Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender is just around the corner, debuting on June 25, and with it, audiences will meet new faces and be reunited with familiar ones. The show is born from the fan-favorite animated series, so many audiences already have an understanding of these characters.
One of those characters is Mai, a lieutenant of the villainous firebender Azula, and her close friend and confidant—alongside the chi-blocking Ty Lee. Mai's key trait is her indifference to everything around her, making her feel cold in her interactions.
The Direct sat down with Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender actor Thalia Tran, who revealed why she feels that her live-action version of Mai might be better than the original.
Tran established that she "wanted to be faithful to the version of her" that fans have known, but what she feels gives the live-action space an edge is that "there's a lot more we see [in terms of] different layers of what things mean to her." She also revealed that "We get a little bit more into detail about the complexities of her relationship with the girls as well."
"We can kind of flesh out certain aspects of the dynamic between the trio and what responsibilities I take over and my beliefs," she elaborated.
More of The Direct's interview with Avatar: The Last Airbender star Thalia Tran can be read below, with the full interview dropping alongside all seven episodes of Season 2 on June 25.
Thalia Tran Explains Why Live-Action Mai Might Be the Better Version of the Character
"We Go a Little Bit More Into Detail..."
- The Direct: "What do you feel is the biggest difference between her animated form and your live action?"
Thalia Tran: I would say it was definitely a really interesting process, because obviously I wanted to be faithful to the version of her that you know, Cricket [Leigh] and the animators had created in the original cartoon, but I feel like in this live action space, there's a lot more we see different layers of what things mean to her. We get a little bit more into detail about the complexities of her relationship with the girls as well.
Tran explained how beneficial it is that she and audiences know Mai's entire journey is thanks to the animated series already being out there:
Tran: You know, we know what's coming in Season 3, and all that stuff, so we get to really see the journey between where she started and where she ends up in terms of her relationships as well. So I think that that's like one of the biggest things is like seeing seeing that slow kind of progression, and... because we know what's coming all along the way, I think that's the kind of fortunate part about being in my position, is that we know what's coming, and we can have that build up.
She added that in the series, they get to flesh out a lot more about Mai, including "certain aspects of the dynamic between the trio:"
Tran: I think, apart from that, because of how we get to see these adventures, and we get to consciously choose what happens along the plot points and stuff like that, we can kind of flesh out certain aspects of the dynamic between the trio and and what responsibilities I take over and my beliefs also regarding everything that's happening, like everything that I've been taught in the Royal Fire Academy, and how I'm seeing that applied into the world. We get to see a little bit more of how I feel about things.
Thalia Tran Knows Why Fans Don't Like the Animated Mai
"I Think People See Her Very Much [at] Face Value..."
- The Direct: "I found that there's a vocal camp of people who don't like this character, animated-wise, and I'm curious, do you—I mean, I'm sure the answer is yes, but just, do you feel that she's misunderstood, and why do you feel that is the case? What do you feel doesn't necessarily click with some people?"
Thalia Tran: I am aware of this. People who might find her, I don't know—I think people see her very much [at] face value, right? Like, they see this very stone cold demeanor, they see this just unwillingness to engage in these, like, especially in comparison to Ty Lee, and how friendly she is, and stuff like that. You just see this just like really stone cold person, and I think some people are—don't relate to it, and they also don't understand why she is the way that she is...
Despite Mai's coldness, Tran explains that "Mai still feels just as deeply" as others like Ty Lee and that people need to question more about what makes the character tick:
Tran: They haven't taken the time to really like question why this is, and when you really come to understand her story, and the purpose that she serves in the group, and her relationships with people, where, like, the love is really real, even if it's not shown as much externally, in the way that, you know, Ty Lee shows her love and affection, and stuff like that. I believe Mai still feels just as deeply, which is where I think people kind of are missing some stuff.
The actress explained that she sometimes struggles to embody Mai's indifference, especially since Tran is expressive herself:
Tran: But I feel just as deeply. I just present in a different way, and I think that finding that part of the character for me was really fun, because it is really different, because in real life I am a very expressive person, and what I feel comes out on my face, and so finding ways, like, oh, covering that up a bit, realizing that those emotions don't stay true internally, I'm like, I think if people really took the time to get to know Mai in the way that Ty Lee and Azua have, and really connected with her in that way, then they would really come to love her... She's a person just like anybody else, [has] good heart, and wants to do the right thing...
Fleshing Out Mai Offscreen With Improv & Exploration
"I Learned A Lot About Both Myself and the Character Through This Process of Playing Her."
- The Direct: "Is there anything you feel like you, you learned about the character with your time in Season 2 that maybe you knew before, or just you felt like you just got a way better understanding of it after what you accomplished in Season 2?"
Thalia Tran: I feel like I learned a lot about both myself and the character through this process of playing her. I feel like one thing I really came to connect with was this very deadpan demeanor that she has. I really came to understand, like, oh, this is like a defense mechanism of sorts... I understand why it feels comfortable to shut down so many emotions in that way, because it's safer that way. It feels like I'm more in control that way.
"We got to go way more into detail when we were just working together," Tran noted about her co-stars, adding that she "got to feel like [they] really built history together:"
Tran: So, I think I was kind of getting into the head of, like, oh, this is why I am the way I am, not just what I am, and also like how I feel about the girls and stuff like that. We got to go way more into detail when we were just working together about, you know, fleshing out memories together and stuff like that. Stuff is not even shown on screen, but we've just had so many lovely conversations about establishing memories between us, all that fun actor stuff, and that was also really, really great, because I got to feel like we really built history together.
- The Direct: "Can you share any of what those off-screen memories you guys worked together were?"
Tran: So I remember we were kind of talking about, we see a little bit of in the original cartoon, we see young Azula, young Mai, young Ty Lee, and young Zuko, right, and interacting at school, and stuff like that, and we were kind of playing in that realm of the young versions of us, when we first met, and kind of how we first got to know each other, me and Ty Lee, you know, meeting and seeing Azula, and what we think of her, and what we think of kind of ourselves...
Tran revealed that they all "got to do some improv exercises, and [they] got to kind of live out some of those memories:"
Tran: And for me, also kind of getting into my skill set and knives, and how I got into that, and really fleshing that out, in terms of what did this look like, what did this feel like, and I think it was really, really cool. Also, we got to do some improv exercises, and we got to kind of live out some of those memories. Also some stuff that you know we don't see on screen. Like for example, when we see Azula and Maiu come pick up Ty Lee from the circus, right? We kind of flesh that out, and you know, got to take a look at what her experience in the circus was like, even though we don't get to see this on screen in our show, so that was really, really fun.
The time spent building that bond and those unseen memories between their characters went a long way toward what audiences will see in the final product:
Tran: And I feel like that was such a big part of it for us, was even just building that bond and building these shared memories together. I feel like all three of us were very much in real life invested in the relationship that we had together that carries over into what we do on screen together and I really, I love my girls so, so much because I felt like we were all kind of on the same page in terms of we're gonna give our all into making this trio the trio, and I think there's just so much, so much love and so much effort and everything there.
The Direct's entire interview with Avatar: The Last Airbender can be seen below.,
