Mason Thames Height: How Tall Is The Black Phone Star Really?

Fans of Mason Thames have been typing one question into Google more than almost any other lately: how tall is this guy, actually? It’s a fair question too — when you’re watching someone go from a scrappy kid in The Black Phone to a full-on Viking chief-in-training in How to Train Your Dragon, you start wondering about the real person behind the roles. So let’s get straight to it: Mason Thames height is officially listed at 5’8″ (173 cm), and that number has become almost as searched-for as his acting résumé itself. In this article, we’ll break down everything worth knowing about his physical stats, his background, and why his height even matters in the context of his growing Hollywood career.

a close photo of Mason Thames in black dress

Table of Contents

Mason Thames Height: The Quick Answer

If you’re just here for the number, here it is — Mason Thames stands at approximately 5 feet 8 inches, or 173 centimeters. That places him at a fairly average height for a young man his age, neither unusually tall nor short, which honestly works in his favor for casting purposes (more on that later).

He’s also got brown eyes, brown hair, and what most casting directors and fans describe as an athletic and lean build — a physique that didn’t happen by accident. It’s largely a product of years spent in ballet training, something we’ll dig into shortly because it genuinely shaped how he moves on screen.

Who Is Mason Thames? A Quick Bio Refresher

Before we go deeper into the physical stuff, it’s worth remembering who we’re actually talking about. Mason Thames is an American actor, born July 10, 2007, in Dallas, Texas. As of 2025 he’s 17 years old, which honestly is wild considering how much he’s already packed into his career.

He’s best known for two massive roles: playing Finney Blake in The Black Phone (2021) alongside Ethan Hawke, and more recently stepping into the boots of Hiccup in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon (2025). Two very different characters, two very different physical demands — and his build had to work for both.

Here’s a quick snapshot table so you don’t have to scroll around later:

Detail	Information
Full Name	Mason Thames
Date of Birth	July 10, 2007
Height	5’8″ (173 cm)
Build	Athletic, lean
Hometown	Dallas, Texas, USA
Known For	The Black Phone, How to Train Your Dragon

Why Does Mason Thames’ Height Get Searched So Much?

Honestly, this happens with a lot of young actors — people want to picture them accurately, especially fans who’ve only seen them on a screen where everything is relative. Height comparisons matter more than people admit, particularly for actors landing physically demanding, action-heavy roles like Hiccup.

There’s also the co-star comparison angle. When The Black Phone paired him opposite Ethan Hawke, who stands noticeably taller at around 6 feet, fans naturally started comparing frame sizes on screen. Similarly, in the How to Train Your Dragon cast, height dynamics between Hiccup and other Viking characters (many played by larger, more traditionally “Viking-built” actors) became a talking point among fans dissecting casting choices.

So really, the height question isn’t just vanity trivia — it feeds into a bigger conversation about screen presence and how physical stature influences casting for specific roles.

The Ballet Connection: How Dance Shaped His Physique

This part doesn’t get talked about enough, and it’s genuinely one of the more interesting threads in his story. Mason Thames’ ballet background goes back years before Hollywood ever noticed him.

He followed his sister, Brooke Thames — a professional ballerina known as Brooke Madison Thames — into dance, training for roughly four years. That’s not a casual hobby stint; that’s serious, disciplined training. Ballet demands:

Core strength and balance
Flexibility and controlled movement
Body awareness most actors don’t develop until much later
Emotional expression through physicality, not just dialogue

That training is essentially why he carries himself the way he does on screen now. Ballet training → contributed to → his athletic and lean build, and that build later translated directly into the physical acting chops he needed for action-adjacent roles. It’s a nice little full-circle thing, actually — the sister who got him into dance basically helped shape the actor he became.

Physical Transformation for How to Train Your Dragon (Filling the Gap)

Here’s something most competitor articles gloss over completely, and it’s arguably the most relevant physical detail tied to his current fame: what changed physically for Mason Thames to play Hiccup?

Stepping into a live-action adaptation of a beloved animated franchise isn’t a small ask. Hiccup isn’t just a character who talks a lot — he rides dragons, trains physically with Vikings, and needs to look believable doing stunt-adjacent work throughout the film. Unlike a purely dramatic role like his part in The Black Phone, this one demanded a more visible physical presence.

While Mason hasn’t publicized a dramatic bulking transformation the way some action stars do, industry chatter and on-set imagery suggest:

Increased functional training — building practical strength for stunt work and wire-assisted sequences rather than pure aesthetics.
Movement coaching carried over from ballet — his prior dance discipline gave him a head start most first-time action leads don’t have.
Costume and prosthetic adjustments — Hiccup’s design in live-action required specific proportions that filmmakers likely worked around rather than demanding Mason drastically alter his natural 5’8″ frame.

Director Dean DeBlois reportedly chose Mason specifically because of what he brought from The Black Phone, not because he needed a physical overhaul. So in truth, his height and build were seen as right for the role already, not something requiring a total transformation. That’s a detail that gets lost when articles just repeat the raw height number without context.

Height in Context: Comparing Mason Thames to Co-Stars

One thing fans genuinely want (and rarely get) is comparative context. So let’s actually do it.

Actor	Approx. Height	Project Together
Mason Thames	5’8″ (173 cm)	—
Ethan Hawke	~6’0″ (183 cm)	The Black Phone
Gerard Butler (HTTYD cast)	~6’1″ (185 cm)	How to Train Your Dragon

This kind of comparison matters because it shows Mason isn’t the tallest guy in the room in either major project, yet he still commands scenes through presence, not stature. That’s a testament to acting skill rather than physical dominance — something worth noting for anyone assuming height determines screen impact.

Mason Thames’ Early Life and Path to Acting

Growing up in Dallas, Texas, Mason wasn’t initially aiming for Hollywood. He spent a lot of time watching films like The Avengers and Pacific Rim with his father, Byron Thames, and that shared time is basically where his love for cinema took root. Funny enough, movie nights with dad ended up being more career-defining than any formal training could’ve been.

His acting debut came at just 11 years old in For All Mankind on Apple TV+ — a small but important first step that gave him real, professional set experience early. From there, things moved relatively fast:

2019: Acting debut in For All Mankind
2021: Breakthrough role in The Black Phone opposite Ethan Hawke
2025: Major lead role in How to Train Your Dragon (live-action)
2025: Additional projects including The Black Phone 2 and Regretting You

Family Support and Influence

You really can’t tell Mason’s story without mentioning his family, they’ve basically been the backbone of everything. His sister Brooke got him into ballet in the first place, and his parents — particularly his father Byron — nurtured his early obsession with film.

Family support → enabled → Mason’s transition from ballet to acting, and that support system continues today as he juggles multiple major productions at once. It’s the kind of grounded family dynamic that a lot of young Hollywood stars don’t always have, and fans seem to genuinely appreciate that about him.

Lifestyle, Interests, and What Makes Him Relatable

Despite the fame, Mason still comes across as a pretty normal teenager in a lot of ways. He’s mentioned admiring actors like Timothée Chalamet, River Phoenix, and Heath Ledger — a list that shows a genuine appreciation for nuanced performance rather than just blockbuster stardom.

He also reportedly can recite Spider-Man 2 nearly word for word, which, honestly, is a very relatable level of movie-nerd energy. Between press tours to places like Brazil and London, and a red carpet appearance at Louis Vuitton’s Paris show in 2025, his lifestyle is a mix of high-fashion Hollywood moments and down-to-earth teenage habits like dancing and hanging with friends.

Does Height Really Matter for an Actor’s Career?

Short answer: not as much as people think. Screen presence, chemistry, and range matter far more than raw inches. Mason’s career so far basically proves that — he’s landed physically demanding lead roles at 5’8″, a height that isn’t extraordinary by any measure, simply because he brings the performance quality directors need.

That said, height still factors into casting decisions in subtle ways — pairing actors for believable on-screen relationships, action choreography, and camera framing all consider it. So while it’s not the deciding factor, it’s not irrelevant either.

FAQs About Mason Thames’ Height and Career

How tall is Mason Thames exactly? Mason Thames is approximately 5 feet 8 inches (173 cm) tall. This measurement is fairly average for his age group and hasn’t been a limiting factor in landing major, physically demanding roles like Hiccup.

Did Mason Thames train physically for How to Train Your Dragon? While no dramatic transformation was publicized, his years of ballet training gave him strong movement coordination and body awareness, which likely reduced the need for intense physical prep compared to typical action-role actors.

Is Mason Thames taller or shorter than his co-stars? He’s generally shorter than co-stars like Ethan Hawke and members of the How to Train Your Dragon cast, both around 6 feet. Despite this, he holds his own on screen through performance and presence.

Does ballet training affect an actor’s height or build? Ballet doesn’t typically change height, but it significantly shapes build and posture, contributing to Mason’s lean, athletic frame and the fluid, controlled movement style visible in his acting work.