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In a cast blessed with talent,Avatar: The Last AirbenderandThe Legend of Korrawere headed by a strong voice cast. Dante Basco as Prince Zuko and Makoto Iwamatsu as General Iroh are some of the more memorable ones, but every actor breathed life into their characters.
In more subtle but impactful roles were surprising and prominent celebrities, some of who aren’t known for the voice acting industry at all. The diverse personalities and roles allowed for many more opportunities for these cameos to arise from different careers and unite fanbases together.
This invited the world of sports into theAvataruniverse as many athletes are fans of the show. Serena Williams, the former tennis player and considered one of the greatest in her field, actually voiced not one but two characters overall.
Guest voice actors in theAvataruniverse almost always come back for their roles but their prominence increased inThe Legend of Korra.Regardless, nobody expected Serena Williams to be included in this fandom.
Serena Williams played a helping hand twice in theAvataruniverse
Serena Williamsis reportedly an avid fan ofAvatar: The Last Airbender,even years after her role in the show.She voices her love on the YouTube channel, Still Watching Netflix. It’s not even a complicated reason why she was chosen for the roles. She just loves the universe and was invited back forThe Legend of Korra.
In her first role inAvatar: The Last Airbender,Serena Williams plays a Fire Nation soldier and prison guard who brings Uncle Iroh his meals during his imprisonment. She used to bring him an extra bowl of rice or white jade tea, a rare type of tea since she knew he loved rare teas.
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Ming helps Uncle Iroh because he reminds her of her dad. In exchange, Iroh warns her about the upcoming invasion on the Day of Black Sun where Team Avatar and allies are taking advantage ofthe eclipse leaving firebenders powerless, and thus, leaving Ozai vulnerable. It seems she listened to his advice.
InThe Legend of Korra,her role was minute but no less interesting. She was a nameless female sage and a member of the Bhanti who healed Korra and helped her reconnect with her Avatar spirit by showing herthe story of the first Avatar, Wan. So, this makes it twice that Serena Williams has indirectly helped an Avatar or their allies.
The other surprise celebrities in guest roles will blow your mind
Serena Williams was a delight and surprise but in more prominent roles, we had Mark Hamill, the actor for Luke Skywalker in theStar Warsfranchise, as Fire Lord Ozai. His iconic performance is yet to be outmatched.
Daniel Dae Kim, the live-action actor for Ozai, has a history with the franchise. He played General Fong inAvatar: The Last Airbenderand then Hiroshi Sato, Asami’s father, inThe Legend of Korra.
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In the same episode as Serena Williams inThe Legend of Korra,Steven Yeun, who you might recognize as Glenn Rhee fromThe Walking Dead,played Wan, the first Avatar.
In a much more prominent role in the same show, J. K. Simmons played Aang’s son, Tenzin. His daughter, Jinora, was voiced by Kiernan Shipka. The list is a lot longer than you expect and gets even more surprising with Aubrey Plaza and even Rami Malek. There’s no end to the talent.
Avatar: The Last AirbenderandThe Legend of Korraare available on Netflix.
Bidisha Mitra
Articles Published :802
Bidisha is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with over 700 published articles. With over 7 years of writing experience, she’s versatile and adept. When she’s not writing, she’s also a voice actor on the side.Bidisha is currently continuing to learn Japanese and gets more fluent everyday. Her expertise is One Piece, Bungo Stray Dogs, and Haikyuu, but has been watching anime for over a decade. She was previously a Content Writer reviewing the latest Kpop music.
