Not only is Mark Hamill beloved for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars movies, he’s also the renowned voice actor behind iconic villains like Batman’s Joker and Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Fire Lord Ozai. Now, as Daniel Dae Kim prepares to play the big bad in Netflix’s adaptation of Avatar, he spoke to CinemaBlend about Hamill’s voice performance and how it impacted his portrayal of the Fire Lord in Netflix’s live-action adaptation.
Hamill’s performance as Ozai in the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender is wicked, iconic and barely recognizable. He really doesn't sound like himself, much like his voice for Joker. So, when I asked Daniel Dae Kim about how his predecessor inspired his own performance as the Fire Lord, he talked about the Star Wars star's work as a voice actor overall first, saying:
First of all, I think Mark Hamill, you know, is one of our best voice actors. When I first heard him doing the Joker, I didn't know was him. And when someone told me it was [him], I had real time, a hard time, trying to compute putting those two ideas together. That's how good his work is.
I’m so with him! I didn’t know Mark Hamill voiced Ozai until years after I watched the show for the first time, and I mean that as such a high compliment. He’s so committed to this terrifying role that you become immersed in the show, and you don't spend much time thinking about who is voicing the character.
Now that the Lost star is playing this iconic villain in the Avatar: The Last Airbender cast, he told me how Hamill’s performance as the Fire Lord impacted his own take on the character, telling me:
And so when I heard him voice Ozai the thing that I really love most about it was his refusal to apologize for the character. Like he went full-throated and wholehearted into what that character wanted without apology. And I thought that was something to take away.
You can stream the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender with a Netflix subscription starting February 22 according to the 2024 TV schedule, and you can catch the OG animated series in the same place right now.
He makes such a great point, Hamill’s performance as Ozai is “full-throated and wholehearted.” When I watch the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender, I’m always terrified of the Fire Lord, because he’s so driven and passionate about his quest to take over the world and bring down the Avatar. The iconic voice actor has a lot to do with that, and now it’s Daniel Dae Kim’s turn to bring that spirit to the world of live-action.
With Ozai being incorporated into Avatar earlier than he was in the animated series, we’ll get to see how Mark Hamill’s performance impacted Daniel Dae Kim’s quickly, and I can’t wait. While some fans are already upset about Netflix’s ATLA, the first reactions to the live-action adaptation are cautiously optimistic. Between that, as well as the new Fire Lord's passionate love for his predecessor, I think we’re in for a treat.
