Daniel Dae Kim has been cast in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the fan favourite Nickelodeon animated series.
Kim best known for his roles in Lost, Hawaii Five-O and The Good Doctor, will play Fire Lord Ozai, the ruthlessly driven leader of the Fire Nation who demands that everyone live up to his impossible standards, especially his teenage son, Prince Zuko. Ozai’s drive to conquer and unite the world under firebender rule is a family burden. He believes that it’s his destiny to finish a war started by his ancestors.
Netflix broke the news on its own Twitter feed and Kim followed up with a tweet confirming the news.
It’s gettin’ hot in here…#avatar #ozai pic.twitter.com/qDlWWbFHHC
— Daniel Dae Kim (@danieldaekim) November 3, 2021
As a series regular, Kim joins previously cast young leads Dallas Liu who plays rice Zuko, Gordon Cormier, who plays Aang; Kiawentiio as Katara and Ian Ousley as Sokka.
Daniel Dae Kim is no stranger to the Last Airbender franchise. He voiced General Fong in a 2006 episode of the Nickelodeon animated series and in the 2007 video game. He also voiced Hiroshi Sato on Avatar: The Last Airbender spinoff series The Legend of Korra.
Kim appeared in one of my favourite Star: Trek Voyager episodes, Blink Of An Eye where he played Kelmane astronaut, Pilot First Rank Gotana-Retz who was part of a mission to investigate the ancient Sky Ship.
More recently he lent his voice to the character Benja in Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon. That film drew heavily from the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and also showcased Dae Kim as a compassionate, powerful father figure. Fire Lord Ozai on the other hand, whilst very powerful is far from compassionate. It will be a joy to watch Kim play the megalomaniac.
The Netflix production of The Last Airbender got off to a rocky start when the original creators left the series. Albert Kim is the new showrunner and has vowed to maintain the authenticity of the source material.
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