Ian Ousley

Hi Ian, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hey! Yeah, of course. I’m a 22-year-old actor & artist from College Station, Texas. I’m a huge fan of all things art, especially the medium of film & tv. I did martial arts most of my life growing up from the ages of 9-16; it basically consumed my life. I’m a 3rd degree black belt and world champion in Weapons; I still keep up on my training. I love to write all sorts of things from songs to screenplays to journal entries, my day truly isn’t complete without writing. My life is centered around my relationship with Jesus, which is where I find my rest, my strength, and my inspiration.

 

Congratulations on landing on one of the leading roles in “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, how does it feel to be one of the main characters Sokka in this Netflix live-action adaptation?

 Thank you so much! It feels amazing to play such a beloved and iconic character in this series. This is my first leading role, so it was a big responsibility, and I grew so much as an actor and a person in general. I loved the animated series growing up, so it was really surreal to be a part of this life action adaptation.

 

You mentioned that you are a huge fan of the original animated series, what traits have you noticed from that version (or the movie adaptation) of Sokka that you like? How have you thought of continuing those traits in your portrayal of the character?

 Yeah, my goal with taking on the role of Sokka was to embody the soul of that character and translate who Sokka really is while bringing in the elements that come with making him a real-life person. He’s the meat and sarcasm guy with the boomerang, but he also has a lot of very complicated emotions coming up inside of him that he’s really never been able to face before. It was a really fun challenge to get to play with all of the layers of who he is. He masks a lot of what he’s going through with his humor which I think is true for a lot of funny people. Getting to find those little correlations from the animated character and connect him to a real, emotional human place was a big task but a very gratifying one to take on.

 

And is there anything new you have implemented in your interpretaion? If so, what is it?

 I think the newness that comes from adapting an animated character is getting to let their human components shine through. Finding their vulnerabilities and how and when they let those show and why. Being human is being vulnerable, so just keeping their core and soul of what makes them who they are and enhancing their humanity.

 

In the series, Sokka tries to prove his leadership and value even without having special abilities. In the end, he becomes a hero in his own way. Do you somehow resonate with Sokka’s perseverance? Do you think these traits could somehow be an inspiration to you in your real life?

Absolutely, perseverance is a crucial component to anyone becoming truly successful in anything. I had many grueling times in my career before coming onto this show where I was very close to booking the “career defining role” that ended up going to someone else. If I hadn’t learned my love for the art and on my pursuit of the craft, I never would’ve gotten this dream opportunity.

 

Trained in taekwondo at a young age, did it help you in your working on your role this time?

All movement experience while working on a show with this level of action definitely helps. However, my character doesn’t have a whole lot of technical knowledge when it comes to fighting, so I had to learn how to look like I didn’t know what I was doing when it came to martial arts for Sokka.

 

The series seems to be very dynamic, and we assume that the performance is very physically demanding. Have you gone through some training before filming? What kind of preparation have you done for the role, both mentally and physically?

They put us through a six-week long bootcamp where all four of us got to learn how to bend all four elements which was very fun but didn’t cater to my character because obviously Sokka can’t bend. I took that time to get as physically in shape as I could. On the mental component of prep, I outlined the arc for what Sokka goes through for the first 2 episodes and mapping it out so I could know exactly where I was emotionally and why in any scene. We block shot two episodes at a time, so it was important for me to get as familiar as possible with the material and have anchor points to allow me to get into the head, heart and body of Sokka wherever we found him on his journey.

 

Could you tell us something interesting happened during the filming? Anything fun that we don’t know from behind the scene?

 The way we filmed the Appa scenes were really interesting and weird because the whole bottom half of Appa, including the face, are fully CGI so we would hop on this huge 15 – 20ft animatronic and a crew of like 10 guys would surround the creature and manually pull and push the Appa rig up and down to make it look like we were flying.

 

For you, what are the most enjoyable things throughout this whole experience?

The family that I’ve made with the cast. The four of us have really become like siblings and have grown up for the past 3 years together. It’s by far been the biggest gift getting to work on this show that I’m really proud of and grateful for.

 

Now let’s talk about your entrepreneurship. You founded a clothing line, KALÓ SOIL, together with two of your pals. What inspires you to start this brand?

 Kaló Soil is a passion project and a creative outlet for me and the guys. It was really great for me to put my hands to another passion of mine during the actors’ strike. At Kaló we’re all deeply influenced by our faith, so our goal is to glorify God through the art of fashion.

 

How did you step into the world of repurposing vintage clothes into unique new fashion pieces?

At Kaló Soil we have a large collection of curated vintage, which is how the company started. We were wholesaling vintage and needed a show room to work out of and display the pieces we’ve accumulated. When I joined the company with Ryan Sullivan and Hunter Baker, we integrated our “Made-in-house” products which are our original designs hand sewn and sourced In LA. We still sell curated vintage alongside our own pieces online and in-store.

 

During the preparation of the physical store, you guys helped a homeless contractor (or maybe an interior designer you would say?) by accommodating him in the upcoming space and let him design the furniture in the store. This is indeed a benevolent act.  What encourages you to do so? Could you tell us more about the backstory and about the collaboration?

We met our friend Quinn while moving into our storage space near Skid row in DTLA and hired him to help us source products for the furniture and interior design section of the store. He’s a great guy and we’ve learned a lot from him. He has an amazing eye for the unusual which is something that all of us at Kaló really admire and value.

 

Are there any future plans for Ian Ousley? Both for his acting career and his fashion entrepreneurship?

The plan right now is to go back for the next two seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender and pour my heart, soul, sweat and best efforts into the process of serving the project to make it the best it can possibly be. I’m about to start filming another project this summer that I’m very excited to dive into and share with all of you. A huge desire of mine is to direct, so I’m hoping to get my own short film shot before we start filming the show again. However, I’m mostly just trying to stay centered and focused on maintaining my relationship with the arbiter of peace, truth and life. That relationship between Jesus and I, above anything I could do in my career, is my ultimate goal and purpose.