In Season 3 ofThe White Lotus, the rich patriarch of the Ratliff family is coming undone, played byJason Isaacs, who can erupt into angry dialogue or send a stare like daggers at a resort worker trying to take his phone for the week. Yet, the longer the season goes on, Isaac’s portrayal shows complex layers of Timothy Ratliff, who grows quieter and directs the violence at himself rather than others.Jason Isaacs is more than his villain roles, withThe White Lotusas an example, but he does them so well that the bad guys he plays are some of the most memorable roles in his career. This is especially true of villains who don’t think twice about going after young heroes.
His voice seethes with anger and ill-intent on a gang of youths trying to stop a Big Bad, and this isn’t referring to Lucius Malfoy intheHarry Pottermovies.Sitting alongside the contemptuous senior Malfoy and the thrill of the fight inCaptain Hook,Isaacs didn’t need to be on-screen to be intimidating when he did the voice acting for the devious schemer, Admiral Zhao, inAvatar: The Last Airbender.A staple of being the childhood villains of Millennials and Gen Z, Jason Isaacs makes for perfect casting on the beloved animated series where a fiery temper is more than a colorful expression.
The Movie Role That Got Jason Isaacs Cast in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’
In Book One, Admiral Zhao is trying to hunt down the Avatar, becoming a far more dangerous foe to encounter than Zuko (Dante Basco), the banished prince of the Fire Nation who can only return home if he catches the elusive titular figure. Zuko is misguided but not evil. Zhao, on the other hand, is power-hungry and delivers his threats with a smirk because he knows he can get what he wants. While it seems possible that Harry PotterorPeter Panare the inspirations for getting Jason Isaacs cast inATLA, the co-creators,Bryan KonietzkoandMichael Dante DiMartino, had a different inspiration. They didn’t think getting the actor would be possible, so his casting was a dream come true for them.
In a2007 interview with IGN, DiMartino said, “When I was first writing dialogue for the character of Zhao, I was inspired by Jason Isaacs’ chilling performance as the villain inThe Patriot.So when the time came to cast the character, I asked our casting director, Maryanne Dacey, if she could find someone like Jason Isaacs. A few days later, she got the real deal instead.” Getting Isaacs on the show was a stroke of genius, even if the younger viewers tuning in wouldn’t have known him from the war movie where his role asthe barbaric Colonel Tavington is a monsterwho is nicknamed “the Butcher” due to the violence he inflicted on the American colonists.
Taking place during the American Revolutionary War, the British Colonel Tavington didn’t kill for His Majesty but for his own agenda. He fatally shoots the young son of farmer and war veteran Benjamin (Mel Gibson), and when it turns Benjamin into the leader of the rebellious Colonial Milita, Tavington does whatever it takes to kill him. He attempts to push Benjamin into breaking a ceasefire, indirectly mocking the father’s murdered son when he says, “You know, it’s an ugly business doing one’s duty — but just occasionally, it’s a real pleasure.” He locks townspeople inside a church who have helped the Colonial Militia, then orders his men to burn it down. The arrogance of charging his men into battle earlier than they should or the lack of honor in his killing of enemies make fora demented performance by Isaacs, and viewers can see why this character iswhat made theAvatar: The Last Airbenderco-creators want him for Zhao.
Admiral Zhao Is an Underrated ‘Avatar’ Villain
There are complicated, nuanced, and flawedvillains in theAvatarworld. Zhao isn’t fully fleshed out like others to explore why they are vicious, like the toxic childhood of Princess Azula (Grey DeLisle), but his simplicity is what makes him so fun to watch. What Zhao wants is power, and he is known for his rage.It makes his firebending deadlyand uncontrollable in the duels he has between Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen) and Zuko, wherethey defeat him using his anger against him.It lets viewers see Zhao as a path Zuko can take if he ignores the teachings of control by Uncle Iroh (MakoandGreg Baldwin). There is resistance already in Zuko during this first season to how ruthless he can be, but the Admiral is lost in his way.
AlthoughThe Patriotis how Isaacs got cast, his othercollection of villainswho terrorized or fascinated young audiences brings Zhao closer to those men who didn’t care about the safety of children. Isaacs is a master of delivering deliciously wicked dialogue, be it the condescending insults of Zhao or the ones from Lucius Malfoy, but not being the strongest fighter with a wand makes Lucius “all talk, no bite.” Because of that,Zhao has the aggression Isaacs portrays in Captain Hook, as well as their manipulation of their enemies.
Team Avatar and Zuko both have to dodge constant attacks by Zhao throughout Book One, who nearly succeeds in assassinating Zuko and almost throws the world out of balance by killing the Moon Spirit. Always seeing red dooms Zhao to a fate of poetic justice when he cannot allow himself to seek help from Zuko, a “traitor” in his eyes, andaccepts being dragged away by the monstrous version of the Ocean Spirit.The glowing blue imagery of the creature is mesmerizing and possibly scary to some of the younger viewers out there as the Admiral is taken, leaving him stranded in the Spirit World to lose his mind, as seen inThe Legend of Korra.The fiery presence Isaacs creates in his voice acting is made even more memorable by how both live-action adaptations haven’t lived up to his performance with their depictions of Zhao.
‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Universe To Expand With ‘The Legend of Korra’ Sequel Series
What would happen if the Avatar was hated and feared instead of beloved?
The Live-Action Remakes of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Change Zhao
The 2010 movieand the 2024 Netflix series didn’t seem to care too much about Zhao as an imposing force. The Fire Lord orchestrates the slaying of the Moon Spirit in the movie, rather than it being part of Zhao’s (Ken Leung) quest to be remembered in the animated series; the Netflix series adds a new plot development ofAzula (Elizabeth Yu) being the puppet masterof Zhao’s actions, a detail that works in favor of building up her character than his. While these live-action portrayals of the Admiral are different, leaving out the rage of the original and the self-initiated scheming that led to his downfall, Jason Isaacs did his part to set the stage for the new dangers that Team Avatar would face, along with setting up Zuko’s journey of letting go of his anger.
AvatarandThe White Lotuscouldn’t be further apart from each other, but there is a nice little foreshadowing to Isaacs' current TV role.The Order of the White Lotus is a secret society that brings the promise of peace between the four bending nations, unlike the surface-level pretense of peace that comes from a stay at the resort for the wealthy inThe White Lotus. The problems between a pill-popping father withdrawing from his family and a firebending, uncontrollable Admiral are not all that similar, except for one thing: the self-destruction that can ruin them.
Avatar: The Last Airbenderis available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
