When Ken Leung was brought in to audition for the role of Commander Zhao in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Netflix kept everything so secret that the actor didn’t even know what he was auditioning for. But when he found out it was for Avatar, he confessed that he thought it was for James Cameron’s Avatar sequels.
“When I first heard it was Avatar, I thought I as going to be blue,” Leung told Deadline, adding that he wasn’t aware of the original animated series at all, but considered it a good thing for his performance. “Looking back, I kind of love that I came in blank,” he said. “Because when you have ideas, you can kind of… corrupt a pure process. When you come in blank, things will come into it that will inform your playing of it, in a way that it might not if you come in with preconceived ideas or plans. So I was grateful for that.” With a few more Avatar sequels on the way, maybe Ken Leung will also get to join that franchise.
“Water. Earth. Fire. Air. The four nations once lived in harmony, with the Avatar, master of all four elements, keeping peace between them. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked and wiped out the Air Nomads, the first step taken by the firebenders towards conquering the world,” reads the official description. “With the current incarnation of the Avatar yet to emerge, the world has lost hope. But like a light in the darkness, hope springs forth when Aang, a young Air Nomad — and the last of his kind — reawakens to take his rightful place as the next Avatar. Alongside his newfound friends Sokka and Katara, siblings and members of the Southern Water Tribe, Aang embarks on a fantastical, action-packed quest to save the world and fight back against the fearsome onslaught of Fire Lord Ozai. But with a driven Crown Prince Zuko determined to capture them, it won’t be an easy task. They’ll need the help of the many allies and colorful characters they meet along the way.“
Avatar: The Last Airbender has received mixed reviews, but our own Steve Seigh was a big fan of the live-action series, saying, “I had the pleasure of previewing the first seven episodes of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender for JoBlo.com and I’m thrilled to say that it’s fantastic! It’s full of outstanding performances, one-to-one shots from the original, and new elements to get excited about! I say this as a die-hard fan of the original animated series. I wholeheartedly love this version of the show. If you’re nervous about it, don’t be! Get excited, show up, and enjoy the ride!” You can check out Seigh’s review right here.
Avatar: The Last Airbender stars Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko, Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as General Iroh, Ken Leung as Commander Zhao, and Elizabeth Yu as Princess Azula. The first season of the live-action series is now streaming on Netflix.