How Avatar: The Legend Of Korra's Kuvira Is Connected To Robin Williams
The Legend of Korra sets itself apart from its predecessor, Avatar: the Last Airbender, by virtue of its relatable villains. Each season of Korra features a different baddie who embodies a philosophical challenge to the Avatar and the system they uphold. Season 1 had Amon (voiced by Steve Blum) and the Equalists, who resented the supremacy of benders. Season 2 had Unalaq (Adrian LaTourelle) and Vaatu (Jonathan Adams), threats that challenged the human disconnection from the spirit realm. Season 3 featured the Red Lotus, an anarchist group of terrorists who believed the Avatar was a prop of statist power. And season 4 gave us Kuvira, the world's most sympathetic fascist. Kuvira believed that the only way to protect the Earth Kingdom was to reunify it under her power — whether the people of the Earth Kingdom wanted it or not.
Kuvira is voiced by Zelda Williams, Robin Williams' daughter. Zelda has been acting since she was 5, when she played a child in a ballet class in Nine Months. The actress, who bears the name of a famous video game princess, has coincidentally found a home in other geeky genre properties like Teen Wolf and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Kuvira resembles Zelda Williams' mother
Williams tweeted in 2020 that the first thing that struck her about Kuvira was the character's resemblance to her own mother. "Saw her for the first time at the callback booth audition at Nickelodeon," she wrote. "First reaction was she looked a TON like my mom back in the day, mole and all! Made me really happy to see the resemblance." Zelda Williams' mother is Marsha Garces, a film producer who has worked on such films as Patch Adams and Mrs. Doubtfire. Garces' mole is a little further south on her face than Kuvira's, but other than that, the resemblance is uncanny.
Williams isn't the only famous voice in The Legend of Korra. Zaheer, leader of the Red Lotus, is played by actor and former Black Flag singer Henry Rollins. Tenzin, Korra's mentor, is played by Oscar winner and peanut M&M J.K. Simmons. Simmons has also leant his voice to video games like Spider-Man 2: The Video Game and Portal 2. His daughter Jinora is played by a pre-Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Kiernan Shipka. Last but not least, the elderly version of Katara is played by former Hitchcock blonde Eva Marie Saint.
Quite the stable of talent for a little animated series on a network for kids.