Liu discusses the growing representation of Asian actors in Hollywood today and his hope to not be typecasted or limited by his ethnicity
Actor on the rise, Dallas Liu, is stepping into his first leading role as Prince Zuko in Netflix’s live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender. For those who grew up watching the popular Nickelodeon series—often dubbed by critics as one of the greatest animated television series of all time—the story of Aang and the four nations is both familiar and nostalgic.
Liu, however, has teased fans saying, “[Watching the new show is] going to be quite the experience.” Set for a February 2024 release, the remake is headlined by some of the most popular Asian actors in Hollywood including Daniel Dae Kim, Paul Sun-Hyung, Ken Leung and Elizabeth Yu.
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As the story itself borrows elements from indigenous Asian tribes, it’s become culturally important to showcase the people as they are. Yet, when questioned about how Hollywood segments the nuances of the term “Asian”—broad in itself, encompassing countless ethnic groups spread across 48 countries—Liu reveals that being “Asian” isn’t necessarily the most important thing about any one character.
A cultural movement
“Typically the breakdowns [for an audition] will just be Asian, black, white, Latino, and [actors] will go into that because not always in every project are they going to need to explain the background of a character,” says Liu. “As Asians in Hollywood, we not only want to be able to tell a cultural story, we also want to be a character where [being Asian isn’t] the only thing about them.
“At the end of the day, we are real people living everyday lives. So although, culturally, we might be different, we’re all human beings at the end of the day.”
For Liu, who began his acting career at age 13, honing his craft has culminated at just the right time. “It’s super hot [to be] an Asian-American actor in Hollywood right now,” he laughs. Having previously appeared in Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings alongside Simu Liu and Awkwafina, Liu is at the forefront of a cultural phenomenon progressing towards the inclusion of Asian-influenced projects.
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