‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Nico Parker hits back at Astrid casting backlash

Nico Parker is turning a blind eye on those who are upset about her casting as the dragon hunter-turned-dragon rider, Astrid, in the live action film of How to Train Your Dragon.

Astrid, in the original animated film, has blonde hair and blue eyes, which is why many fans of the film criticised Parker's brown hair and brown eyes - a different appearance from the character.

In an interview with The Times of London, The Last of Us star addressed the online backlash explaining that she does not let those comments get to her head.

"There’s some people that really love the animated movies and really want to see an exact play-by-play of that film, and I hope that you can watch [the new version] and find something that you love about it, regardless," she said.

The 20-year-old British actress added, "But for the people that just hate inclusivity, hate change when it comes to that side of things, I just don’t care."

Parker continued, "If I wouldn’t value your opinion on most things in life, I can’t value your opinion on my hair. If I did, I would go mad."

The daughter of director Ol Parker and actress Thandiwe Newton went on to say that when she was younger, the representation in Hollywood of "mixed race or Black icons" was "really minimal." Although, she its "really special" to see how far the industry has come.

The How to Train Your Dragon is slated for release on June 13.