Filipinos are now talking about Gordon Cormier, the Filipino-Canadian actor who plays Aang in the Netflix live adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Before exploring the “four nations” in Avatar, Gordon was raised by his Canadian father, Gordon Porter, and his Filipino mother, Genalyn, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Aside from having Filipino roots, here are some fun and interesting facts about Gordon, a.k.a. Aang:
According to Preview, Gordon Cormier was just 11 years old when it was revealed that he will play Aang in Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Gordon Cormier has been added to the list of international stars of Filipino descent because of her Pinay mother from Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
The actor was born on October 8, 2009, which makes him a Libra.
Gordon Cormier made his television debut in the 2019 American comedy series Get Shorty. Gordon was featured in the first episode of Season 3, "What To Do When You Land," alongside popular comedians Chris O'Dowd and Ray Romano.
In a quick chat with social media personality Ayn Bernos, Gordon Cormier joyfully revealed, "I know one [Tagalog] word, and that's 'pogi'." Because that's what her mother taught him.
Gordon Cormier revealed in an interview that auditioning for the role of Aang was a long process. “For me, it was a very long audition process. It consisted of self-tapes, two callbacks, and three chemistry reads,” he shared.
It is no secret that actors who play roles in Avatar: The Last Airbender must master martial arts to do complex challenging stunts. Fortunately, Gordon Cormier began his Taekwondo training at the age of four.
It was also mentioned in an article by Preview that Gordon Cormier had watched Avatar: The Last Airbender 35 times in preparation for his role as Aang.
In his interview with Deadline, Gordon Cormier shared, “When I did this character [Ang], I mainly wanted to focus on keeping Aang's joy, happiness, and 12-year-old spirit in general. I feel like now that this is in live-action, I feel we can dive deeper into Aang's emotional side because there was a genocide. All of Aang's family and friends died, so we can visit more of the darker parts.”
Gordon Cormier loves skateboarding as seen on his Instagram.
Despite having a Filipino mother, Gordon Cormier revealed that his recent visit to the Philippines was only his third time. He and co-star Dallas Liu visited the Philippines to promote Avatar: The Last Airbender. Meanwhile, Gordon enjoys how Filipinos speak English more fluently than other countries.
To truly embody his role Aang, Gordon Cormier revealed that he wanted to shave his head and refused to wear prosthetics.
After playing the main character in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Gordon Cormier's career is going to be exciting.