For Millennials. By Millennials.
As soon as Netflix started streaming ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender,’ its popularity increased. As a result, millions of show fans, who were kids back then, are reminiscing on the good days. And who can blame them? The show is almost perfect. It’s action-packed but focuses on spirituality and the many moral dilemmas of life too. Even though it’s an animated series, anyone of any age can enjoy this show. And Nickelodeon also managed to nag some top-tier actors to voice the characters on Avatar. But, this one actor may surprise you, as he was a Harry Potter star!
The credit for the genius writing in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ belongs to show creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino. And to help them, Nickelodeon also got some significant names and actors to help them. He voiced the character of Admiral Zhao, who was the main antagonist in season 1 of Avatar. And you know which Harry Potter star voiced Zhao? Does the name Lucius Malfoy ring any bells?
Harry Potter fans are well aware of Lucius Malfoy. Not only was he a threat to Potter and anyone who stood in Lord Voldermort’s way, but he was also one of the Dark Lord’s most devout followers. He was also a father to the very spoiled Draco. He was willing to go to any lengths and cast any unforgivable spell in the service of the Dark Lord. So the actor who played him, Jason Isaacs, got a lot of experience playing villains. And going to any lengths sounds precisely like what Admiral Zhao would do in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender.‘
Jason Isaacs gave his voice to Admiral Zhao in season one of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’!
Admiral Zhao was one of the most formidable opponents Aang and his companions faced in their pursuit of defeating Firelord Ozai. He was head of the Fire Nation’s navy for a brief period of time and was a very powerful firebender. Moreover, he climbed the ranks pretty quickly, from lieutenant to captain to commander and finally to admiral, according to the Avatar fandom.
Zhao was obsessed with defeating Aang in season one of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender.’ He was a direct rival of Prince Zuko, whom the Firelord banished from the Fire Nation until he brought back the Avatar. However, Zhao wanted to do way more than kill Avatar. In fact, he wanted to kill the Ocean and the Moon spirits so that his name could live on for generations as Zhao the Conqueror. But he was eventually killed by the Ocean spirit, and the Moon spirit was saved, thanks to Yue.
Jason Isaacs brought such an evil character to life just by his voice. And he did it perfectly. Even though Admiral Zhao was a part of the show only for one season, fans of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ remember him to this day. We’ll have to see if Netflix hires Jason to play the role again or do they take a completely different route on the character.