S’pore actor Chin Han joins cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender
Netflix has expanded the cast of live-action series Avatar: The Last Airbender in its second season, with Singapore actor Chin Han one of the latest eight additions.
He will play the role of Long Feng – leader of Dai Li, the secret police force of Ba Sing Se, or the capital of the Earth Kingdom.
Another new joiner is Taiwanese-American actor Justin Chien, who starred with Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh in the Netflix series The Brothers Sun (2024) and will play King Kuei, ruler of the Earth Kingdom in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese-Australian actor Hoa Xuande, who starred with American actor Robert Downey Jr in the HBO miniseries The Sympathizer (2024), will play Professor Zei, head of the anthropology department at Ba Sing Se University.
Other actors in the cast are Amanda Zhou as Joo Dee, Crystal Yu as Lady Beifong, Kelemete Misipeka as The Boulder, Lourdes Faberes as General Sung and Rekha Sharma as Amita.
Adapted from the Nickelodeon animated series of the same name (2005 to 2008), Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Aang (played by Filipino-Canadian actor Gordon Cormier), the young Avatar, as he learns to master the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to restore balance in a world threatened by the terrifying Fire Nation.
The animated series has also been adapted into a 2010 live-action movie directed by American film-maker M. Night Shyamalan.
The first season of the Netflix series, which also featured Singaporean actor Lim Kay Siu as monk Gyatso, a mentor to Aang, became the most-watched English-language show on Netflix globally shortly after it premiered on Feb 22.
Netflix announced in March that the series would be renewed for two more seasons. The second season is currently in production in partnership with Nickelodeon.
At Netflix’s Geeked Week 2024 in September, it was announced that American actress Miya Cech joined the cast as Toph, a master earthbender, alongside returning cast members such as Cormier, Daniel Dae Kim (Fire Lord Ozai), Dallas Liu (Zuko) and Elizabeth Yu (Azula).
Chin Han, 54, whose full name is Ng Chin Han, has lived in Los Angeles since moving to the United States for his first major Hollywood role in the Batman movie The Dark Knight (2008).
His recent acting credits include American martial arts fantasy film Mortal Kombat (2021), in which he played the powerful sorcerer Shang Tsung, and Disney+ series American Born Chinese (2023), in which he played the father of the lead character Jin, played by American actor Ben Wang.
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