this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2024
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Avatar: The Last Airbender

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[–] Aganim 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

If it had come to that I think they'd probably recast him with a voice double, but it's a good thing it didn't come to that!

I'm also glad it didn't come to that. It was already a noticeable change when they had to find a new voice actor for Iroh, let alone when you need to replace the actor for the titular character. Not that I don't respect the work of Greg Baldwin of course, but for me Mako Iwamatsu was the one and only Uncle Iroh. It's a shame he wasn't able to complete his character's journey.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Gotta disagree with you there about it being noticeable. It was seamless to anyone who wasn't specifically listening for it.

[–] Aganim 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Really? I didn't know they had to find a new voice actor when I first watched season 3 and I immediately heard it. Guess I'm a nitpick when it comes to voice acting. 😅

[–] VindictiveJudge 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Some of Iroh's lines late in season 2 are also Baldwin and almost nobody noticed it then. He definitely sounds different, but he's the absolute best match for Mako's distinctive voice anyone could hope for.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Well then clearly I went too far with "anyone" :P but I still think the majority of people didn't notice.

In the podcast, Dante Basco (voice of Zuko) recounts that they* started crying when Greg started doing Iroh because it sounded like Mako came back to life. To be fair, there's clearly some exaggeration there for dramatic effect, but I have to say Greg really is spot-on with Iroh.

I will give you that his very first line or two in the show are a little bit off. But not enough to tip me off if I wasn't looking for it.

* he said "we", IIRC, but I don't know who besides him - probably the recording techs.