch of new dragons, allies and enemies while revisiting with your favorite Dragon Riders: Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and, of course, Snotlout. The Riders of Berk have been together through the two feature films of DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon franchise as well as numerous episodes across multiple seasons of dragon-riding adventure stories. Surprisingly, most of the movie voice cast has stuck with the Dragons series on Netflix, allowing fans to bridge the experience between movie and TV without missing a beat.

One of the exceptions is the character of Snotlout Jorgenson, a bit of a bully when he was originally played by Jonah Hill in the movies. It was Zack Pearlman who picked up the continuation of Snotlout and has evolved the bully into a worthy friend and fellow Dragon Rider on the Dragons series. I got a chance to chat with Pearlman for the Season 5 debut about how that opportunity came about years ago, how playing a bully has impacted his own outlook, and where the character might go from here.

But we got the important questions out of the way first, like how he thought the dragons in his own show would get along with those in Game of Thrones:

Zack Pearlman: I think, truthfully, I don’t know if the dragons in Game of Thrones would really understand a Gronckle. I don’t think they would understand a giant, fat dragon would fly. But I can tell you that a Monstrous Nightmare and the dragons in Game of Thrones would definitely hang out.

Pearlman, an admitted dragon-lover since his childhood, played it smart when I asked him what his favorite dragon on the show might happen to be. (Snotlout and the fiery dragon Hookfang are partners, and Pearlman didn't want to tick either of them off.)

Pearlman: I love dragons, I always have. I played D&D as a kid. The fact that I play a Dragon Rider is insane. My mom got me a Hookfang because they were selling them at Build-a-Bear. There was kind of this heartfelt moment of, “Oh man, this is my dragon. This is crazy.” Now if you go to my parents’ house, there’s a trophy room full of stuff, and my mom has all the DVDs. I will admit that I have a plush Hookfang in my room but I will plead the Fifth whether he sleeps with me or not.

 

I think, in terms of yin and yang, Hookfang really is the best [dragon] for Snotlout; I love that relationship so much. If we’re talking [about] the first time I saw the movie, Toothless made me cry. But between you and me, I do think Hookfang is one of the best dragons on the show if not the best.

 

You could be a Monstrous Nightmare or a Gronckle, it doesn’t matter. It’s pretty cool, the fact that they are characters, too. It makes the show really fun to watch.

The original How to Train Your Dragon movie debuted in 2010 with the first gorgeous, well-written and high-quality production animated series following in 2012. Pearlman has been with the cast and crew since that first series took wing:

Pearlman: We’re a family over here. We’ve all been able to grow up together, these characters have come to life because we truly understand them and their relationships. As the seasons go by, you get to see those relationships grow.

Admittedly I was curious as to not only how Pearlman landed the role of Snotlout, but what his thoughts were--then and now--about continuing the role Jonah Hill had established:

Pearlman: Adam F. Goldberg, who’s one of the original writers of How to Train Your Dragon, I did his TV show Breaking In and while I was doing that they were looking for [someone to continue on] for [Jonah Hill] for the TV show. Adam recommended me. When I went in, honestly, I thought I was being asked to do a Jay Baruchel, because I do a pretty good Jay Baruchel impression and I was doing it for Adam on set one day. When I got there, they were like, “We want you to try out for Snotlout.”

 

What’s really funny is that the movie that got me into acting and made me feel comfortable pursuing this as a career was Superbad, so I already had a kinship to Jonah through that. When I was asked to do it, I auditioned; it was my first voiceover anything, my first audition. The producers were just so willing to help me ease into it and take a few shots at it. It was a dream come true.

 

When they asked me to do Snotlout, I remember immediately being like, “Oh no!” I was so afraid of being “Jonah Hill Lite”, but they truly let me live in the character. I remember, in the audition process, I pitched a joke. They let me do a few riffs and let me go off on my own and take the character on my own, so since day one I’ve kind of had my own take on Snotlout. It’s never a replacement, it’s always a continuation.

Pearlman inherited the character of Snotlout as a bit of a bully and a rough-around-the-edges team member who didn't quite fit in. His performance of the character and collaboration with the writers over the years have brought Snotlout along on a unique and interesting arc:

Pearlman: I’m really just here to have fun. Snotlout’s a bully, but I’m not a bully … but it’s really fun to play a bully. It was a break in terms of stuff I had done before; I had never been a bully. Art [Elder Brown] and Doug [Sloan] who write most of the series and are the producers, they have been collaborative since Day 1. Very early on, we felt that there was a pain behind Snotlout. You don’t become a bully without having some hurt. As we got to explore his relationship with his dad and his brother, we got to see where that pain came from, where his identity lies, and why he’s a bully. It’s always been incredibly collaborative. Snotlout’s a part of me, and in this weird way, I’ve been able to explore and be a little bit more introspective because I’ve been able to play a person who’s so hardened with really just a gooey caramel center.

 

It’s funny, I got four good years [of being a bully] but it’s kind of nice to have Snotlout play this victim, almost. I think it’s good for him. I love it. He’s always projecting what he wants to be treated like and I think the gang is finally figuring that out. He can’t grow until the people around him allow him to feel pain.

This one's a bit spoilery for people so steer clear if you haven't finished Season 5 yet. Snotlout, like the other main characters, gets a lot of chances to interact with the other major players of the series. Pearlman rarely gets to physically act opposite his co-stars, but the rhythm and familiarity of the cast smooths over any technical challenges. Where the magic really happens is right there on the screen between the characters.

Pearlman: Thor Bonecrusher, that series is my favorite, because you finally get to see Snotlout fanboy. This is a guy he holds himself so highly, as almost a god, and then when he interacts with someone who is bigger and stronger and god-like, you get to see, like, a guy waiting in line two weeks to see the new Star Wars. He’s a child, he’s such a kid.

 

Those are my favorite, where he gets to interact with people where he doesn’t necessarily fit in or feel right, you get to see another side of Snotlout. Snotlout’s a beautiful, ugly painting; one half is dark and stormy, and the other is rainbows and ponies.

There's certainly much more story for Snotlout and the Dragon Riders ahead, but I wanted to ask Pearlman what one thing he'd love to see his own character achieve in the near future:

Pearlman: I think [that] coming to terms with the relationship with his dad would be a huge thing for Snotlout. I think it would give him the ability to be a little bit more light-hearted.

Be sure to check out Snotlout and Dragons: Race to the Edge on Netflix now!