Since the second season of Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender was confirmed, fans have been dying to know who would be playing Toph Beifong. The iconic character created from the original Nickelodeon animated series is one of the show’s most beloved — a young, blind girl who just so happens to be the most powerful earth-bender in the world. Now, Netflix has finally revealed who will be taking on Toph.
Meet Miya Cech.
Who Is Miya Cech?
Miya, 17, is an actress who has appeared in Netflix’s You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah and Beef, where she played a young Amy, Ali Wong‘s character.
She’s also a longterm fan of The Last Airbender, and even revealed that Toph was “always my favorite character.”
“I grew up watching the animated series,” she told Netflix Tudum. “I’ve always been such a big fan and probably watched it 10 times all the way through. Toph was always my favorite character, so as soon as the casting notice came out, I begged my team to please get me an audition,” she said, adding that she also loved Season 1 of the live-action series.
She’s also already gotten into character with one change in her Instagram bio, where she wrote: “melon lord.”
IYKYK.
Is Miya Cech Blind?
Unlike Toph, Miya is not blind nor visually impaired, even though the casting call did encourage such actors to audition.
So, on top of training for action stunts like the rest of her cast, she will also be working with a consultant who is blind and the goal is to “represent the blind community appropriately,” per Netflix.
“I’ve been in boot camp for about a week and a half now and still have a lot of work to do, but it’s super fun,” she told Netflix. “I have some martial arts experience. I have a great instructor who I take private classes with back home in Northern California, and he keeps me in shape when I’m not working. I also have some dance experience from when I was younger that has been very helpful as I learn about Toph’s movements.”
Executive producers Jabbar Raisani and Christine Boylan told Netflix Tudum there were “thousands upon thousands” of auditions submitted for Toph, but they both immediately knew that Cech was a perfect fit.
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