Diksha Sundriyal
The second season of Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender‘ introduces a fan-favorite character, Toph Beifong. She is an Earthbender whose unmatched skills stem from her view of the world through a different lens. Toph is born blind, which leads many, including her parents, to underestimate her and consider her a fragile girl. However, her blindness becomes her greatest strength, as it allows her to connect with the Earth in a way never seen before. It leads her to use her powers in ways other Earthbenders could never think of, and over the course of the season, she unlocks more interesting ways to harness them. The actress, Miya Cech, dedicated herself to portraying the character as authentically as possible. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Miya Cech Devoted Herself to Portraying Toph Authentically
While Toph Beifong is blind in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender,’ Miya Cech, who plays the role, is not blind in real life. The actress wore vision-restricting contact lenses for the role. While it gave her a sense of what it feels like not to be able to see for Toph, there were other details she poured into the character to present the character’s experience more realistically. Because Toph is a master Earthbender and is involved in many fights, Miya trained with a stunt team for six weeks, during which she learned martial arts and even refined moves that would feel more authentic to the character. That, however, was barely scratching the surface of the work that the character needed.
Miya was highly conscious about not representing the blind community poorly. She admitted that not being blind or having low vision means she will never truly know what that feels like, but she wanted her portrayal of Toph to be accurate enough for blind or low-vision viewers to see themselves in the character. She trained with blindness consultant Joe Strechay, who helped her every step of the way. Reportedly, he attended the young actress’ days on set, including stunt rehearsals and private practice sessions. The idea was to nail Toph’s mannerisms with such detail that her world felt lived-in. While there were major scenes, such as fight scenes and emotionally heavy ones, the actress and her consultant focused on getting the small things right.
Notably, Toph walks without a cane or a stick, underlining how deeply connected she is to the Earth beneath her feet. Miya wanted to get this connection right. “We spent a lot of time going up and down the stairs of our production office, making sure that was something I could do and feel confident,” she told Netflix Tudum. In the same vein, she would gauge the temperature and amount of tea in her cup by placing her finger just inside the rim. Details like these added a realistic layer to the character, allowing the actress to slip into the role with more authenticity. Miya was aware that the camera wouldn’t necessarily catch all these details, but practicing them nonetheless breathed more life into the character.
Another detail of Toph’s character includes her being barefoot because that’s how she is connected to Earth at all times. While Miya was ready to do all scenes barefoot, fake feet were created for her to keep filming without freezing during more difficult shooting days. Reportedly, about 40 fake feet were created for her to stay protected and safe from low temperatures and other forms of danger. They made things a tad uncomfortable, but they did eventually help her stay safe and well, so she could give her entire focus to the character and iron out the details that make Toph more realistic.
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