‘Avatar’ Star Gordon Cormier Originally Turned Down the Role of Aang Because He Thought He Was Too ‘Tiny’

If Gordon Cormier went with his first instinct, the latest live-action “Avatar: The Last Airbender” would have looked very different. The Netflix star stopped by “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” Thursday night and spilled on why he almost turned down the big-budget project.

Originally, Cormier auditioned for the leading role of Avatar Aang when he was 11 years old. “Did you know you were going to get it when you walked in there?” Fallon asked.

“Actually, I turned down the audition when I first got it because I was a small 11 year old and they were looking for a 12-year-old,” Cormier recalled. “I was like, ‘This is a big script. It’s tomorrow. There’s no way I’m going to book this, I’m tiny. It’s not going to happen.'”

Though he passed, the casting team sent the script back to him and said they really wanted to see him. After an audition, a self tape, two callbacks, three chemistry reads — two with Dallas Liu, who plays Prince Zuko, and one with Kiawentiio — Cormier was finally given the role.

The young star also revealed that he has watched the original Nicktoon 26 times since the age of 12. The original animated series premiered four years before Cormier was even born. The young star ended his time on “The Tonight Show” by accepting a staff offered by Fallon and performing some martial arts for the audience.

Based on the Nickelodeon series of the same name, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” takes place in a universe where people known as benders can control the four elements: earth, fire, water and air. Only one person per generation has the ability to control all four elements, a reincarnated being known as the Avatar. When a young Aang first learned of the great responsibility placed on his shoulders, he fled right before the Fire Nation attacked. Now 100 years later, it’s up to Aang and his newfound friends Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley) to save the world.

The original Nicktoon was a massive hit for Netflix. It has since spawned a sequel series, “The Legend of Korra,” a live-action movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Netflix’s live-action series and a collection of books and comics. Three animated movies set in the “Avatar” universe have also been announced.

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