“Avatar: The Last Airbender” Star Gordon Cormier, 16, Says It's 'Crazy' Growing Up Alongside Aang (Exclusive)

Brenton BlanchetThu, June 25, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC

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Gordon Cormier as AangCredit: Katie Yu/Netflix -

Avatar: The Last Airbender star Gordon Cormier shares what it's like to grow up alongside his beloved character, Aang

The star, 16, tells PEOPLE that he's been able to "really formulate who Aang was" to "play him the best I could" over the years

The actor returns for the show's second season, which hit Netflix on Thursday, June 25

Gordon Cormier has spent five years of his life shaving his head, riding imaginary flying bison and mastering the elements in Avatar: The Last Airbender on his quest to bring his protagonist Aang to life.

The star, 16, returns as the airbender in the live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon animated series, which returned to Netflix for its second season on Thursday, June 25.

Now five years after first being announced for the lead role in August 2021, and over two years after the series first premiered in February 2024, Cormier tells PEOPLE it's been "crazy" to grow up with Aang.

"As Aang was growing up, I was growing up," Cormier explains. "And I was also growing as an actor."

He adds, "I feel like, if anything, I just spent more and more time developing him and who he is, giving him traits, giving him things that are just specific to him so I could really formulate who Aang was and play him the best I could."

Gordon Cormier as AangCredit: Katie Yu/Netflix

Season 2 of Avatar follows Aang and his crew (including Kiawentiio's Katara and Ian Ousley's Sokka) on their quest to make Aang a master of all four core elements and save their world from the grasp of the Fire Nation and Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim).

While Aang, a natural airbender, goes into the second season with some new water-bending skills, he's still on the search for an earth-bending teacher. That's when newcomer Toph (Miya Cech) enters the picture.

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The latest batch of episodes also feature the return of Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu) and his no-nonsense sister Azula (Elizabeth Yu), as it closely follows the animated series — meaning fans can expect some heavier themes of familial friction in the latest chapter.

Netflix announced in November 2025 that the show's third and final season had also finished filming, marking an end to the show's production.

Ousley, 24, tells PEOPLE that, much like his costar Cormier, "we all grew up making this show," calling the release of the final two seasons "bittersweet."

"We're all really proud of the work that we did in season 2 and in season 3 and are really excited for the world to see it," Ousley says. "But at the same time, it's like we're tying the bow, but [it's] taken a long time in a beautiful way."

He adds, "We love these characters and we don't want to have to let them go, and we're just in the middle of this journey now for the world to be able to see the work that we've put in for so long. So we're super grateful for season 2 to come out and we're really excited to see what season 3 will bring as well. It's such a privilege to have these people as my costars."

Season 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender is now streaming on Netflix.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”