While Mason Thames is known for running from Ethan Hawke in The Black Phone, he found a scene involving Stevie Wonder in Netflix's Incoming “scarier.”
Warning: Spoilers for Incoming ahead
After Mason Thames' Incoming character Benj blows it with his crush, Bailey (Isabella Ferreira), he sings Stevie Wonder's “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)” in front of the whole school.
Bringing it up during our conversation immediately caused Thames to put his head in his hands.
“God, that was the scariest thing I've ever done,” he confessed.
Despite his stellar performance in Incoming that would suggest otherwise, he has stage fright. It is so bad that it caused him to stop singing entirely.
When he read the script, he found the scene “cute.” However, upon taking the role, it hit the young star.
“I was like, Oh my God. I have to sing Stevie Wonder in front of an entire school, and it's going to be all over the world,” he recalled.
Netflix and Co. sent Thames to get vocal lessons. He spent six hours a day in the studio prepping for his moment.
A note to his friends and family: Go easy on him. Thames told me he is “terrified” that his friends won't let him live it down. In fairness, he sounds good in the movie. But the fear is understandable, as Incoming will live forever on Netflix.
His distaste for the song reminds me of what Frankie Corio once told me. In Aftersun, Corio sings an intentionally awkward rendition of R.E.M.'s “Losing My Religion.” Upon reminiscing about it, she began jokingly hyperventilating.
To this day, he has a hard time hearing the song.
“I instantly get PTSD, and my heart drops,” he said of hearing the classic Stevie Wonder tune.
Filming the scene
What made matters worse was Mason Thames' Incoming co-star Ferreira asking him to sing the Stevie Wonder song live for her take. He was not prepared to sing the song live in front of the audience, let alone several times.
“It felt like a million [takes],” Thames said. “I blocked it out of my brain.”
After getting a usable take, Ferreira claimed she could not act unless Thames sang it live.
“Isabella goes, ‘You know what? I don't think I can act unless he's there singing in front of me,'” said Thames. “I thought she was kidding. But no, she was not.”
As a result, Thames took the microphone to perform the hit Stevie Wonder song again. Ferreira was probably Thames' least favorite person on Earth at this moment. At least he seems to have forgiven her (“We love Bella,” he concluded).
Plus, this was the last sequence filmed during the production. Thames remembers dreading this sequence for the entirety of Incoming's shoot.
I asked him if shooting it first would have been easier. It sounds like he didn't even think about it.
“Maybe it would have been easier if I did it first and got it out of the way,” he pondered. “Because the entire shoot, I was just terrified.”
It must have been obvious that Thames was stressing about it. He recalls asking the directors and producers when it was happening. They “loved” seeing him like that, to his recollection. It kept the Black Phone star on his toes, I suppose.
How Incoming was “scarier” than The Black Phone for Mason Thamaes
While Thames initially called Incoming “scarier” than The Black Phone, he did concede that it is “tied.”
“It was terrifying running from Ethan, but singing in front of that many people was terrifying,” Thames explained.
The Black Phone put Mason Thames on the map in 2022. Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange) directed the adaptation of Joe Hill's short story of the same name.
Reflecting on the “fun” experience, Thames praised Hawke. He made the shoot a lot more fun than you would expect a horror movie to be. They will both return in a sequel — which Thames teased as “cold” — and the young star plans to pick Hawke's brain more this time.
“He's so nice. And just watching him do his process and get in character was like taking a masterclass,” praised Thames. “The way the scenes were written and the way he would portray the Grabber, the things he would do, [were] masterful. And we're doing a Black Phone 2.
“I was 13 when I did that, so I didn't know much of his work, and I wish I asked him more questions. So when I see him again, I'm just going to drill him,” Thames added.
Getting the high school experience
In Incoming, Mason Thames plays Benj, a freshman entering his first year of high school. Ironically, Thames only attended his freshman year of high school in person before finishing it online. That meant Incoming was the “most high school experience” he has had (the party in Incoming was his first house party ever).
The movie revolves around a friend group attending their first high school party. Of course, there is pressure to kiss girls and impress the older kids.
It was fitting Netflix held a high school-like party for the cast and crew. Thames was happy to reunite with his castmates and friends like Mckenna Grace. On his Instagram Story, Thames showed a text conversation with Grace asking her to bring her “dope ass camera” to the party.
She obliged. Thames does not feel “very photogenic” unless it is on Grace's or any vintage camera (slick move, Mason).
The friend group
Mason Thames stars in Incoming alongside Raphael Alejandro, Bardia Seiri, and Ramon Reed. They immediately hit it off and remain close. Thames felt it was important for the Incoming cast to nail the friend group dynamics he sees in his life. He still hangs out regularly with Reed and Alejandro — the latter is better than him at tennis.
“I'm trying to get better so I can beat him,” revealed Thames.
When ranking the three guys as potential wingmen, an important aspect of any friend group, Thames did not hesitate before saying Reed would be the best. He then named Alejandro second before apologizing and ranking Seiri last.
His relationships with his co-stars extended beyond the friend group. He recalled a scene with Thomas Barbusca, who plays Benj's carpool ride Rudy, where he could not keep it together. If you watch closely, there is a scene where Thames is smiling because there were no takes without it.
An Incoming sequel in college?
Thames has thought about doing a sequel to Incoming set in college.
“Netflix, where you at? You can hear me out for this one,” he joked.
He thinks a sequel would work because the whole Incoming cast has grown since it was filmed (which happened a couple of years ago).
“We've all changed so much,” explained Thames. “That would be a fun thing [to do].”
But what would that mean for Benj and Bailey? While his Stevie Wonder rendition did not result in them getting back together, she winks at him on her way out of the gymnasium. As Benj says, there is a “lot of year left” after the events of Incoming.
Thames' prediction? He may be a bit of an impending romantic, as he believes Benj and Bailey will be married by the time a sequel picks up their story.
“I mean, if somebody got down on one knee and sang to me like that, I would say yes, so I'm gonna say they're married,” Thames explained.
Admittedly, his theory may have some merit. I told him how I played guitar and sang for my now-fiancée (no, not like Ken in Barbie). He nearly leaped out of his seat exclaiming, “I'm telling you, man — it works! That's how you do it.”
Party tricks
Before any college-based Incoming sequel happens, the 17-year-old star has to approach adulthood. I asked what his party trick was, and Thames sheepishly questioned the usage of the term “pong.” But apparently, he is a force to be reckoned with in beer pong.
Bobby Cannavale's character has an equally cool party trick. In the movie, his character spits out fire like a dragon, thanks to the help of liquor. The scene was funny to film for Thames, as Cannavale did not perform the stunt, and Thames wasn't even sure what he was trying to do.
“That was all CGI,” Thames revealed. “He drank the — I don't know what it was, maybe water — whatever it was, and he would just spit it out. He looked really goofy. I didn't know what they were going to do. And then I saw the movie, and it was the fire. I was like, ‘Oh, that looks good.'”
The How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake
He compared the awkwardness of Cannavale spitting out the water to filming CGI sequences in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon. He confessed that riding on an invisible dragon felt “weird.”
Speaking of the upcoming live-action remake, Thames is aware of the pressure to get it right. He is not a fan of live-action remakes but considers playing Hiccup his definitive “dream role.”
“I've always had a strong opinion about live-action remakes,” Thames said. “But this is something that [was] made with so much love and passion. It is made by the people who made the original movies, and we're keeping it very close to the original and elevating as much as we can from animation to live-action.
“It was a lot of pressure for me because I love Hiccup so much. And I know how many people love the movies, and I didn't want to let anybody down. I've worked as hard as I can to bring Hiccup to life,” he continued.
The experience was worth it, though. Thames “can't wait” for audiences to see it once it hits theaters on June 13, 2025. He grew up with the movies and called Dean DeBlois and the rest of the cast “the most lovely people I've ever met.”
Future aspirations and a Notebook-like role for Mason Thames
Incoming was the first comedy Mason Thames has done. He did name a sequel to Incoming as a dream project, but he also has other aspirations. As I said, I get the impression that Thames will be a romantic soon enough.
When I asked him what kind of genre he'd like to step into after doing horror (The Black Phone) and comedy (Incoming), he named The Notebook as a reference point for a future dream role.
“Romance would be cool,” Thames told me, confident in his answer. “I mean, there's romance in this [Incoming], but a romance movie would be fun.”
The reason for this is Thames' emotional experience watching The Notebook. He was fine with it centered around Ryan Gosling but got teary-eyed once the elderly got involved.
“I remember watching that, and I'm not going to lie, I cried. Why did they have to [include] old people in it? They always get me. That's not fair. The moment I saw the old people cry, I was like, Okay, I don't like this anymore. And it got me,” Thames concluded.
Incoming will be released on Netflix on August 23.
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