Vlad Bunoan

Article (news)

Yong Chavez

ABS-CBN News North America

<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j8WyqhfC8kA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>One of the earliest signs of success is when ordinary moments suddenly change. For Gordon Cormier, the Filipino-Canadian actor who plays the title role in “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” that reality arrived during an ordinary trip to the grocery store after the first season came out.But long before fans recognized him as Aang in Netflix’s hit fantasy series, he and his cast-mates joked about what fame might look like once audiences embraced the live-action adaptation. “When it happened,” Cormier says with a laugh, “it was interesting, but it’s awesome. You get to see smiles. It makes my day, low-key. It’s really sweet.”The attention carries extra meaning for Cormier, whose portrayal of Aang has resonated with young Filipino viewers who see themselves reflected in a global franchise. He accepts that responsibility with understated gratitude. “I appreciate that,” he says.<div> </div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782464191292Behind the scenes AVTR_2_Unit_00011R.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Behind the scenes of &#x27;Avatar: The Last Airbender.&#x27; Netflix</div>Season 2 expands the world of “Avatar,” introducing new allies and fresh conflicts, including fan favorite Toph, played by Miyako Cech. Yet when the cast reflects on the experience of filming back-to-back seasons, conversations drift away from bending battles and visual effects. Instead, they return to the people they were becoming while the cameras rolled. For Cech, the production demanded a level of discipline that reshaped how she approaches her craft. The long days required stunt rehearsals, line runs, and a sharper awareness of time than she had ever needed before.“I learned how to manage my time better,” she says. “I learned how to approach a character in different ways that I don’t think I had done yet.”Kiawentiio discovered that portraying Katara depended on strengthening something less tangible.“Our show is imagination,” she says. “To fully commit and rely on yourself and your own imagination, I felt like that grew so much throughout Season 2, and especially throughout Season 3. I was having crazy dreams. My brain was just constantly going.”<div> </div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782464545234Gordon and Kiawentiio (Katara) on set AVTR_2_Unit_03151R.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Gordon Cormier and Kiawentiio on the set of &#x27;Avatar: The Last Airbender.&#x27; Netflix</div>Ian Ousley, who plays Sokka, found himself preparing months before filming even began. Building stamina for another year-long production became as important as memorizing scripts.“I wanted to use this as a time to grow, not only as an actor, but as a person,” he says. Looking back on the first season, he remembers the pressure everyone placed on themselves to honor a beloved animated classic. Returning for the next chapters felt different.“The looser you are,” Ousley says, “the better it can be, because you always make better art when you’re playing and having more fun.”That lesson echoes through nearly every conversation with the cast. They speak about commitment, preparation and emotional investment, while recognizing that each shooting day eventually comes to an end.Cormier learned that boundary in an unexpectedly personal way.“I remember in the beginning of Season 2, it was getting kind of hard because I would bring Aang home with me,” he says. “You have to remember that Aang is a character that you created and you built and you worked on. He’s not who you are.”He laughs while recalling friends teasing him about whether he had suddenly become vegetarian because of his character.“I do eat meat in real life,” he says. “When you play a character, the character stays on set. You have to take you home.”That idea of preserving yourself surfaces again when I asked the cast what they would pack in a survival kit for their younger selves and what would they tell them.Cech’s version includes a notebook and a carefully chosen set of highlighters, along with games that encourage friendships between takes. She has learned that relationships built on set deserve as much attention as rehearsals.Kiawentiio would offer a simpler piece of advice to the version of herself that first played Katara. “If your mind is open, open it more,” she says. “Stay learning. Keep learning.”<div> </div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782464669512cast at the premiere GNZ05975_7LoJcVB2.JPG" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>The cast at the premiere of &#x27;Avatar: The Last Airbender.&#x27; Netflix Ousley would encourage patience with himself and a lighter grip on expectations.</div>Cormier’s answer surprises everyone, including himself. “I’d tell myself to try your best to remember,” he says. “I loved Season 1. I think. I don’t remember anything. I wish I would have written things down.”The interview room immediately erupts in laughter. “You need her highlighters and her journal,” Ousley jokes, pointing toward Cech.Across another interview room, Dallas Liu and Elizabeth Yu describe a different balancing act. Their characters, Zuko and Azula, spend much of Season 2 locked in one of the story’s most emotionally charged relationships. Bringing that sibling rivalry to life required complete trust.“I think working with Lizzy was some of the most fun that I had on the show,” Liu says. “She was so committed to her preparation and her work. It felt like iron sharpening iron. We were making each other better every time we worked together.”One pivotal confrontation demanded everything they had. “It felt like we were putting everything on the line,” Liu recalls.But they also admit that the intensity rarely lasted beyond the director calling cut. After filming emotionally exhausting scenes, the two often found themselves laughing instead. During one sequence, repeated attempts to maintain fierce eye contact eventually became impossible.“I remember doing a take where I burst out laughing,” Liu says. “We had done it so many times. You’re supposed to look really intense, and it was toward the end of the shoot. We got the giggles.”Yu remembers the exact moment. “There’s the moment at the end where Zuko and Azula look at each other,” she says, smiling as they reenact the exchange.<div> </div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782464787692Dallas Liu is Zuko Avatar__The_Last_Airbender_n_S2_00_05_39_04R_C.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Dallas Liu is Zuko in &#x27;Avatar: The Last Airbender.&#x27; Netflix</div>That ease also shaped their conversation about representation. Asked how they carry the expectations that often accompany being actors of color in a high-profile production, Yu answered with a question of her own, turning the conversation back toward the interviewer.“How do you deal with that too, being a journalist and a woman of color?” When I answered that you meet it head-on, she nodded. “Right? I think it’s the same thing,” Yu says. “It’s just a part of who you are, and you learn to accept it and love it. She has found an even deeper connection through the roles she plays. “As an Asian actress, all the characters I play are Asian women,” she says. “That adds a certain level of understanding between me and them that I’ve grown to really, really love and cherish.”Liu approaches the subject with characteristic humility. “I’m just grateful to be here and have the opportunity,” he says.Asked what they would include in their own survival kits, the pair instantly abandoned earnest reflection in favor of sibling-level teasing.Yu says she would warn her younger self about spending so much time beside Liu on physically demanding fight sequences. “You’re going to want to carry an air freshener around,” she jokes.Liu fires back without hesitation. “Bring three extra sticks of deodorant,” he says, laughing. “You guys will be doing fight scenes, sweating, and it’s going to smell pretty bad.”For a cast that has spent years growing alongside one another, the exchange seems to prove that the friendships they’ve built are just as authentic as the fictional relationships they portray on-screen.<div> </div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782464873529Avatar__The_Last_Airbender_n_S2_00_18_44_17R_C.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>A scene from &#x27;Avatar: The Last Airbender.&#x27; Netflix</div>

As Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender” returns with a larger world and higher stakes, its young cast says the biggest transformation happened behind the scenes.

As Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender” returns with a larger world and higher stakes, its young cast says the biggest transformation happened behind the scenes.

Here in Hollywood: How ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ changed its young stars

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Here in Hollywood: How ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ changed its young stars

Yong Chavez,

ABS-CBN News North America

Published June 26, 2026 05:25 PM PHT

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