“Avatar: Fire and Ash,” the third installment in the supersize series of sci-fi films by the director James Cameron, continues the saga of the Sully family, the clan of hardscrabble Na’vi warriors led by the former human Jake (Sam Worthington). They are still pursued, doggedly, by Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), the bullheaded marine commander turned full-time Avatar “recombinant” who remains Jake’s most tenacious nemesis.
But this time around, Quaritch has a new ally: Varang, the leader of the volcano-dwelling Ash People, a fearsome tribe that conducts raids and collects scalps. When we first meet the Ash People, they appear out of nowhere, descending from the clouds to ambush a band of pacifist traders in a frenzy of brutal violence. And Varang, bathed in crimson war paint, cuts an especially daunting figure, ordering her forces into kamikaze attacks as she lets loose her unforgettable cry: “I am the fire!”
Varang is the film’s menacing, wild-eyed M.V.P., and it’s no overstatement to say that she may one day stand alongside the T-1000 and the Alien Queen in Cameron’s corpus of memorable screen villains. That’s thanks in no small part to Oona Chaplin, who portrays this character with verve. In her hands, Varang is a woman of indomitable will and shocking brutality, but also inner pain and conflict, hinting at the depths of her trauma and loneliness.
It’s a bold turn from Chaplin, perhaps best known for the role of Talisa Stark, the wife of Robb Stark on “Game of Thrones,” who met a cruel end at the Red Wedding. She’s also known for her famous family: Her mother is Geraldine Chaplin, her grandfather is Charlie Chaplin and her great-grandfather is the playwright Eugene O’Neill.
She spoke on a video call a few days before “Fire and Ash” hit theaters. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.
Tell me about auditioning for the part.
I was reading the scene in the yurt with Quaritch. They locked me in a room — this film has more security than most nations’ borders, it’s insane — and said I could take as much time as I needed to prepare. I stayed in there for a couple of hours, and there was just something about the scene, about her origin story. At the time, I was kind of at a cathartic crisis point in my life. I had been volunteering at a refugee camp [in France] and I was really mad at the world — I was feeling really deeply the injustices. So I instantly connected with her rage. We filmed the scene, and then they called me to meet with Jim a couple of weeks later.
How was that?
I was terrified. I loved “Avatar.” But I instantly forgot about that, because he is so generous with his attention. He was moving around with me, getting amped up in the scene, and I just threw everything I had into it. We sat down and just talked about permaculture and alfalfa and the potassium content in soil. Then I got the part.
You started filming back in 2017. How does it feel to have the movie finally out?
I mean, I’m very grateful for the increase in my own maturity to be able to deal with this intensity. I think at the time it might have swept me off my feet a little bit more. I’m a mom now, so I have a different perspective on life. It’s marinated, this part. Also, I filmed it all the way back then, but every now and again, Jim would call me and say, “I’ve got a new idea,” so we’d redo it. It’s a character that’s been with me for a long time. I was mainly really psyched to just see her.
What did you think?
I really loved the film. I think it’s my favorite of the three. Maybe I’m biased, but I felt triumphant, because it worked — and I was proud of my work. Not every time that I do a project do I feel like that. I’m excited for the world to see her and fear her.
Was it weird seeing “The Way of Water,” having already filmed the part and not being able to talk about it?
All my friends texted me afterward and were like, “So were you in it?” I couldn’t say anything because I signed an NDA and all these people are really connected — I don’t know if they’re going to send snipers if I say anything.
What did Cameron tell you he wanted for this part? Did he have a clear vision for the character?
He had such a loose leash on me that it was kind of terrifying some days. I was like, “He’s not giving me anything — he might not be liking what I’m doing and I’ll end up on the cutting-room floor.” He was complimentary, but he wasn’t saying like, “Bring me more of that or give me more of this.” I think it took us both by surprise.
I did hear that you came up with your own rituals and dances.
Oh my God. Like, Week 2 or something, Cameron goes, “I need you to design a fire ceremony.” I was like, OK? Luckily, for years, I’ve been fascinated by Indigenous technology, and I’ve devoted a lot of time and energy to learning from and building relationships with Indigenous peoples from all over the world, and especially the Americas. At the time, I had a couple of Mayans kind of living with me. The Mayans work with fire a lot in their ceremonies, so I was kind of stoked that it was all coming together — it was complete synchronicity. I had the opportunity to observe them and see how they feed the fire, burning food and candles and different resins. I took great inspiration from that and then kind of made my own thing.
What about the weapons?
The weapons, the Buugeng [an S-shaped object that in real life is used by jugglers], were really instrumental for the character. They’re solid objects, but when you move with them, they come alive and they require a lot of precision but also flow.
There’s this moment when you’re walking with them, and they’re spinning, but I couldn’t quite tell what you were doing with them. Is that some kind of visual trick?
No! That’s how the Buugeng move. That’s how you can get them to come alive. I was so clumsy with them at first. When I first got them in my hands, I was like “Oh no, this is never going to work.” I devoted hours and hours obsessively practicing with them because I felt like they were a key to Varang and a key to understanding how she moves in this world. I’d be like brushing my teeth with a Buugeng in one hand. Finally, they brought a bunch of people into a rehearsal room, and they were all sitting down, and they were like, “OK, do your fire ceremony.” I’m like, OK!
On top of that, you’re doing the role with all this motion-capture gear on. Does that interfere at all?
No, man, because I was brought up in the theater, and this was like coming home to the bare-bones nature of storytelling. It was like poor theater, which is crazy, because it’s like the biggest budget movie of all time. Your vanity, the close-up pressure, all of that disappears, and it feels like a [stage] rehearsal over and over again. It felt like, finally, I can act the way I want to act. I really recommend it. But only with excellent directors.
Speaking of theater: I saw a photo of you from 2003, when you were about 15, playing your grandfather, Charlie Chaplin.
He’s part of my personal mythology. I never met him, so he was always, like, this legend, you know? I’m a big fan, and as a person, he’s just an incredible example of what you can do with one life. And Jim Cameron, he’s also kind of toe-to-toe with Charlie Chaplin. But the name of Chaplin was something I struggled with. I came up with some really terrible names for myself when I was choosing my stage name, and I had to come back to Chaplin. I worked really hard to reconcile with it because I was almost embarrassed and ashamed of the amount of doors that this name was opening for me.
The greatest part of my grandfather’s legacy that was handed to me was his work ethic. There’s a really strong work ethic in our family. We work our butts off. And we’re proud of that. I try to honor the people that have come before and also those that will come after.
How old is your daughter now?
Two years and two months. It’s crazy, because she moves like him — she moves just like Charlie Chaplin. It’s the most psychedelic thing in the world.
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