Acclaimed Filipino actors Dolly de Leon and JonJon Briones bring Filipino pride to new heights as they officially join the cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the beloved animated series.
On May 20, 2025, Avatar: The Last Airbender announced on social media, “Welcome the new faces joining the cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender in Seasons 2 and 3,” featuring photos of the two Filipino actors.
Other newcomers to the Avatar cast include Tantoo Cardinal as Hama, Terry Chen as Jeong Jeong, Lily Gao as Ursa, Madison Hu as Fei, and Dichen Lachman as Yangchen.
Dolly de Leon will appear in Season 2, playing the roles of Lo and Li, twin advisers to Fire Nation Princess Azula. Briones will join in Season 3 as Piandao, a master swordsman.
They will star alongside Gordon Cormier, who plays Aang, the show’s lead character. Cormier is a Canadian actor with Filipino roots—his mother hails from Santa Rosa, Laguna.
De Leon made history as the first Filipina nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globe Awards for Triangle of Sadness. She recently walked the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere of Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2, starring Nicole Kidman. De Leon also appeared in Expats, another series featuring Kidman.
Briones, meanwhile, is best known for his role as the Engineer in the 2014 West End revival of Miss Saigon, which earned him a Laurence Olivier Award nomination. He reprised the role on Broadway in 2017.
Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series debuted in February 2024 and was renewed in May of the same year for two more seasons. It follows the story of four elemental nations once in harmony, disrupted by the Fire Nation’s quest for domination. The Avatar, master of all four elements, is the only hope to restore peace.
Excited to see more Filipino talent shine on the global stage?
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