Four elements and many more key characters make up the beloved story of “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” Netflix’s new live-action series brings many characters from the Nickelodeon animated show out of 2D into 3D.
From Gordon Cormier’s Aang to siblings Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley) and the searing Fire Nation family Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim), Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu) and Azula (Elizabeth Yu), the main characters go from cartoon to live-action with all of their signature characteristics like Zuko’s scar and Sokka’s club and boomerang.
Albert Kim’s adaptation of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Koneitzko’s original source material captures individual quests for power, knowledge, glory and world domination among other themes, like that of sacrifice for young children. Kim’s world-building expands the foundation set in the Nickelodeon show.
Here’s who plays who in the live-action Netflix series “Avatar: The Last Airbender”:
Aang (Gordon Cormier)
Long ago, Aang found out that he was the airbender destined to become the Avatar and master all four elements — water, earth, fire and air — to maintain the peace of the world, but that was before he inadvertently froze himself and his Sky Bison Appa into an iceberg beneath the sea. Upon his thawing out and discovery by siblings Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Oiusley), Aang learns that 100 years have passed since he first was told of his destiny, and a lot has changed since then.
Gordon Cormier is known for appearances in eight episodes of “The Stand,” an episode of “Lost in Space” and an episode of “Two Sentence Horror Stories.” In the animated series, Aang was voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen, who also voiced Pablo in the children’s series “The Backyardigans.”
Katara (Kiawentiio)
Katara is the last remaining water bender in her Southern tribe village of Wolf Cove. When she was younger, the Fire Nation invaded their camp to get rid of all water benders, but Katara’s mother sacrificed herself to ensure her daughter’s survival. Katara has yet to completely master water-bending, but she can teach Aang how to master the element as well.
Kiawentiio is known for voicing Wahta in Marvel’s “What If…?”, Beans in “Beans” (2020) and for playing Ka’kwet in “Anne with an E.” In the Nickelodeon series, Mae Whitman voiced Katara.
Sokka (Ian Ousley)
Katara’s protective older brother Sokka became the leader of Wolf Cove when their father Hakoda put him in charge, so Hakoda could attempt a mission that required travel. Though he doesn’t bend, Sokka’s skills lie in weapon combat with his club, attacking from distances with his boomerang and strategizing with his engineering mind.
Ian Ousley played Zeke Breem in Apple TV+’s “Physical,” Robby Corman in “13 Reasons Why” and Bodhi in “Big Shot.”
Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu)
Prince Zuko’s purpose in life revolves around capturing Aang, the Avatar, to bring back to his tyrant father Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim). He seeks to regain his father’s good graces, as well as honor and glory, by completing a thought-to-be-impossible task.
Dallas Liu is known for voicing Jin Kazama at 6 years old in ‘Tekken” (2010), Young Jimmy in “Underdog Kids” (2015), Young Bi Han in “Mortal Kombat: Legacy” and Ruihua in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (2021).
Uncle Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee)
Uncle Iroh accompanies Zuko on this quest to find the Avatar. He loves jasmine tea and retains a more balanced, peaceful disposition than his young brother, Fire Lord Ozai. He holds all sorts of wisdom for his nephew.
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is known for playing Appa in “Kim’s Convenience” as well as Captain Carson Teva in “The Book of Boba Fett,” “Ahsoka” and “The Mandalorian.”
Gran Gran (Casey Camp-Horinek)
Gran Gran is Katara’s and Sokka’s grandmother. She is an elder of Wolf Cove village who clocks Aang right when they bring him back to camp. Gran Gran’s daughter was Katara’s and Sokka’s mother.
Casey Camp-Horinek is known for playing Irene in “Barking Water” (2009), Sky Woman in “Dreamkeeper” (2003), Mrs. Thompson in “Behind the Door of a Secret Girl” (2014) and Fala in “Asking for It” (2021). She appeared as Grandma Irene in “Reservation Dogs” as well as Rose Bell in an episode of “Found.”
Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim)
Fire Lord Ozai descended from the evil Fire Lord Sozin, who harnessed the power of a comet to invade the Air Nomads’ homes to commit genocide in an attempt to prevent the Avatar from ever challenging his plan for world domination. Ozai’s wife left him for unknown reasons, and he takes out a lot of his anger and other hidden emotions on his two children. His demand of Zuko to find Aang also serves as a punishment, as Zuko is banished from the Fire Nation until he can find the Avatar.
Daniel Dae Kim is known for playing an E.R. Doctor in “For Love of the Game” Jin-Soo Kwon in “Lost,” Major Ben Daimio in “Hellboy” (2019) and Jack Kang in the second“Divergent” film, “Insurgent.”
Princess Azula (Elizabeth Yu)
Azula is Zuko’s younger sister, and she has just as much fire in her as her father and brother. Eager to please her father and win his affection, Azula tries everything to get Ozai’s attention whether it be endless grueling training sessions or strategizing behind the Fire Lord’s back with Zhao.
Elizabeth Yu played Mary Atherton-Yoo in “May December” (2023) and Amy in “Somewhere in Queens” (2022).
Suki (Maria Zhang)
Suki catches Sokka’s eye immediately when Aang takes him and Katara to Kyoshi Island, the small earth-bending nation that birthed Avatar Kyoshi. Suki serves as a Kyoshi warrior, those who fight with golden fans like the great Avatar warrior did. She and Sokka bond over their lack of bending.
Maria Zhang appeared in the short film “All I Ever Wanted” (2022) before landing her breakout role in “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
Commander Zhao (Ken Leung)
Commander Zhao provides competition in Zuko’s pursuit of the avatar. A shady Fire Nation soldier who wants to piggyback off the success of the prince’s hard work, Zhao presents some problems not only for Zuko and the Avatar but in the grand scheme of world domination as well.
Ken Leung is known for playing Jarin in “Old,” Miles Straume in “Lost” and Eric Tao in “Industry.”
June (Arden Cho)
June the bounty hunter can track down anyone with her shirshu, Nyla, who can sniff out trails of the scent based on one article of clothing or another object that contains the target’s scent. Nyla’s rarity makes June a heavily sought-after tracker and expensive for her clients.
Arden Cho is known for playing Kira Yukimura in “Teen Wolf,” Emily in “Chicago Med,” Mia Price in “Hawaii Five-0” and Honor Liang in “The Honor List.” More recently, she appeared as Ingrid Yun in “Partner Track” on Netflix.
King Bumi (Utkarsh Ambudkar)
Bumi was a childhood friend of Aang’s, before Aang froze himself in an iceberg. Now Bumi reigns the Earth Kingdom from Omashu, and he has aged at least 100 years.
Utkarsh Ambudkar is most well-known for playing Rin in “Blindspotting” (2018), “Mouser in “Free Guy” (2021) and Jern in “Brittany Runs a Marathon” (2019). More recently, he played Manish Kulkarni in “Never Have I Ever” and Jay Arondekar in “Ghosts.”
Jet (Sebastian Amoruso)
Jet has some demons, but he tries to channel them into something productive. He fights with swords with hooks on the end, and he leads a pack of rebels with the goals to sabotage Fire Nation activities.
Amoruso is known for playing Johnny in “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and Wes in “Solve.”
Yukari (Tamlyn Tomita)
Yukari, leader of Kyoshi Island, is Suki’s mother. She can fight with fans just as well as Suki, and she harbors Aang and his friends briefly until the Fire Nation invade.
Tamlyn Tomita is known for playing Kumiko in “The Karate Kid Part II” (1986), voicing jun Kazama in “Tekken” (2010), playing Mrs. Cheung in “The Eye” (2008) and playing Janet Tokada in “The Day After Tomorrow” (2004). She has also appeared in “The Good Doctor” as Allegra Aoki, “Star Trek: Picard” as Tamiko Watanabe and Kumiko in “Cobra Kai.” She also plays Caroline in “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.”
The Mechanist (Danny Pudi)
The Mechanist has a son who can fly in the sky like Aang. He works in Omashu and even encourages Sokka to pursue it.
Danny Pudi is known for playing Abed Nadir in “Community,” Lando in “Knights of Badassdom,” and Fi’Ja in “Star Trek Beyond” (2016).