Many actors in the “Avatar” films are hidden by CGI blue skin, leaving them unrecognizable. The third and final “Avatar” film, “Fire and Ash”, introduces a new Na’vi villain: the firebending witch Varang. Although Varang leaves quite an impression, you might not recognize her as Oona Chaplin, famous for playing Talisa Maegyr, the beloved (and doomed) wife of Robb Stark (Richard Madden) in “Game of Thrones.”
Eiza González is an artist who ultimately missed the ship to Pandora. The Mexican actor confirmed to Collider in 2021 that she had auditioned for the “Avatar” sequels. She has since repeated the story of her “Avatar” audition while promoting her sci-fi film “Ash” with Aaron Paul (via Polygon). The first part of González’s audition involved reading part of the script in a locked room. After that, it got weirder:
“They covered my eyes, took me to another room, made me go through all that, and then they gave me a tail. I had a tail, a little tail! Half of my lines were screaming on the floor. Then I was on all fours. I was like, ‘I’m going to commit.’ You just have to commit.” And I was like, on the ground, on all fours, gibbering Na’vi or whatever they say, and running around.”
González didn’t specify which “Avatar” role she read for, but it sounds like it was a Na’vi character. She is also known for playing imposing femme fatales, from the vampire queen Santanico Pandemonium in the television series “From Dusk Until Dawn” to the bank robber “Darling” in Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver.” In the context of “Fire and Ash,” I’d say it’s plausible that she auditioned for Varang, a dominatrix-coded warrior queen who brings Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) to his knees while interrogating/seducing him.
Eiza González worked with James Cameron on Alita: Battle Angel
González didn’t get an audition for “Avatar” by sheer luck. In the TV show “From Dusk till Dawn”, she worked with filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, director of the original film “From Dusk till Dawn”. Next, Rodriguez cast her in his 2019 cyberpunk manga adaptation, “Alita: Battle Angel,” as the cyborg assassin Nyssiana.
“Alita” was first developed by James Cameron, who only handed the directing reins to Rodriguez so he could focus on the “Avatar” sequels. Cameron, however, remained a producer on “Alita,” and after he and González worked on the film, he auditioned for its “Avatar” sequels.
The timing here further suggests that González auditioned for Varang. “Alita” was filmed from October 2016 to February 2017, while the casting of Chaplin’s “Avatar” was announced in June 2017. That leaves Cameron four months to audition the Varang actors before making his decision in June (or at least around then).
Even though González didn’t participate in the “Avatar” sequels, she didn’t seem bitter about it. In her first chat with Collider, she used the story to explain how even “small roles” can open doors for actors:
“I was a small role [in ‘Alita’]. “Baby Driver” had already been a hit, so I could have said, “Meh, I’m not going to do that.” “But at the same time, for me, it allows someone like James Cameron to see me, to know who I am. […] and he asked me to audition for “Avatar” after that. He would never have read me. It was like a list of five people. »
If Cameron makes more “Avatar” sequels, perhaps he can still find a place on Pandora for González.
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” is now playing in theaters.
