Voice actors always have an important role to play in animated media franchises. Their job is to express the emotions that their characters are feeling only with their voices and it requires an incredible amount of skill and perfection to be able to do it consistently.
Avatar: The Last Airbender, usually considered as one of the greatest animated series of all time, also had a really fabulous voice-acting cast.
Mike DiMartino opens up about landing Jason Issacs for Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender was first released back in February 2005 and quickly went on to become one of the most successful animated series of all time. The animated series revolved around the story of Avatar Aang and his journey of how he developed his bending skills to fight and defeat the Fire Lord Ozai and establish an era of peace after a hundred years of war.
Other than an absolutely incredible plot and mesmerizing world-building, Avatar: The Last Airbender also had an incredible voice-acting cast who portrayed their roles to absolute perfection. The series had some of the best voice actors of the industry, including some big names like Jason Issacs, Clancy Brown, and Mark Hamill.
Once in an interview with IGN, the creator of the series, Michael DiMartino opened up about how when it came to the casting of Admiral Zhao, he just wanted an actor like Jason Issacs as he was inspired by the actor’s performance in The Patriot. He said,
“We’ve been honored to work with such a great group of actors. From the main cast on down, all the actors have infused their characters with a lot of emotional depth. When I was first writing dialogue for the character of Zhao, I was inspired by Jason Isaacs’ chilling performance as the villain in The Patriot.
So when the time came to cast the character, I asked our casting director, Maryanne Dacey, if she could find someone like Jason Isaacs. A few days later, she got the real deal instead.”
Mike DiMartino also went on to talk about the role of Mako in the series.
Mike DiMartino talks about the late voice actor, Mako
Makoto Iwamatsu, more popularly known as Mako. was one of the most popular actors in the industry back in the day. Mako became a part of almost 165 productions throughout his career, spanning over four decades. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2006, aged 72 from esophageal cancer.
Mako was portraying the role of Uncle Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender at the time and after his death, the role was later portrayed by Greg Baldwin. Once in an interview with IGN, the creator of the series, Mike DiMartino opened up about Mako’s role in the series and revealed that they didn’t even audition him while casting for the role of Uncle Iroh. He said,
“Bryan and I had seen Mako in a couple films and we offered him the role without even hearing an audition. The first time he recorded, we knew he was perfect. He was really funny and brought a lot of warmth to the character. But he can also sound very wise and serious when he needs to. We’re honored that he was a part of Avatar.”
The 15th episode of the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, ‘The Tales of Ba Sing Se’ also paid tribute to Mako who had died a few months before the episode aired. The episode received massive critical acclaim and is often regarded as one of the fan favorites.
All seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender are currently streaming on Netflix.
