‘Avatar’ star Dallas Liu draws deep within himself to portray Prince Zuko

Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko in a scene from “Avatar: The Last Airbender” live-action series.

Dallas Liu confessed he had to pull specific moments in his life to portray the “extreme trauma” of Prince Zuko in the live-action of “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” but he’s glad to be surrounded by a cast that feels like family.

Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu) was exiled from the Fire Nation after bringing shame to his father, Fire Lord Ozai. This ultimately set him into a cat-and-mouse chase with the titular Avatar Aang (Gordon Cormier).

But apart from the anger and desperation to prove himself worthy as a Fire Nation royal, Liu is the clear opposite of his character. He exudes a calm and cool presence, and he even had the confidence to compare the heat of the Philippines to the Fire Nation as soon as he sat for a question-and-answer session with Cormier.

“It’s really hot, ohmigosh! It’s so humid. When I stepped out of the [air-conditioning in the plane], I feel like I am in the Fire Nation,” he quipped during a press conference for the live-action series.

From Dallas to Zuko

Liu had a strong charisma akin to Prince Zuko. His strong aura can be felt as he enters a room and you would feel intimidated by his presence. But as he opened up about tapping into the “negativity” of his character, he proved he’s more than what meets the eye.

“You really have to tap into the negativity of Prince Zuko and what he’s going through. Unfortunately, Zuko has gone through so much extreme trauma and that’s hard to relate to,” he said at a press conference. “There are many points of my life that I had to pull from specifically that I think worked through specific scenes.”

Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko in a scene from “Avatar: The Last Airbender” live-action series.

To stay faithful to the inner turmoils of Zuko, Liu said being able to “fully resonate” with the Fire Nation royal was a task he took very seriously. But there were moments he found it hard to draw the line between himself and his character.

“It was really hard to differentiate the line between Dallas and Zuko because I was in character all day every day. Luckily, I had Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, the kindest person I’ve ever met,” said Liu while referring to his constant scene partner who stars as the calm and collected Uncle Iroh. “He was extremely supportive of me throughout the process.”

The actor also had Cormier, Kiawentiio (Katara), Ian Ousley (Sokka), and Elizabeth Yu (Azula) to thank. He also underscored the Filipino-Canadian actor’s pro qualities for an “amazing job” despite his young age.

“What’s beautiful about my co-stars is that they didn’t just do an interpretation of their characters. They were able to do something that feels very grounded and you’re getting to see these real people interacting with these elements in this world,” said Liu.

Dallas Liu (right) with Gordon Cormier (left) at a press conference for “Avatar: The Last Airbender” live-action series.

In the same press conference, Cormier shared portraying Aang’s pain of being the last living Airbender was a challenge but the childlike spirit of the Avatar was easy for him.

“Aang and Zuko’s scenes, they’re much more personal and intimate because they feel like real people living in this fantasy world where it’s life and death. In those moments between Zuko and Aang, I feel like people will truly relate to their relationship as crazy as it might sound,” he said.

The live-action series was confirmed for two more seasons earlier this month.