Inside Trinity Jo-Li Bliss’ Return to “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and Her Next Chapter in Music

By Andres Fabris

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“These past few months, I’ve been in the studio three or four days a week, working on new music. I love music—it’s how I live and breathe. I’m always writing, singing, and playing guitar or piano. Music is my safe haven, and storytelling connects both my acting and songwriting.”

- Trinity Jo-Li Bliss

The now 15-year-old Hollywood name came on board Avatar in June 2017 for 2022’s The Way of Water, and subsequently recorded the upcoming film during the same period. And there’s a good reason for the overlapping production schedule, as Bliss reveals: “It truly takes a village. There’s so much work put into these Avatar films, to create Pandora, done by more than 4,000 crew members–they’re masters at what they do and put so much heart and passion into it.”

“I’ll never have trouble staying grounded with two older brothers. They definitely keep me humble.” Teen actress Trinity Jo-Li Bliss says ahead of her press tour for Avatar: Fire and Ash. The third installment of the global phenomenon sees Bliss return as Tuktirey “Tuk” te Suli Neytiri’ite, the youngest child and only biological daughter of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña). “I’m a big fan of the Avatar saga myself, so getting to be a part of it is a dream come true. I just love what I do so much and feel grateful every day.”

Still reeling from Neteyam’s death, James Cameron’s next installment (out December 19) introduces a new, aggressive Na’vi tribe, the Ash People, led by the fiery Varang (Oona Chaplin), as the conflict on Pandora escalates and a new moral focus emerges. “We pick up right after Avatar: The Way of Water, and things only get more complicated for the Sully family—they just can’t catch a break.” Bliss shares. “They’re still trying to keep the family together, protect each other, and lead with love while all of these things are happening in their lives.”

Expanding on her “young but mighty” character, Bliss then offers a sneak peek into her Tuk’s transformation in the December release. “It’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster. Tuk has grown a lot since The Way of Water and will grow even more in Fire and Ash. She’s on a long ride, after fleeing her home and losing someone so important to her, but we’re all going on it together.”

The now 15-year-old Hollywood name came on board Avatar in June 2017 for 2022’s The Way of Water, and subsequently recorded the upcoming film during the same period. And there’s a good reason for the overlapping production schedule, as Bliss reveals: “It truly takes a village. There’s so much work put into these Avatar films, to create Pandora, done by more than 4,000 crew members–they’re masters at what they do and put so much heart and passion into it.” She says she didn’t have to worry about the technical demands outside of performance capture — the process of outfitting actors with specialized suits embedded with sensors or markers and using multiple cameras to track their movements in real time, particularly effective for creating lifelike CGI characters —which left her carefree and in the moment with the other actors.

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Long shoot days are common in the Avatar universe, considering the amount of advanced technology involved in making Pandora. So what do breaks look like for a child actor? “Well, when we aren’t breath training for our underwater scenes, our ‘breaks’ usually mean going to set school—you have to get those hours in,” Bliss adds the last bit in with a laugh. “It’s kind of a buzzkill because you’ll be in such an intense moment and suddenly it’s time to do math!”

However, set school became an unexpectedly great bonding experience with castmates, including Avatar newcomer Chaplin, who helped Bliss with a school assignment. “Onna [Chaplin] is such a badass and so cool. She may play the menacing Varang. But in real life, she’s warm and crafty. She actually helped me make a diorama for my English homework once. My teacher definitely knew I didn’t make it myself!” The teen actress says. “We made friendship bracelets together—hers were black and red, mine were blue—and she’d bring her ukulele to set while I brought my guitar. We’d play songs and sing outside the trailer.” She also tagged along with Jack Champion to the gym for moral support as he prepared for his role as the chiseled Spider.

When Bliss isn’t on the movie set as Tuk, she’s carrying her guitar to the studio where she has been working on the follow-up to her debut album, Confessions of a Preteen. “These past few months, I’ve been in the studio three or four days a week, working on new music,” she says, revealing a new single is coming very soon. “I love music—it’s how I live and breathe. I’m always writing, singing, and playing guitar or piano. Music is my safe haven, and storytelling connects both my acting and songwriting.”

As Bliss prepares for Avatar: Fire And Ash’s press tour, she aspires to work with Greta Gerwig one day—as Lady Bird and Little Women are two of her favorite films—collaborate with Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish, or even try her hand at rom-coms, namely a 10 Things I Hate About You remake. “I love 10 Things I Hate About You! I’d love to play Kat—but Patrick would be pretty cool, too,” Bliss giggles at the thought of playing both characters. “The ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ scene lives rent-free in my head forever.”

Watch Trinity Jo-Li Bliss as Tuktirey “Tuk” te Suli Neytiri’ite in Avatar: Fire And Ash out December 19.

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