“I trained in Kung Fu for two months before we went up to Greenland, and I kept training during the shoot. I did have a stunt double named Holland, who is a cool guy. But I never had to use him for any of my fight scenes that you see me in — they’re all me. A couple times the guy I’m fighting is actually my stunt double. He’s in a mask so you can’t see his face. He’s part of the Fire nation and I’m fighting him. It was pretty cool.” - Jackson Rathbone to J-14

Jackson Rathbone arrived in an awesome all-white D&G suit and a Nicolina Royale white leather spiked rose for The Last Airbender premiere @ Alice Tully Hall in NYC on Wednesday evening (June 30).

Expect a big heap of interviews coming soon, and plenty of them featuring Jackson Rathbone - the oh-so-almighty Sokka!

TeenHollywood: Wooooo! People would come in big herds to see that (we laugh). Okay on to "Airbender". At the Eclipse press day, you said that putting on your boots gets you in character for playing Jasper. What did it for playing Sokka in this film?

Jackson: Putting on the sandals (he laughs). No. But, honestly, it's an ensemble piece so just getting to work with a young actress like Nicola Peltz, from the moment we did a mix and match audition in Philadelphia, seems like two years ago, it felt very natural and she reminds me so much of my little sister who is the exact same age. It was really easy to get into that protective older brother mode.

TeenHollywood: You have 3 sisters, two older but one younger, so can you relate to a 15-year-old girl?

Jackson: Well, not relate but feel protective. I'm protective of all my sisters. I used to get in fights with their boyfriends all the time. When they'd come over with their new boyfriends, they'd be teaching me how to clean the shotguns (oooo, for those shotgun weddings no doubt).  

TeenHollywood: Did you get to keep anything from the set; a costume or prop?

Jackson: Yeah, actually the prop guys gave me the original mould of the boomerang Sokka uses.

TeenHollywood: Cool! Did you do any training for throwing the boomerang or working with the spears?

Jackson: Actually, I did stick fighting training which actually informed the use of the boomerang as well as spear techniques. Mainly my training consisted of Kung Fu and a powerfist, very aggressive form of Kung Fu. Also wrestling and grappling because Sokka is less a technical fighter and more by any means necessary, take an opponent down. He's gonna get 'um.

 

TeenHollywood: In "Airbender" you have a sister and are protecting a younger boy. How is this little "family" alike and then unlike the Cullen family in the Twilight saga?

Jackson: It's definitely different. What I love about playing different characters is the extreme differences. Really the only through-line is me! As Sokka, I'm a very protective older brother then as Jasper I'm protective over my wife and I think the rest of my siblings can pretty much take care of themselves but I help when I need to.  

TeenHollywood: What off-set or between scenes stories can you tell me? Was there any hanging out with Nicola or Noah who plays the young airbender Aang?

Jackson: It was fun in Greenland. It was freezing cold definitely but it was nice. We'd hang out after shooting. We didn't go out or anything but one night, I went out to dinner with Dev (Patel of Slumdog Millionaire)  and Night (the director) and some of the producers and we were at this local pub. Because it was a pub, Nicola or Noah couldn't come. They're not old enough.