Character Magazine - Summer 2026

API

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AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER FEATURING

GORDON CORMIER KIAWENTIIO IAN OUSLEY DALLAS LIU ELIZABETH YU MIYAKO + KAREN FUKUHARA | CHIN HAN | MABEL LI | ADELINE RUDOLPH

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05 Character Letter 06 Avatar: The Last Airbender Elements of a Generation 14 Elizabeth Yu 20 Ian Ousley 26 Dallas Liu

The presence issue

CONTENTS 38 Miyako

44 Gordon Cormier 50 Karen Fukuhara 62 Chin Han 70 Mabel Li 84 Adeline Rudolph 96 Rewriting the Rules: How AAPI Men Are Expanding the Language of Masculinity

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32 Kiawentiio

Takashi Cheng (Publisher) Kelly Mi Li (Editor-in-Chief) Stéphane Marquet (Creative Director) Benjamin Holtrop (Fashion Director) Aleksandar Tomovic (Executive Content Producer) Roy Laughlin (VP of Partnerships) Jinky Dolar (Director of Sales) Advertising (Collaborations | Advertorials) advertising@charactermedia.com Tesia Kuh (Head of Social)

Contributors Aisha Dandia, Alberto Gonzales, Allan Avendaño, Amanda Lim, Ashley Seryn, Barb Thompson, Brooke Llewellyn, Dylan Perlot, Emily K.E. Johnson, Emily Rennert, Erik Jimenez, Estelle Aporongao, Haley Anderson, Isabela Nuqui, James Burke, Josh Forniss, Kami Davis, Kimberly Bragalone, Lauren Denker, Lizzie Mansour, Maria Candida, Mei Coble, Nick Ahmet, Nicki Fioravante, Pircilla Pae, Rena Calhoun, Sangwon Jeon, Sarah Workman, Steve Limones, Welsh, Zachary Morad, Zoe Tucker .

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Leslie Kim (Administrative Coordinator)

Website www.charactermedia.com + Digital Distribution Press Reader (app) Publishing in Partnership with @BELLOmediaGroup 8285 Sunset Blvd. Suite #14 / West Hollywood, CA 90046 IMAGE NATION STUDIO L.L.C. California, USA Content Disclaimer We would like to take a moment to emphasize that the content presented in this magazine does not necessarily reflect the opinions or viewpoints of the editorial team or the publication as a whole.

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Copyright 2026 - All Rights Reserved Character Media

THE ORDINARY REVOLUTION

A single observation recurs across the interviews in this issue, offered independently by actors who share little else. Elizabeth Yu describes standing in a room with more than fifteen Asian people for the first time and finding it genuinely disorienting. Adeline Rudolph, stepping onto the set of Mortal Kombat, describes a cast full of Asian faces and the surprise of how natural it felt.

The detail is small. Its implications are not. For a generation raised on the idea that visibility was a favor to be earned, the simple fact of a full room still registers as remarkable.

The argument of this issue is that it should not have to. And that the quieter achievement is no longer arrival, but presence: the right to occupy a frame without having to justify the occupancy.

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Letter

Season two of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender is a fitting place to make the case.

The Earth Kingdom has always been the franchise’s most grounded chapter, the one where consequence stops being abstract and the war arrives at the gate. Its young cast has grown up inside the production, and the interviews here catch them mid-transformation: Gordon Cormier negotiating global fame and a normal senior year, Dallas Liu pouring a lifetime of martial arts into Zuko’s fire, Ian Ousley making the case for the non-bender as the smartest person in the room, Miyako learning to play Toph with research and care rather than caricature.

The show is about balance. So, increasingly, is the industry around it.

What binds the rest of the issue is a shared interrogation of power, and a refusal to let it mean only one thing. Karen Fukuhara, whose Kimiko says everything without a word, locates strength in restraint rather than volume. Mabel Li, trained in the theatre and cast as a Founding Aunt in The Handmaid’s Tale, understands that stillness can frighten a room more than fury. Adeline Rudolph builds a Kitana whose ferocity is inseparable from her tenderness. A generation of AAPI men, from Bowen Yang to Simu Liu to Manny Jacinto, is dismantling the old equation between masculinity and rigidity, proving softness and authority were never opposites. And Chin Han, three decades into a career that runs from Singapore theatre to Gotham, delivers the thesis in a single line: the power that lasts is community-based, respectful, and empathetic.

Character has been in the room longer than most, documenting API excellence since the nineties, which lends the pages that follow a particular vantage. The magazine has watched the conversation move from whether these stories would be told, to who would tell them, and now to the far more interesting question of what they will be about once representation is no longer the plot. The answer, on the evidence gathered here, is everything: adventure, comedy, grief, ambition, family, fear, and the full ordinary range that was always the point.

The walls of Ba Sing Se were always going to fall. The generation in these pages is no longer waiting outside them. It is already inside, redrawing the room, and in no hurry to explain itself.

Presence, it turns out, was never about being seen.

It was about being at ease once the seeing was done.

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Kiawentiio names the ambition with precision. She wants to see people of color lead stories that are not about the fact that they come from somewhere different, characters allowed to carry a film because they were the best person in the audition room. This is a quieter revolution than the one usually televised. It does not demand a seat at the table so much as assume the table was always shared. Its measure of progress is not applause but ordinariness: the day an Asian lead is unremarkable is the day the work is done.

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The Stars Bringing Balance to a New World Photography Steve Limones @stevelimonesphotography Fashion Director Benjamin Holtrop @benjaminholtrop Creative Direction Aleksandar Tomovic @alekandsteph Movement Director James Burke @jameslukeburke Video Alberto Gonzales @alberto_filmdirector Photography Assistant Nick Ahmet @nick_ahmet Fashion Styling Assistants Emily K.E. Johnson @emilykejohnson & Welsh @awelch.ingram Social Media Tesia Kuh @thefirstthree.co Production Assistants Lizzie Mansour & Aisha Dandia Location The London Hotel West Hollywood @thelondonweho Special Thanks to Mei Coble & Netflix Cover Looks – Gordon: Full Look Hiromi Asai, Shoes Adieu, Accessories Lagos.

Kiawentiio: Shirt Valentino, Jacket + Shorts Marcell Pustul, Accessories Lagos, Loafers Bared Footwear.

Ian: Full Look Anamika Khanna, Shoes Off-White, Accessories Lagos.

Dallas: Vest YSL, Pants Helmut Lang, Shoes Adieu.

Elizabeth: Shirt Onarin, Pants Sehnsucht, Shoes Lubello, Accessories Lagos.

Miyako: Jacket The Mannei, Shoes Prada, Accessories Lagos.

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ELEMENTS OF A GENERATION

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What the new season understands is weight. Showrunners Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani spoke of building a more tactile world, and the phrase holds.

Earth is the element of consequence, of things that cannot be willed away or floated past. Aang, who has spent his young life evading the responsibility stitched into his name, has to learn to stand still long enough to feel it. His teacher arrives in Toph, a blind earthbender who reads the world through her soles and suffers no illusions. Miyako plays her with the sharpness the season was waiting for.

For our cover, we photographed Dallas Liu, Elizabeth Yu, Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, Ian Ousley, and Miyako.

In front of the camera, the dynamic that drives the series came loose from the script and turned into something you could see: the ease between those who have spent years building this world together, the watchfulness of Yu as Azula, the sister built to unsettle it, and Miyako, the newest arrival, already holding her own ground.

In conversation, what emerged was not only the scale of the show, but the way each actor has grown through it. Cormier speaks about dedication, humility, and the strange beauty of becoming a normal kid again after years inside a global franchise.

Kiawentiio returns again and again to family, village, and the lessons that keep her grounded. Ousley finds Sokka’s power in strategy, humor, and being the one without powers. Liu brings a lifetime of martial arts into Zuko’s fire, while Yu finds freedom in Azula’s fearlessness. Miyako, stepping into Toph, talks about trust, confidence, and learning to understand The children of the first season are no the world differently. longer quite children. Gordon Cormier’s Aang carries a new gravity beneath the There is a reason the Earth Kingdom lightness, a boy beginning to understand chapter has always been the heart of this the cost of the title he once tried to outrun. story. It is where the war stops feeling Kiawentiio’s Katara has grown into her distant and where Aang finally meets power and her grief in equal measure, the people he is fighting to protect. The while Ian Ousley’s Sokka sharpens from season asks its young Avatar to grow up comic relief into something steadier, without losing the thing that makes him smarter, and more bruised. Across the worth following. It asks the same, quietly, divide, Dallas Liu’s Zuko walks the of everyone around him. refugee roads with Iroh, stripped of crown and certainty, while Elizabeth Yu’s The walls of Ba Sing Se were always Azula moves through the season with the going to fall. What matters is who is still precision of someone raised to turn love standing inside them when they do. into power.

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Season one belonged to water and air, to the long sleep and the colder edges of the world. Season two, now streaming on Netflix, sets its feet on the ground. Avatar: The Last Airbender returns with seven episodes that follow Aang, Katara, and Sokka across the Earth Kingdom toward Ba Sing Se, where an Earth King has chosen not to look at the war pressing against his walls. Sozin’s Comet is coming, and so is the reckoning.

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Dress Tang Chi, Shoes Lubello, Accessories Varanasi Necklace & Lox & Chains Rings

Elizabeth Yu is the first to say that her relationship to Asian identity was not something she had fully examined before Avatar: The Last Airbender entered her life. “Not really. I am half Asian, and I grew up mainly with my mom, who is the white half of me. I really did not have any kind of Asian journey until working on this show.” That changed once she stepped into the world of Avatar, a production that surrounded her with a sense of community she had not experienced before.

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ELIZABETH YU FINDING POWER IN AZULA

Returning for season two also came with time to think.

After the first season, Yu and her castmates had space to imagine what traits they would bring back with them, and what they might do differently if given the chance. “We had a long time between season one and starting season two. It was a long time to sit and think about, if I got the chance to go back, what would I do differently? What would I try this time around?”

The role of Princess Azula arrived with a certain secrecy.

When Yu first auditioned, she did not even know which character she was being considered for. “It was amazing.

When I first auditioned for Azula, I did not know it was Azula. It was a fake character with a basketball team plotline, and I had no idea what I was auditioning for.”

Even without knowing the character’s name, Yu understood that the part carried a kind of strength she rarely saw in auditions. During the callback process, she felt compelled to explain what that opportunity meant.

“Even then, I wrote a letter to the showrunner and the producers when I had a second callback. I was like, ‘You guys do not understand. I do not audition for these girls, these women. This does not happen.’”

Part of that passion came through her work with Dallas Liu, who plays Zuko. On screen, Azula and Zuko carry a complicated sibling history. Off screen, Yu says the dynamic came naturally. “I love him so much. He is such a good person and such a hardworking actor.”

That feeling stayed with her. Before Azula became the character she would play for more than a year, she already knew this role would be unlike any she had taken before. “Even just auditioning and getting to play with a character who had so much strength felt empowering.

I feel like we are often seen in more of a girl-next-door way in Hollywood, so getting to audition for that part was empowering in itself. Getting to actually play her was a whole new level.”

Filming seasons two and three back-to-back gave Yu the rare chance to sit with a character over a long period of time. Azula’s power, discipline, and refusal to soften herself opened up something new. “Playing her taught me so much about what empowerment means to me, and also femininity with power.”

The contrast between actor and character made the experience even more revealing. Yu describes Azula as almost the opposite of how she sees herself in everyday life. “She is a no-BS kind of girl, and I am a people pleaser.

I am very clumsy and very much that kind of vibe, so playing her almost felt like an alter ego. It was super eyeopening, and there was a real freedom in getting to play her like that.”

By the time they returned, that waiting period had turned into momentum. “I think we all had our own forms of excitement, like finally getting to try something new with the character or finally getting to do a certain plotline. We got to sit with all of our ideas and all of our excitement, and we came into season two with a renewed passion for what we were a part of.”

The two spent time in rehearsal discussing the relationship between their characters, allowing their own familiarity to inform the history between Azula and Zuko. “We would have rehearsal sessions together where we would just talk about our characters and that sibling relationship.

Through working on this show with him, I have gotten to know him so well, so making it feel like these two people have history, or that these two people know each other really well, came very naturally.”

That ease became part of their work together. “All of the Zuko and Azula-isms followed from that, along with our own character development. He is such an easy person to work with because he is so knowledgeable about his character and his storyline, and that made my job so easy.”

Away from the intensity of Azula, Yu is much lighter than the character she plays. “I like video games. I like Roblox. Me and my friends will FaceTime and play brainrot Roblox games, and it is so much fun.”

And when asked which power from the show would be most useful in real life, she does not choose fire, even though Azula is one of the Fire Nation’s most formidable figures. “Waterbending, because you can heal. That is pretty clutch. Fire is useful too, but we have lighters and matches. I would say water.”

As for the cast dynamics, Yu has quick answers. Most likely to prank someone? “Ian.” Most gullible? “Probably me.” Most like their character in real life is harder for her to answer, but she still lands on Ian. “That is hard because I know them so well. Everybody is pretty different, but I also know all the similarities between them. I am going to say Ian, because he is incredibly funny.”

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Inside that world, being surrounded by so many different Asian perspectives proved revealing in a way she had not expected.” “It was amazing! I had never been in a room with more than fifteen Asian people before working on this show, so that in itself was really eye-opening to me.” For Yu, that realization extended beyond the set. It came through the people around her, each with their own relationship to culture, pride, and belonging. “Meeting so many different people, each with their own kind of Asian pride journey, was incredible. I grew up in a white town, so I just never really thought about it. Then being on this show makes you think, what does that mean to me? It has been really beautiful. It has been incredible getting to meet so many people, and a lot of fans who love the show are Asian too, so that sense of community has been awesome.”

The group may not describe itself as competitive, but there is one exception.

“We are not really competitive, but we play pool when we hang out, and it can get pretty heated. There are two people who are very good at pool, and then me and another person are not very good at pool.” Then comes the sibling-level honesty. “Maybe Dallas, because when he does not make the ball in, it is not great.”

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For Yu, the experience of playing Azula seems to exist somewhere between discovery and release. The role gave her access to a kind of power she had not often been asked to portray, and a community that made her ask new questions about herself. Azula may be fearless by design, but for Yu, finding her way into that fearlessness became its own kind of awakening.

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ELIZABETH YU FINDS FREEDOM IN PLAYING SOMEONE FEARLESS

Shirt Dior, Pants + Jacket Aknvas, Shoes Adieu

Ian Ousley brings sharp timing, physical instinct, and plenty of heart to Sokka, the non-bender who becomes one of Team Avatar’s most essential forces. Off screen, Ousley’s world is just as layered, from fashion and vintage design to martial arts, weapons training, and a very committed approach to cactus juice. As Avatar: The Last Airbender enters its next chapter, he opens up about why the story still matters, how Sokka finds his strength, and why sometimes the greatest power might simply be getting your enemy’s socks wet.

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IAN OUSLEY THE BRAIN OF THE OPERATION

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His taste has since moved toward something more archival. Recently, Ousley worked on another clothing company with friends, this time “a lot more high fashion, inspired by true vintage clothing,” with references ranging “from anywhere between the 1890s and the 1970s.” That project even found its way into a major cultural moment.

“We actually had a couple of our clothes in a music video for Kendrick Lamar, the ‘Not Like Us’ video. It was pretty nuts.”

That eye for fashion followed him into press, where Ousley gravitated toward designers with a strong point of view and a sense of history. “I love Celine, so I was wearing a lot of Celine during the last press tour. I love Hedi Slimane, so for this press tour I was wearing a lot of archive YSL from when he was creative director there, some Dior, and some archive Raf stuff.” It is the kind of answer that reveals not only an interest in clothes, but a real awareness of designers, eras, and the way a look can carry a mood.

When it comes to Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ousley understands why the story still matters. For anyone who has never seen it, his reason is simple. “I would say because it is one of the best animated shows of all time.

I rarely meet somebody who did not see it as a kid, so if they have not seen our show, they have to come back and revisit all of those themes.” What makes the series endure, though, is not nostalgia alone. It is the way the story holds adventure, comedy, and real darkness in the same frame. “You do not understand how deep and how fun the show is. When you are watching the animated show as a kid, you do not even realize it, but it is about genocide, political power, hope, found family, and how to persevere through crazy things happening in the world. I do not know about you, but I feel like it is a good time to watch a show like that.”

As Sokka, Ousley plays the only non-bender on Team Avatar, which could make the character seem like the odd one out in a world defined by elemental power. For him, that is exactly what makes Sokka essential. “He is just different. He is built different. He does not need the powers.” Sokka’s lack of bending gives him a different function in the story, both as the skeptic and as the person

who often says what the audience might be thinking.

“From a story perspective, it means that he is the voice of the audience, which is a cool element, pun intended, to his character.”

That journey gives Sokka room to redefine strength. He begins with one idea of who he wants to be, then slowly discovers that his real gift is elsewhere. “He has always wanted to be a combat master, the most alpha version of himself.” Over time, though, his strength becomes less about trying to match the benders around him and more about understanding how his own mind works. “He realizes that his strength is really engineering, planning, and being the brains of the operation. On top of that, he is also good at improvising when things go wrong, because as we know, things do not always go according to plan.”

Ousley’s own physical background gave him a natural way into the role. During the audition process, he sent in action material that showed what he could do, even though the project was still operating under a code name.

“They asked for it in such a vague way because everything was under a code name, and we did not know what we were auditioning for. I was sending videos of myself doing tricks, flips, martial arts, and even skateboarding because they just asked for any kind of movement or action.” His weapons training turned out to be especially well matched to Sokka. “My background is specifically in weapons. I have a world championship in weapons, which was a huge jackpot for me because Sokka has all the weapons. He has the boomerang, the war club, spears, and later in the animated show, space swords.”

Even though Sokka is not a bender, Ousley still trained in the movement language behind the elements. “I learned every single kind of bending, which was 100 percent necessary. It was not 100 percent necessary, but it was a ton of fun.” By the end of boot camp, he had earned a nickname. “They were calling me the Avatar by the end of boot camp. I knew air, I knew earth. I am joking, but it was fun to learn.” The training gave him a close look at how the series builds its fantasy from real physical roots.

“They created and molded different martial arts with fantasy to make our version of firebending, earthbending, airbending, and waterbending.”

Asked which bending power would be most useful

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Ousley has always had an eye for fashion. Before press tours and red carpets, clothes were already something he studied, designed, and built with friends. “Yeah, I love fashion. I have been into fashion since I was about 15 years old. I had an internship with a professor at FIDM, actually, and I was designing my own stuff.” At the time, his world was rooted in sneakers and streetwear, the kind of pieces that first made fashion feel personal. “I was doing a clothing company with a few of my friends. At that time, when I was 15, the vibe was definitely inspired by what got me into fashion, which was sneakers and streetwear, like hoodies and stuff like that.”

Then there is cactus juice, one of Sokka’s most beloved moments. Ousley knew fans would be waiting for it, and he treated the scene with the intensity of someone very aware of what it meant.

“Yes. I was watching that scene religiously. I was having nightmares. I would wake up screaming ‘cactus juice’ every other night before the scene.”

He also brought his own ideas into the chaos of the moment. “There were lots of insults that Sokka is throwing out. One of my favorite things was Toph being a mushroom. I threw that out there. I do not think it made it, but it was almost like a trauma response.”

The day itself became memorable for reasons beyond the script. Ousley was sick while filming, which made the scene’s delirium feel strangely close to reality. “I cannot even remember how much of that stuff I was pulling or what made it, to be honest, because I was really sick that day on set. I was lying on the ground for the scene, and I kept tilting my head back over the pillow, and my whole vision would go black from top to bottom. When you are that sick, you know what I am talking about.” In the end, the discomfort may have helped him find the scene’s strange logic. “So I really felt like I was on cactus juice or something else. I was struggling, but I watched it, and I think the fans will be happy.”

Off screen, Ousley is just as quick with the cast dynamics. Most likely to prank someone on set?

He does not hesitate. “Me, by the way. I am not even going to front.” Most like their character in real life? “Gordon.” Most gullible? Also Gordon, with even more certainty. “Gordon, by far. By a long shot.” And when it comes to competitiveness, he starts with the whole group before naming an unexpected contender. “I think we are all really competitive, to be honest. But sleeper pick, Kiawentiio.”

For Ousley, Sokka is funny because he is human.

He is the one without supernatural ability, the one forced to think differently, adapt quickly, and turn limitations into strategy. In a world of benders and impossible forces, Sokka proves that instinct, intelligence, humor, and timing can be their own kind of power.

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Asked which bending power would be most useful in real life, Ousley is torn between earthbending and waterbending. Earthbending has its practical advantages. “For earthbending, if you see a big hill, you can immediately make an elevator from the ground, and now you are on the same level as the hill. You can get a view at any time. That is very handy.” Waterbending, however, offers a more mischievous possibility. “For waterbending purposes, let’s say you have an enemy or a really annoying coworker near the water cooler.

Waterbending straight to the socks, and they have no idea what happened. So it is a real toss-up, but everyone is getting wet socks on set. That is all I am going to say.”

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IAN OUSLEY BRINGS STYLE, STRATEGY, AND HUMOR TO SOKKA

Shirt Figi Studios, Pants Helmut Lang, Shoes Christian Louboutin

Dallas Liu has always understood movement. Long before stepping into the Avatar universe as Prince Zuko, the actor spent his childhood training in martial arts, building the discipline, precision, and physical instinct that now shape his work on screen. In season two of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, Liu brings even more fire to Zuko, blending emotional intensity with fight choreography that feels deeply personal. From firebending to dual swords, family loyalty, and the advice that keeps him grounded, Liu opens up about the power behind the prince.

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DALLAS LIU INTO THE FIRE

That childhood connection makes firebending difficult for him to give up as a favorite. “I think I am going to have to stick with firebending, but as a kid, I always enjoyed stick fighting or pretend fighting in general. So both of those are my bread and butter when it comes to shooting the show.”

That early training became part of the foundation for his work on screen, but Liu also understands the way martial arts can open different paths in entertainment. “A lot of martial artists will approach the stunt side of the industry, but there are also martial artists who become actors. One example would be Taylor Lautner. We used to share the same martial arts community, which is really cool.”

For Liu, the fantasy of firebending becomes more powerful when it is rooted in real physical experience.

“I would say it was probably some of the most relaxing fun I got to have on the show. Because of the martial arts experience I had growing up, I got to collaborate on a lot of the Zuko fight scenes with the stunt team.”

After appearing as Ruiha in the MCU, Liu now steps deeper into the Avatar universe as Prince Zuko, a character whose intensity is inseparable from his firebending.

Asked who would win in a fight between someone from the Ten Rings world and a Fire Nation prince, Liu does not hesitate. “Prince Zuko, are you joking? Ruiha does not even have any powers. He is just Katy’s younger brother.”

There is one exception. “Maybe I would give it to ShangChi, but he is the only one. I have firebending powers, and in the cartoon, when the comet comes down, those powers are boosted. There is lightning bending too, so yes, firebending.”

For Liu, Zuko’s strength is not only physical. What he admires most about the character is something more complicated and much closer to the heart of the story. “I would say his love for his family members. I say this a lot, but I think you can only hate someone as much as you love them. In season two, with the relationships you see between Uncle Iroh and Azula, they are both family, and especially in the Fire Nation royal family, those ties are extremely deep.”

That collaboration allowed Liu to bring more of himself into the action. “They are extremely talented, and there were certain stunts that, because of my martial arts background, sometimes only I would be able to do. Every setup, no wires, no safety pads, I would just do it because it was what I wanted for the character.”

For Zuko, that physicality needed to feel personal. Liu wanted the movement to belong to this version of the character, shaped by the martial arts language he had spent years developing. “The stunt team was like, ‘Let’s do this for Zuko.’ He deserves this cool, breakdancing flair style that is very personal to my experience in martial arts.”

When asked if he has a favorite fight scene from the season, the answer is immediate. “It has got to be that finale. Absolutely.”

For all the intensity of the role, the advice Liu carries with him is simple. Asked about words from a family member or mentor that have stayed with him, he points to his parents. “There are so many, but I will go with the most simple one from my mom and dad: stay humble.”

That idea of family, loyalty, pain, and return sits at the center of how Liu sees Zuko. “No matter how much time you spend apart, or the wrongdoings that have happened between you, at the end of the day, family brings everyone back together.”

If he could take one power from the show into real life, Liu would choose the element that already belongs to Zuko. For him, firebending is not only dramatic. It is useful. “The practicality of firebending. You can make a campfire, keep yourself warm when it is cold, cook food, and boil water.”

On screen, Liu’s Zuko fights through firebending and dual swords, both of which connect to different parts of him.

“That is tough. I really like the swords because I got to do a lot more with them this time around for the second season. But I love firebending because it makes me feel like I did when I was a little kid watching Zuko in the cartoon. I would always imagine play fighting with my brother, bending different elements and things like that.”

What runs through Liu’s answers is how closely the physical and emotional sides of Zuko are connected.

The martial arts, the firebending, the swords, and the family conflict are not separate pieces of the role. They all feed into the same portrait of a young prince trying to understand what strength really means, and what it costs when power is tied so tightly to love, pride, and expectation.

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For Liu, martial arts began with joy. “No, I absolutely loved martial arts growing up. I started because my best friend in preschool, his dad was ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley, who is a famous boxer, and we took karate classes together. I kept up with it until I was about 13 or 14, and then that is when I made the transition into acting.”

Off screen, Liu is quick to point to the dynamics of the cast. Most likely to prank someone? “Ian.” Most like their character in real life? “Gordon.”

Most gullible? “Gordon.” As for the most competitive, he starts in the same place before reconsidering. “Gordon. No offense, I love you, but these are all very fitting in our group. Actually, maybe most competitive is Kiawentiio. Maybe a little bit Kiawentiio.”

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For Liu, Zuko is a character built from contradiction: anger and devotion, discipline and emotion, power and vulnerability. The fire may be what audiences see first, but the feeling underneath it is what gives the role its weight. In Liu’s hands, Zuko’s fight is not only about becoming stronger.

It is about everything that strength is trying to protect.

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FOR DALLAS LIU, ZUKO’S FIRE BEGINS WITH FAMILY.

Dress Do Long, Shoes Flor De Maria, Earrings Jean Amour

For Kiawentiio, playing Katara is deeply connected to where she comes from. Family, community, and the feeling of being shaped by a close-knit village all inform the way she approaches the beloved waterbender. As Avatar: The Last Airbender continues, Kiawentiio reflects on the lessons that keep her grounded, the parts of Katara she sees in herself, and the kind of representation she hopes to see more of on screen.

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KIAWENTIIO WHERE SHE IS MEANT TO BE

Kiawentiio goes first to her father’s words when asked what continues to guide her. “My dad always says, ‘You are always where you are supposed to be.’ He loves to say that to me, and I love to go back to that and count on that, because I believe it.”

It is the kind of lesson that feels simple until it has to be lived. For Kiawentiio, that belief is not only comforting, it is stabilizing. It gives her a way to trust where she is, even when the work, the attention, and the scale of the world around Avatar keep growing. “Family as a whole has taught me to stay grounded. My family is what grounds me.”

Those lessons naturally find their way into her work.

Kiawentiio does not speak about acting as something separate from life. What she has learned, where she comes from, and the people who shaped her all become part of what she carries into a character. “Totally. I think everything that I have learned and taken from where I come from, and from my family, has embedded itself in me.”

With Katara, that connection felt especially personal. “I feel like I take that wherever I go and with whoever I play. Katara being in a similar situation to me when I first came into the show, and just who I am, really connected those parts of her to me personally.” It is not only that Kiawentiio understands Katara’s loyalty. It is that she understands the emotional structure around it: the people you come from, the people you protect, and the way those bonds follow you into every new chapter.

The similarities became clearer as she looked at Katara’s world more closely. “She comes from a pretty sheltered place, even though they have gone through so much.

She has her brother and her grandma, and this tight-knit village that she grew up in.” For Kiawentiio, that kind of closeness was familiar, not as an idea, but as something she had lived.

“I come from a really similar situation, where everybody knows everybody. I am fortunate enough to have a huge family, so that is also part of my village.” That shared understanding gives her relationship to Katara a personal weight. The character’s loyalty, protectiveness, and emotional clarity are not qualities she has to imagine from a distance. They are rooted in experiences she knows, and that makes the performance feel grounded from the inside.

When asked which part of Katara she connects with the most, Kiawentiio points to one of the show’s central relationships. “Probably the sibling dynamic between her and Sokka.” It is a telling answer because so much of Katara’s story is built around love in action: the instinct to protect, to challenge, to care, and to keep moving forward even when the world around her has changed.

That sibling dynamic also gives Katara a kind of immediacy. She is not only carrying the weight of a larger mission. She is still a sister, still part of a family, still someone whose strength is shaped by everyday closeness as much as by extraordinary circumstances. For Kiawentiio, that is where the character feels most human.

That connection also shapes how Kiawentiio thinks about representation. Looking ahead, she wants to see more people of color, and more women of color, at the center of stories without those stories always having to explain their difference. “I would love to see more people of color, and more women of color, in stories that are not about the fact that they are from somewhere different or look a different kind of way.”

For her, the future of representation is not only about presence. It is about freedom. “I would love to continue seeing people of color just being the main character because they were the best person to audition.” It is a clean, direct vision of what progress can look like: characters who are allowed to lead, love, fight, fail, and grow without their identity becoming the only story being told.

There is a quiet power in that answer. Kiawentiio is not asking for stories to erase identity. She is asking for the space to let identity exist naturally, without every role needing to explain itself through difference. In that sense, Katara becomes part of a larger hope: a character who can be rooted in culture, family, and history while still being allowed the fullness of adventure, humor, fear, strength, and transformation.

If she could pick one superpower from the world of Avatar, Kiawentiio does not pick waterbending, even though Katara is one of the story’s most powerful waterbenders. Instead, she considers earthbending for its practical possibilities. “Maybe earthbending. It could be like a self-transportation kind of thing. The way someone can travel from one side to another, almost like skating, could be fun. Or going up a wall and just lifting yourself up.”

Off screen, Kiawentiio has quick answers when it comes to the cast. Most likely to prank someone on set? “Ian. Unanimously.” Most like their character in real life?

Again, “Ian.” Most gullible? “Gordon.”

When it comes to competitiveness, though, she turns the answer back on herself. “It might be me. I hate that I can be so competitive, and I actively fight against it.” The admission comes with the kind of honesty that makes it feel more like self-awareness than confession. “I fight against my own instincts to be competitive because I grew up in such a competitive family, and it always killed me. So I actively try to fight it, but it is there strong.”

What comes through in Kiawentiio’s answers is how much Katara’s story is tied to community. The character is not only defined by what she can do, but by where she comes from, who raised her, and the responsibility she feels toward the people around her. That is where Kiawentiio’s own sense of family and community gives the role its quiet force.

Even when the conversation turns playful, that groundedness stays present. Her answers about the cast are quick and funny, but her sense of self is just as clear. Whether she is talking about competitiveness, representation, or the village that shaped her, Kiawentiio returns to the same idea: the people around you become part of what you carry forward.

For Kiawentiio, Katara’s power may come through water, but the deeper current begins somewhere else. It begins in family, in memory, in the lessons that keep her steady, and in the belief that the place you come from can become the strength you bring with you.

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That self-awareness is part of what makes her connection to Katara feel so natural.

Kiawentiio can speak about softness and competitiveness, grounding and ambition, family and independence, without treating them as contradictions. They can all exist at once. Katara, too, is gentle and forceful, protective and stubborn, deeply emotional and incredibly resilient.

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FOR KIAWENTIIO, KATARA’S STRENGTH BEGINS AT HOME

Dress Meraki, Shoes Pretty Little Thing, Earrings SVVVA

For Miyako, stepping into the role of Toph meant more than joining one of the most beloved worlds in television. It meant learning to move, listen, and trust in new ways. As Avatar: The Last Airbender expands into its Earth Kingdom chapter, Miyako brings Toph’s stubbornness, humor, strength, and emotional depth to life while also discovering something powerful in the process: a deeper confidence in herself. From working with a blindness consultant to filming with contacts that blocked her vision, Miyako reflects on the lessons that shaped her performance and the character she once never imagined she would actually get to play.

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MIYAKO FINDING HER GROUND

There is also something almost full circle about Miyako playing Toph. Years before the role came to her, she had been asked whether she would ever want to play the character in live action. “I remember the question being, would you ever play Toph in a live action? In my head, as a 10-year-old, I was thinking, well, that will never happen. That show was so perfect, and I did not think they would touch it.”

One of the most meaningful parts of that process came through her work with her blindness consultant, Joe, who helped her better understand the blind and low vision community as she prepared to play Toph. “One of the lessons that came specifically from this job was from my blindness consultant, Joe. He taught me a lot about the blind and low vision community, because I will never know what that is like as an experience.”

Even then, the answer was obvious. “So I was like, of course. Like any actor, with any beloved character, if they are in the ballpark, they are going to want to play that character. I do not remember the exact interview, but I do remember that happening.”

What stayed with her was not only the information he shared, but the way he moved through the world. “One of the things I learned from him was that he has this incredible connection to his other senses. He knew exactly how tall I was based on where my voice was coming from. He knew the sounds and shapes of different things in the room. I thought that was really cool to watch.”

Playing Toph also came with a practical challenge that changed the way Miyako had to work on set. She wore contacts that blocked her vision completely, something that was introduced after she had already spent weeks preparing. “Yeah. The entire idea of it was a little strange because I had trained for six weeks before that was introduced to me. It was a VFX thing, and I remember immediately thinking, how am I going to film?”

The difficulty was not only emotional and physical. It was technical. Filming requires marks, cameras, movement, spacing, and timing, and suddenly many of those things had to be approached differently. “The technicality of filming comes with another level of challenges compared to the actual acting. Group scenes, where we were very close together, were pretty hard because I could not always distinguish where voices were coming from without help from our acting coach, Sarah Arrington, and my fellow castmates.”

Miyako adapted by relying on preparation and sound.

“Also, not knowing where the camera was at any time was difficult, so I tried my best to get as many audio cues as possible and to know the room before I started filming.”

The contacts were not meant to be a surprise, but they still added another layer to an already demanding role. “My eyes are very dark, and they were like, ‘We might need to do this to help VFX have a color marker to know what we are going for.’ It was one of those things that I was down to try, but it definitely added another layer of, I wonder how this is going to work out.”

What Miyako connects to in Toph starts with the character’s sharpness. “I connect a lot to her sass. I was always a very sassy person. I am very stubborn. I have my boundaries, and that is the line.” But throughout the filming process, that connection deepened into something more emotional. “Over the course of the season and the series as a whole, I also really connected with her philosophies about family, friendship, and found family.”

That idea of confidence became one of the gifts of playing Toph. As Miyako has gotten older, she says she has become more sure of herself, and the character helped push that forward. “Myself, honestly. Not even just by getting older, but I think playing Toph really helped me find this confidence that lets me be myself and allow people to either take it or leave it.”

It is a quality she hopes viewers can also find in the character. “I think that is something everybody struggles with at some point, so I hope they can find that in Toph as well.” In Toph, confidence is not about being liked by everyone. It is about knowing where the line is and trusting yourself enough to stand there.

When Miyako found out she had booked the role, the call was disguised as something else. “It was not a ‘you got the role’ call. They told me it was a stunts evaluation, so I was in workout gear, ready to do whatever versions of martial arts I remembered from training.”

The moment finally landed all at once. “After the whole call happened, I laid on the floor for 10 minutes because I just felt heat and excitement and honor and ‘is this happening?’ all rushing over me at once. I had to lie down.”

If she could choose one superpower from the world of Avatar, Miyako points first to Toph’s seismic sense. “I feel like Toph’s seismic sense would be really useful. It is kind of based on an actual skill that people from that community have, like what I was saying about Joe.” Firebending also has its appeal, especially for practical reasons. “Another one that would be really helpful is

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For Miyako, Avatar: The Last Airbender became a project that asked for more than performance. It asked for patience, trust, and a willingness to learn in ways that were both technical and personal. When she thinks about the lessons the show gave her, she does not point to only one. “I feel like it was not just one. I learned a lot about myself, about my work ethic, especially around approaching characters and approaching filming.”

firebending, because fire has a lot of basic uses in the real world. Also, with that comes electricity, so you would never have to pay an electricity bill again.”

Off screen, Miyako has quick answers when it comes to the cast. Most likely to prank someone on set? “Ian.” Most like their character in real life? “Maybe Gordon. As he gets older, I feel like I am starting to see more Gordon, but Gordon and Aang are definitely pretty close.” Most gullible? “Me.” Most competitive? “Maybe Kiawentiio, but I feel like Kiawentiio and Ian are pretty close.”

What comes through in Miyako’s answers is how seriously she took the responsibility of playing Toph, not only as a beloved character, but as someone whose experience required care, research, and humility. The role asked her to trust her castmates, listen differently, and build confidence from the inside out.

For Miyako, Toph is not only defined by strength. She is defined by awareness, boundaries, humor, and the courage to be fully herself. In learning how Toph understands the world, Miyako also found a clearer way to stand in her own.

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FOR MIYAKO, PLAYING TOPH BECAME A LESSON IN TRUST

Full Look Taakk, Shoes Dr. Martens

Gordon Cormier has spent some of his most formative years inside the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Cast as Aang at a young age, he has grown alongside a character defined by joy, responsibility, and an impossible destiny. As the series moves into its Earth Kingdom chapter, Cormier reflects on the dedication the role has given him, the childhood moments he traded for a dream job, and the simple lessons from family that continue to keep him grounded.

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GORDON CORMIER GROWING WITH AANG

That dedication became a kind of anchor. For Cormier, Avatar was not only a job, but something he could return to through years of change. “I feel like everybody needs something to dedicate their days to in order to keep them sane, and Avatar: The Last Airbender was my little dedication for the past five years.”

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There is something revealing in the way he uses that word.

Dedication is not only about discipline. It is also about having something steady to hold onto while everything around you is moving. For a young actor, especially one carrying a character as beloved as Aang, that kind of focus becomes part of growing up.

Even the physical transformation came with curiosity.

When he booked the role, Cormier was 11 or 12 and had what he remembers as “crazy hair.” It was long, difficult to manage, and not something he was especially attached to. “It was super long, I would get knots, and I was never really a big fan of my hair for some reason. It was always a pain waking up and brushing it.”

So when the time came to shave his head for Aang, it did not feel like a loss. “So I was excited to see what being bald looked like. I was also 12, so what 12-yearold boy would not be excited to be bald? It is something your mom probably would not let you do.” And yes, he confirms, “I definitely shaved it. It was not a bald cap.”

Aang carries enormous responsibility while still trying to stay connected to the freedom of being a kid. Cormier understands that balance in his own way. “Yeah, a little bit. I did not really get to go to a lot of elementary school, and I was kind of just working, but I loved my job. It was awesome.”

There is no regret in the way he talks about that time. “I could almost say that I enjoyed it more than elementary or high school. Now I am back in school and going into my senior year next year. I have been back for about a year, and I think I have only missed around four days because of Avatar. Absolutely no regrets. I have loved this show.”

That answer carries the strange duality of growing up on a set. Cormier missed parts of a conventional childhood, but he also gained something rare: a world, a cast, a character, and a purpose that followed him through some of his most important years. Like Aang, he had to learn how to carry responsibility without letting it take the joy out of the experience.

Returning to school after years inside a major series could have felt strange, but for Cormier, the adjustment was easier than he expected. “It was pretty easy, honestly. I had friends from school, and for the first two days it felt like the biggest thing ever.” At first, there was the feeling of being noticed. “I was hiding in the hallways and squeezing around, but everybody kind of forgets within three days, and you just become a normal kid, which is awesome. I like it.”

That normalcy seems important to him. After years of playing a character known around the world, there is something grounding about returning to hallways, friends, classes, and the everyday rhythm of school. It gives him a life outside the scale of the series, and a place where he can simply be himself again.

That desire to stay grounded also comes through when Cormier talks about his family. Asked what continues to guide him as his career grows, he points to his father. “My dad teaches me a lot about humility. He is right there. He keeps me humble every single day, and I love him for that.”

The simplicity of that answer says a lot. Cormier speaks about work, fans, and growing up with an ease that feels unforced, but the lesson he returns to is humility. It is the thing that keeps the attention around the show from becoming too loud, and the responsibility of playing Aang from becoming too heavy.

For all the scale of the show and the size of the Avatar fandom, some of the moments that stay with him most are the smallest. He thinks about the kids who come up to him and see Aang standing in front of them. “There is not necessarily one big fan interaction, but whenever a little kid comes up to me, it always makes my day. You see their little smiles and their little faces, and you are just like, wow, life is dope.”

That reaction says a lot about what the character means to people. Aang is not only a hero with impossible responsibility. He is also a symbol of kindness, play, and hope. For younger fans, meeting Cormier is not just meeting an actor. It is coming face to face with a character who makes the world feel bigger and brighter.

With season two approaching, Cormier can look back at the first premiere and see the most obvious changes in himself. “Honestly, height and voice drop. At the first season premiere, I think I was 14 years old, and my voice was definitely a little bit higher.” Still, he does not describe himself as a different person. “Not much has changed. I am still the same kid, just with a slightly deeper voice and a little bit taller.”

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The role gave Cormier a rhythm early. It taught him the habits of a working actor while he was still growing up.

“Working from a pretty young age definitely changes a couple of things. It taught me how to wake up really early in the morning, learn lines, and honestly helped me with my dedication.”

There is a lightness in that answer that feels very close to the spirit of Aang. The years have changed his voice, his height, and his experience, but not the part of him that wants to remain open, funny, and recognizable to himself.

When it comes to the cast, Cormier is just as direct. Most gullible? “Me.” Most competitive? He points to Miyako. The answers are short, but they fit the easy rhythm of a cast that knows one another well, where teasing, honesty, and affection can exist in the same breath.

What comes through in Cormier’s answers is the rare experience of growing up inside a character who is also growing into responsibility. Aang is playful, open, and full of wonder, but he is also learning what it means to carry the weight of something larger than himself. Cormier’s own journey with the role seems to echo that same balance.

For Cormier, Avatar has been a childhood, a discipline, and a dedication. He may be taller now, with a deeper voice and a few more years behind him, but the heart of the work remains the same: showing up, staying humble, and finding a way to keep the kid inside the hero.

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If he could choose one power from the world of Avatar for real life, Cormier goes practical.

“Earthbending. Architecture. You could build houses, or if you are camping, you could build a little hut and sleep in the forest. That could be cool.” It is an answer that imagines power not only as spectacle, but as something useful, creative, and connected to the world around him.

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GORDON CORMIER KEEPS THE KID INSIDE THE HERO

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Outfit Do Long @dolongofficial, Shoes Alevi Milano @alevimilano, Jewelry Za Zewelz @zazewelz

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THE QUIET FORCE There is a quiet strength in the way Karen Fukuhara moves through Hollywood.

On Prime Video’s The Boys, she brings that energy to Kimiko, a character who speaks without words but still says so much through every look and movement.

In a world built on noise and spectacle, Fukuhara’s performance stands out for its restraint and emotion, showing both the toughness and tenderness inside the role.

Off-screen, she carries the same grounded approach, speaking about her work with care and focus.

As a Japanese American actor, she understands how important representation is, but her goal stays simple and clear: to tell stories that feel honest, human, and deeply felt.

Photography Dylan Perlot @dylanperlot Styling Benjamin Holtrop @benjaminholtrop Makeup Sangwon Jeon @makeupsang Hair Barb Thompson @barbdoeshair PR Nicki Fioravante at Viewpoint PR @viewpoint.pr Assistant Producer Lizzie Mansour @lizzoooyo Production + Location @maisonpriveepr_la x @bellomediagroup

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Bodysuit Victoria’s Secret, Top Valliant, Bottoms Valliant, Shoes Alevi Milano

IT IS ABOUT EXPANDING HOW PEOPLE SEE US.

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Tank top Amazon Essentials, Shorts Avvenn @avvenn_official, Boots Giseli Dias @giselidias

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You’ve played such a wide range of roles. What’s the first thing that usually draws you to a character?

It always starts with the script. I’ve been lucky to work with incredible writers, especially on The Boys. When I first got the email about the project, I was immediately interested because Seth Rogen was attached. I grew up watching his films. But once I read the material, I was genuinely surprised. If you’ve seen the first episode, it felt completely different from anything we had been seeing in the superhero genre. From there, it also comes down to who is directing and who is shaping the project creatively. That combination makes a huge difference.

What are your favorite kinds of roles to play?

There is still so much I have not done yet, which is exciting. But I have really loved doing action. I have been lucky enough to work with some of the best stunt coordinators in the industry, and it has been incredibly rewarding to push myself physically and refine those skills. I have trained in sword fighting and Kali, and I am often in the gym continuing to build those muscles. It is challenging, but it is also a lot of fun.

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OFF SCREEN, THE SAME THOUGHTFULNESS THAT DEFINES HER PERFORMANCES SHAPES HER APPROACH TO STORYTELLING.

What does it mean to you to portray a character like Kimiko, who challenges traditional stereotypes often seen for Asian women on screen?

Representation is incredibly important. We have made progress over the years, and there are more projects that support Asian actors and creators, but there is still more to do. For me, it is about expanding how people see us. Growing up, there were many limiting stereotypes, such as the book nerd, the science nerd, or the martial artist. Even when they are not entirely negative, they can still feel restrictive. Film and television are powerful because, for many people, that is their main exposure to cultures outside their own. Being part of something that broadens that perspective feels meaningful.

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“MY PARENTS ENCOURAGED ME TO WORK HARD, BUT THEY NEVER PUSHED ME TOWARD A SPECIFIC CAREER.”

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Looking back on your journey with The Boys, what has been most meaningful about growing with Kimiko over the course of the series?

I have loved playing Kimiko from the very beginning. I felt connected to her even during the audition, which surprised me because she is a mute character and very violent on the surface. Eric Kripke created such a layered backstory for her. She is not just a weapon. She has a deep emotional and vulnerable side, especially in her relationship with Frenchie, and I think that is what resonates with so many people. This season, she finally gets a voice, which feels symbolic of her growth. Over time, she has really come into her own in her independence and sense of purpose. I am really proud of her.

Because she does not speak, it can be easy to overlook how much she is expressing. She is always reacting, thinking, and feeling. She is not just standing there. I have learned to advocate for that in the process. Sometimes that means talking to the director and explaining what she is doing internally in a scene. Even without dialogue, she has a point of view and opinions. I have been lucky to work in a collaborative environment where that is supported.

How has your cultural background influenced the way you approach your work and the kinds of stories you connect with?

I am Japanese American, and my upbringing has shaped how I approach my work. My parents were not stereotypically strict. They encouraged me to work hard, but they never pushed me toward a specific career. My mom is a pianist, and my dad has had many different careers, so I grew up around creativity and flexibility.

What they did emphasize was discipline. Preparation is very important to me. I love rehearsing and making sure I understand every aspect of a character, not just my lines, but how my character would respond in any moment. When you come prepared, it gives you the freedom to be present.

The importance of hard work has stayed with me. It sounds simple, but it really is everything. Knowing your material inside and out makes a huge difference. On set, things can change quickly, and moments can become more spontaneous. Being prepared allows you to adapt without losing the character.

If you could swap places with any character you have played for a day, who would it be and why?

Frenchie. He is one of the most fun characters, especially if you have read the comics. He is bizarre, funny, and unpredictable, and Tomer Capone brings so much to the role. I do not think I could do a better job than him, but it would definitely be fun to step into that energy for a day. He is always the one bringing humor and unexpected moments into a scene.

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What is an element of Kimiko that you love exploring, but you think audiences might not always notice?

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FOR KAREN FUKUHARA, STRENGTH IS NEVER ABOUT VOLUME. IT IS ABOUT TRUTH.

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How do you hope to continue using your platform to elevate more diverse voices and stories moving forward?

At first, I struggled with that and questioned whether it was my place to speak. I have had mentors remind me that people are listening and that representation matters both on screen and in how we use our voices. I think about the actors I grew up watching and how much they meant to me. If I can do that for someone else, that is meaningful.

If you could leave one message with the world through your art, what would it be?

There have been moments in the past few years when I have felt lonely, especially with how much this career can take you away from home.

During those times, I turn to film and television. There is something powerful about seeing a character and feeling understood. It makes you feel less alone. If my work can do that for someone, even in a small way, that would mean everything to me.

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Outfit Stolen Stores @stolen.stores, Shoes Elizée @elizeeshoes

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Being in the public eye has been a learning experience. When I first started acting, I was focused on the work itself and did not fully think about everything that comes with it.

Over time, I realized that being an Asian American actor also means being part of a larger conversation.

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IF MY WORK CAN MAKE SOMEONE FEEL LESS ALONE, THAT WOULD MEAN EVERYTHING TO ME.

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Jacket Bottega Veneta @newbottega, Shirt Todd Snyder @toddsnyderny, Sunglasses Cubitts @cubitts

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For more than two decades, Chin Han has quietly built one of the most impressive careers of any Asian actor working today. While many audiences recognize him from major Hollywood productions like The Dark Knight, Contagion, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ghost in the Shell, and the Mortal Kombat franchise, his journey began long before he became a familiar face on movie screens around the world. Beyond the blockbuster credits and international success is an artist who remains deeply connected to the craft of storytelling. Thoughtful, curious, and constantly evolving, Chin Han approaches his work with the same passion that first drew him to acting years ago. During his recent photo shoot with Character, we sat down with the actor to talk about the changing landscape for Asian performers, the roles that have stayed with him throughout his career, and the lessons he’s learned from working with some of the industry’s most celebrated filmmakers.

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THE LONG GAME

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Trench Coat Hiromi Asai @hiromi.asai, Pants Theory @theory__, Necklace @pyrrhajewelry

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Shirt Vince @vince, Jacket Reiss @reiss, Jeans Rag & Bone @ragandbone, Shoes Tod’s @tods

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Trench Coat Hiromi Asai @hiromi.asai

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LONG-LASTING POWER IS COMMUNITY-BASED, RESPECTFUL AND EMPATHETIC.

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Well, there are many more platforms now to showcase one’s work. Not to mention API creatives in so many fields like directing, writing, design, cinematography, stunts, etc.

And that does affect the ecosystem for authentic and meaningful storytelling for us.

Do you think the opportunities for Asian actors today are fundamentally different, or has the conversation changed faster than the industry itself?

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I do think the opportunities for Asian actors are different today. But whether it is simply an increase in volume of work or an improvement in the quality of representation is something we continue to fight for.

Your roots are in Singapore theater. After all the blockbuster movies you’ve been part of, is there a stage role or theater project you’d still love to do?

It’s funny that of all the types of live performances, I have a soft spot for dance.

There are musicals and ballets I would love to do, but as they say, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is not ready for that.

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HAN

You’ve played a lot of men who know how to control a room. Do you think true power comes from control, influence, or something else?

Sometimes it does, and that kind of power can be seductive and distorting, but I suspect longlasting power is community-based, respectful, and empathetic.

You’ve played everyone from Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat to Long Feng in Avatar: The Last Airbender to Lau in The Dark Knight. If you had to live as one of your characters in real life, who would you choose?

Ha, that’s a tricky one, perhaps Shang Tsung.

He’s a shapeshifter, much like an actor who can play different roles. To be fair, Simon Wang in American Born Chinese is a character that’s close to my heart, and I wouldn’t mind walking in his shoes for a bit.

You studied economics and linguistics before dedicating your life to acting. Do you think understanding how language works made you a better actor?

Totally. Whether it’s with words or body language, understanding how we express or hide our feelings and intentions can be most helpful for acting and reacting. But there are many ways to peel this onion.

You have worked with Christopher Nolan and some of the most respected names in the industry. After three decades in the industry, who is the one collaborator, director or actor that you would drop everything to work with?

Ah, there are many who come to mind who are not here today, like Kubrick, Truffaut, Kurosawa, but for now, if Christopher Nolan calls again...

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You began your career at a time when there was far less visibility and support for Asian actors globally. What feels most different to you now when you look at today’s generation of API creatives?

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Chin Han @thechinhan Photography: Steve Limones @stevelimonesphotography Stylist: Brooke Llewellyn @stylistbrooke Groomer: Kimberly Bragalone @kimberlybragalone at Redefine Representation: @redefinerepresentation Photography Assistant: Josh Forniss @joshuaryan95 Fashion Director: Benjamin Holtrop @benjaminholtrop Stylist Assistant: Erik Jimenez @erikhamandeggs PR: Maria Candida, Sarah Workman & Haley Anderson at imPRint @imprintpr Production and Location: @maisonpriveepr_la x @bellomediagroup

IN FULL COLOR Dress Le Thanh Hoa @_lethanhhoa_

Photography Ashley Seryn @ashleyseryn Styling Estelle Aporongao @estella.png at Anomalous @anomalous.agency Makeup Pircilla Pae @pircillapae at A-Frame Agency @aframe_agency Hair Rena Calhoun @rena.calhoun at A-Frame Agency @aframe_agency Special thanks Nicki Fioravante and Kami Davis at Viewpoint PR @viewpoint.pr Fashion Director Benjamin Holtrop @benjaminholtrop Production + Location @bellomediagroup x @maisonpriveepr_la

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MABEL LI

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AS AUNT VIDALA, SHE REMINDS US THAT POWER IS OFTEN MOST DANGEROUS WHEN IT ARRIVES QUIETLY.

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Dress Concepto @conceptoline, Jewelry Astrid & Agnes @astridoagnes

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THERE’S SOMETHING ALMOST MORE TERRIFYING ABOUT RESTRAINT THAN RAGE.

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“THEATRE TRAINING SHAPED THE ACTOR I’VE BECOME.”

The Testaments is not a spinoff. The word flattens something that deserves more precise language.

It is a Booker Prize-winning novel in its own right, the work that made Atwood only the fourth writer in history to have won that prize twice. It is a literary sequel, set fifteen years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale. Where The Handmaid’s Tale asked what it felt like to be consumed by a totalitarian system, The Testaments asks the harder question: what does it look like from the inside of the machine? Atwood herself described writing testimony as “an act of hope.” The novel was written, she said, in response to readers’ questions left unanswered for three decades, and to “the world we’ve been living in.” It is a work of political urgency wearing the costume of dystopian fiction, and the distinction matters.

Bruce Miller, who adapted The Handmaid’s Tale for Hulu across six acclaimed seasons, brings the same careful authorship to The Testaments.

The show has already been renewed for a second season. What Miller understands, and what this season has delivered with remarkable restraint, is that origin stories are the most dangerous stories to tell. They demand that you find the humanity inside the horror. They require you to make the audience understand, even when understanding feels like the first step toward forgiveness.

Mabel Li plays Aunt Vidala, and what she builds across this first season is a quietly devastating performance. Vidala is not a figure you underestimate. She is a Founding Aunt, a woman at the structural origin of everything Gilead does to its daughters. Her authority is real, her cruelty is purposeful, and her political instincts are sharp enough to unsettle even those above her. Li plays all of that without apology or softening. You fear Vidala because she has earned that fear.

What the season does, gradually and with precision, is layer another story underneath that one. Through flashbacks that accumulate across the episodes, we begin to understand who Vidala was before Gilead gave her a title and a function.

Her name was Vivian. She was ordinary. And in the season finale, when she stands before Aunt Lydia and the full weight of their shared history finally surfaces, Li does something that only the best actors know how to do: she lets both women exist in the same face at the same time.

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There is a particular kind of literary event that arrives once in a generation, when a writer returns to a world she built decades earlier not out of nostalgia or commercial pressure but because the real world has caught up to the nightmare she imagined. Margaret Atwood published The Handmaid’s Tale in 1985 during a period of rising religious conservatism in North America.

She waited thirty-four years to return to Gilead.

When she did, in 2019, the world did not need to ask why. It already knew.

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“PART OF HER SURVIVING IS BEING A REALLY GREAT PERFORMER FOR MANY YEARS.”

Top & Bottom Claude Kameni @claudekameni, Jewelry Astrid & Agnes @astridoagnes, Shoes Jonak @jonak

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Aunt Vidala carries her power in her stillness.

There’s something almost more terrifying about restraint than rage. When you were building her, where did you find the physical and psychological architecture of a woman who has turned discipline into devotion?

The costume, glasses, hair and makeup do half of the heavy lifting in terms of finding where the character sits. It was so surreal to put on that costume for the first time, because I had a parasocial relationship with it for many years watching The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s made of wool and it has some weight to it. You feel the groundedness in the way the fabric flows as you walk and the blazer is tight and neat, and it limits your motion. I also did a lot of prep, reading the source material again and again, reading the scripts over and over, imagination background work, but sometimes as an actor I feel like, yeah I can do all of that prep, but nothing replaces the knowledge that I gain from living in the character’s body in the moment. I leave a lot of room for discovering the character the moment I am in the scene with the other actor or actors. I like to leave room to be surprised.

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Nothing replaces the knowledge that I gain from living in the character’s body in the moment.

YOU CAN ONLY NUMB FOR SO LONG BEFORE CRACKS BEGIN TO SHOW.

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That’s such a great way of putting it, two sides of the same wound. I think she sees Aunt Lydia as a huge threat. I don’t think the trauma of almost being killed by Lydia has ever left her body since it happened. It’s complicated. Part of her envies Aunt Lydia and her position of power and therefore her safety and another part truly feels she could do a better job than Lydia. I think she hates how she’s “softened”

by Gilead standards over the years. I think she hates the softness in Lydia because she hates the softness within herself, the softness that she used to be able to embody in her old life. I think she is scared and angry, and then there are times when I feel that she is so numb towards Aunt Lydia to protect herself.

You’ve described episode 6 as scary and relevant in the same breath. That pairing feels very precise. What does it mean to you to be doing this work at this particular moment in history?

We all felt it when we were shooting episode six, the reality that we were depicting in the show. I remember the first AD, Pat, making a big speech with the 300 background actors at the beginning of our Stadium shoot that this is going to be heavy, we are all in it together. It feels very relevant today because of the rise in fascism across the world.

People are stunned hearing your actual voice after watching you as Vidala. That gap between who you are and who she is — did it feel like a costume, or did something in you have to actually travel to her?

Oh wow! I think doing an American dialect and finding the way that she speaks really helps to differentiate between myself and the character. I remember talking to Bruce about how she should be quite clear and articulate in the way she speaks because she is a high-ranking teacher in the Aunt Lydia School. Every character I’ve played, I always find where they live inside of me, and sometimes you’re dialing up and down parts of yourself to create the character. I haven’t experienced some of the specific traumas that Vivian or Aunt Vidala has, and I knew when we were shooting episode six in the stadium it would be so helpful, my body would learn so much about her. It’s fascinating to play someone who, in a way, is wearing a costume that they didn’t consent to wearing, she was forced to be a part of an army. And so, I think part of her surviving is being a really great performer for many years, but as we all know you can only numb for so long before cracks begin to show.

Your verbatim theatre works at NIDA centered Chinese Australian and Vietnamese Australian young people in Western Sydney — voices that are rarely centered. What did those communities teach you about storytelling that you carry into every room you walk into as an actor?

A lot of the people I interviewed for those projects are my actual friends who I grew up with. I grew up around a lot of kids of first-generation Asian immigrants. Our stories are so varied and rich. Writing and making my own stuff in drama school with community taught me how to let the work reveal itself to you as you write it and how creative you can be with little resources.

The Heath Ledger Scholarship: being a finalist for that scholarship places you in a lineage of Australian actors defined by their willingness to go somewhere uncomfortable. Do you feel that inheritance? Is there a version of going all the way there that scares even you?

It was a total honour to be a finalist for the Heath Ledger scholarship. I’m walking on a well-trodden path of Australian actors going to work in North America and I’m grateful so many have navigated this before me. I’ve been the recipient of so much support from the Australians who have been out here, there’s a real big community. I’m not sure that it scares me, I feel super-duper privileged and lucky to be able to work as an actor overseas.

Cate Blanchett, Sarah Snook — and now you. NIDA produces actors with a particular relationship to transformation. What did that training give you that you couldn’t have found anywhere else?

Theatre training has really shaped the actor I’ve become, to take the time to quietly expand your awareness of your voice and body, push the boundaries and surprise yourself away from the eyes of the industry was really helpful. Right before drama school I remember doing a long clowning workshop at ATYP and I think discovering that fundamentally changed my brain chemistry and my creative process. I also want to say I did have a complicated time at drama school as a POC, and I think a lot of these institutions are still in the process of undoing colonial ways of working. Drama school training is at its best when it empowers you to go big and make mistakes, exposes you to a diverse array of tools and some of those work for you and you carry them with you and some of them don’t, and you get to meet other like-minded artists. I also think having worked a lot in the theatre after drama school has allowed me to be a better screen actor.

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Lydia and Vidala are two sides of the same original wound. What do you think Vidala sees when she looks at Lydia — a mirror, a threat, or something she once wanted to become?

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SOME ACTORS PLAY CHARACTERS. MABEL LI DISCOVERS THE PEOPLE INSIDE THEM.

Full Look & Jewelry Susan Fang @susanfangofficial, Heels Alexandre Birman @alexandrebirman

Strength From Vulnerability: Adeline Rudolph Is Mortal Kombat’s Kitana

ADELINE RUDOLPH

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Coat Falguni Shane Peacock India @falgunishanepeacockindia, Rings Davan @davan_jp & Le Vian @levian_jewelry, Boots Altuzarra @altuzarra, Bag Qoffah @qoffah

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Dress Tang Chi Couture @tangchi_couture, Shoes Flor De Maria @flordemariacollection, Rings Davan @davan_jp

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And the video game itself? “I just button mash,” she admits with a laugh, “so I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’m good at it.

But I have won. So take from that what you will.”

It is that quality, self-deprecating warmth wrapped around quiet confidence, that makes Rudolph’s Kitana feel genuinely fresh. And it extends off-screen, too. Her co-star Tati Gabrielle, with whom Rudolph previously shared a very different kind of supernatural screen space as the Weird Sisters in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, now faces off against her in the brutal “Fighting was another language,” Rudolph says, leaning into world of Mortal Kombat. Asked who would win in a real-life an idea she admits she hadn’t quite articulated before. “It was confrontation, Rudolph doesn’t hesitate for even a fraction of a seen as a way to express what Kitana was going through and second. “Tati. In a heartbeat. Are you kidding? That girl has a how she felt about her opponent.” The insight came during black belt. Tati would win 110%.” more than a month of intensive training in Wushu, Kung Fu, and Tai Chi, a rigorous immersion that would have tested any But perhaps the most resonant dimension of Rudolph’s actor, let alone one navigating her first major stunt-driven role. performance, and of the film itself, is what it means culturally.

“In the way that she would fight, in the way that she would As someone with Korean heritage who grew up navigating the maybe show mercy or be ruthless, that is definitely indicative space between cultures, stepping into a predominantly Asian of how she feels about the person she’s fighting with.” cast carried a weight that went far beyond craft. “It was the first time that I had been part of a cast that had so many Asian It’s the kind of nuance that director Simon McQuoid clearly faces,” she says, “and it felt really natural and really exciting had in mind when he described Kitana as possessing “a core of to me.” She speaks about it with a kind of quiet reverence, as steel but also a real vulnerability.” Rudolph, for her part, resists though she is still allowing herself to fully believe it. “Growing the idea that those two things needed to be reconciled at all. “It up, I never thought that in Hollywood we could have a movie wasn’t necessarily about balancing the two,” she says. “I think like this. And so to be a part of it is really special. I loved every it was going head-on with both elements of her. That’s just who second of it.” she is as a person. Her strength comes from her vulnerability.”

She pauses, then adds: “It is her vulnerability that makes her so powerful in many, many ways, in the way that she cares about her people, in the way that she cares about Jade, her sister.

It was less about trying to balance the two, and more about letting both elements live in her simultaneously.”

Simultaneously is the operative word for everything Rudolph brought to this role. Kitana is, after all, one of the most iconic figures in the Mortal Kombat universe, a character whose razor fan blades and regal composure have made her a fan obsession for three decades. The viral audio clip, “Kitana wins. Flawless victory,” has taken on a life of its own across the internet, a cultural artifact with genuine weight. Rudolph was acutely aware of the responsibility. “For me, the way to honor a character like this is to really dive into the source material,” she says. “Lucky for me, I had so much source material, just by watching gameplay online, but also being able to play the actual video game, and then really diving into the lore. There’s so much you can find out just by researching Kitana herself, but also the relationships she has to the different realms as well as all the different characters.” The homework, she explains, was ultimately in service of synthesis. “Trying to pull all of that and then merge it into the script version, that’s what I tried to do, to stay really true to her.”

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There is a moment early in the new Mortal Kombat film that sets the entire emotional architecture of the story in motion.

Eight-year-old Kitana watches her father die. It is brutal, wordless, and utterly unforgettable, and it is the wound that everything else flows from. For Adeline Rudolph, the actress who carries that wound into adulthood across the film’s two-plus hours, understanding that scene was less about technical preparation and more about letting a character’s pain become a physical language.

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Adeline steps into one of gaming’s most iconic roles and makes it entirely her own.

Full Look & Jewelry Susan Fang @susanfangofficial, Heels Alexandre Birman @alexandrebirman

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Full Look Rowen Rose @rowenroseofficial

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Dress Tang Chi Couture @tangchi_couture

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Adeline Rudolph @adelinerudo Photography Dylan Perlot @dylanperlot Styling Amanda Lim @itsamandalim at The Only Agency @theonly.agency Makeup Allan Avendaño @allanface at A-Frame Agency @aframe_agency Hair Zachary Morad @zacharymorad at Exclusive Artists @exclusiveartists Social Tesia Kuh @thefirstthree.co Special thanks Emily Rennert, Zoe Tucker and Lauren Denker at imPRint @imprintpr Publisher Aleksandar Tomovic @alekandsteph Production + Location Maison Privée x Bello Media Group @maisonpriveepr_la x @bellomediagroup

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REWRITING THE RULES: For generations, Asian and Pacific Islander men have occupied a narrow space within Western culture often overlooked, stereotyped, or reduced to a limited set of narratives. Fashion, however, has become one of the most powerful tools for challenging those perceptions. Today, a new wave of AAPI actors, musicians, athletes, and creatives is redefining masculinity through personal style, proving that strength and self-expression are not mutually exclusive.

lens of stereotypes. Whether it’s a pearl necklace paired with a tuxedo, a sharply tailored suit worn with softness and ease, or an embrace of traditionally feminine silhouettes, these choices communicate confidence rather than rebellion.

The shift is subtle, but significant.

At the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Bowen Yang continued to establish himself as one of Hollywood’s most distinctive dressers. Yang has consistently embraced fashion as an extension of personality rather than conformity, favoring silhouettes and styling choices that prioritize individuality over tradition. His willingness to experiment with proportion, texture, and fashionforward tailoring offers an alternative to the rigid formulas that have long defined menswear.

Rather than adhering to traditional ideals of masculinity rooted in restraint and uniformity, many AAPI men are embracing a broader spectrum of expression. Tailoring remains important, but so does fluidity. Jewelry is no longer an accessory reserved for special occasions; it has become part of a daily uniform. Silk, drape, color, and embellishment coexist alongside sharp suiting and classic menswear. The result is a more nuanced vision of manhood— one that makes room for individuality, vulnerability, and creativity.

Fashion has become a way to reclaim authorship.

For many AAPI men, style offers an opportunity to move beyond inherited expectations and external assumptions.

It allows them to present themselves on their own terms rather than through the

This evolution is perhaps most visible on today’s red carpets. At recent awards shows, a new generation of AAPI men has demonstrated that modern masculinity can be elegant, expressive, and deeply personal.

Likewise, Manny Jacinto has emerged as a compelling example of contemporary masculinity through fashion. Across premieres, fashion weeks, and press appearances, Jacinto has embraced softer tailoring, refined silhouettes, and elevated styling that challenge the hyper-masculine archetypes historically assigned to Asian men in Western media.

His approach communicates confidence through sophistication rather than

dominance, demonstrating that strength can be expressed through restraint, elegance, and intention.

Then there is Simu Liu, whose redcarpet evolution has mirrored a broader shift happening throughout menswear. Whether embracing rich color palettes, fashion-driven suiting, or more adventurous formalwear, Liu has consistently expanded the visual vocabulary available to leading men. His style rejects the notion that masculine dressing must be predictable, proving instead that personality and polish can coexist.

The influence of these men extends beyond what they wear. Their visibility challenges long-held assumptions about who gets to be considered stylish, desirable, powerful, or masculine.

More importantly, they offer younger generations permission to define masculinity for themselves rather than inherit it unchanged.

The modern AAPI man does not have to choose between strength and softness, tradition and innovation, elegance and edge. He can embody all of them at once. In doing so, he offers a vision of masculinity that feels more relevant to the world we live in today, one defined not by limitation, but by possibility.

Fashion isn’t changing men. Men are changing fashion. And AAPI creatives are helping lead the way.

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by Benjamin Holtrop

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HOW AAPI MEN ARE EXPANDING THE LANGUAGE OF MASCULINITY

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Mabel Li

by Ashley Seryn