He needed to prepare to play a heartless tyrant.
When Daniel Dae Kim needed to prepare to play the heartless villain Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar: The Last Airbender, he knew exactly where to look for inspiration – the world of politics.
The acting legend has lent his talents to the Netflix remake of the wildly popular Nickleodeon series, playing the tyrannical ruler of the Fire Nation who dreams of conquering the world, and a terrifying father to characters Zuko (Dallas Liu) and Azula (Lizzy Yu).
Speaking exclusively RadioTimes.com about how he approached playing such a chilling villain, Kim explained that he looked to real-life politicians for inspiration, saying: “What was really interesting to me about Ozai was a couple of things.
“One was his role as a father. As one myself, and as someone who has tried to guide two children – two boys, in fact – the choices that Ozai made were the start for me in exploring the character. What were his intentions? Where did they go wrong? What does he want for this character? What, in the end, does he really want from Zuko?”
Kim added: “I started there and I also explored his own sense of ambition – why does he want to throw this world out of harmony? Why does he want to throw it out of balance so much? What is the source of this desire to conquer the entire world?
“I looked to our politicians and our political situation to start that exploration.”
Speaking about acting alongside Kim, Lizzy Yu, who plays his on-screen daughter Azula, told RadioTimes.com: “It was crazy, I mean [he’s] an absolute legend, insane.
“Knowing that he’s going to play your dad is is so nerve-wracking, and then you get there and he’s so much taller than me and so muscular and I’m just there trying to be myself and also super nervous – so I think that also helped my character be nervous around him! It was an absolute dream.”
The new Netflix series, which has been described as a “reimagining” of the original animation, stars Gordon Cormier as youngster Aang, who discovers he’s the Avatar (the only person in the world capable of mastering all four elements) and is expected to save the world from an enemy hell-bent on stopping him.
It’s not Kim’s first rodeo when it comes to Avatar: The Last Airbender, either.
In the original animation, the star lent his voice to General Fong, a high-ranking officer in the Earth Kingdom. This time around will see him switch sides as he takes on the fiery villain.