The Avatar Character That Was Based On The Rock

Nickelodeon’s animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender has a cast full of memorable characters – but one iconic earthbending wrestler, The Boulder, was originally based on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Aang and his friends as he masters bending all four elements so he can defeat Fire Lord Ozai and restore balance to the world. Aang finds his earthbending master, Toph Beifong, while she’s wrestling The Boulder under the name The Blind Bandit at an underground earthbending tournament.

The Boulder first appears in season 2, episode 6, “The Blind Bandit” of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The Boulder is extremely strong and muscular, and he first attracts Team Avatar’s attention as a potential earthbending teacher after defeating The Hippo in the Earth Rumble tournament. The Boulder, who refers to himself exclusively in the third person, entertains the spectators in the crowd with his increasingly extravagant wrestling moves before finally being defeated by Aang’s eventual earthbending master Toph. As it turns out, the real-life inspiration for The Boulder was none other than former professional wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Avatar Extras, a Nickelodeon event where episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender were shown with pop-up trivia bubbles on the screen, confirmed that The Rock was the inspiration for The Boulder. Not only that, but the production team attempted to get him to voice the iconic character. The Boulder has many similarities to The Rock, with his massive and muscular build – but his wrestling persona is extremely similar as well. Like The Rock’s ring persona and catchphrases, The Boulder is a charismatic, boastful trash-talker who refers to himself in the third person to the amusement of the audience.

The Boulder was ultimately voiced by Dwayne Johnson’s real-life friend, pro-wrestler Mick Foley. Although Dwayne Johnson was production’s first choice to voice The Boulder, he didn’t yet have an established acting career when Avatar: The Last Airbender was first airing in 2005. He was just beginning to star in action films such as The Mummy Returns, and was positioning himself as the big-budget action star that he eventually became. A cameo in Avatar: The Last Airbender would have been a major departure for the wrestler, but Dwayne Johnson’s influence on The Boulder cannot be denied.

Avatar: The Last Airbender had a full cast of supporting characters, but none of them were as instantly iconic as The Boulder. From his repeated assertions about how The Boulder is feeling to his striking muscular build, The Rock-inspired character The Boulder made the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender even more vibrant and colorful.

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