IN CONVERSATION WITH TRINITY JO-LI BLISS

interview by JANA LETONJA

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss first captured global attention as Tuktirey, the youngest member of the Sully family, in James Cameron’s ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’, and she returns to Pandora in the highly anticipated sequel ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’, set for release on 19th December. Beyond her work in film, she is a gifted singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose debut album ‘Confessions of a Preteen’ established her as a voice of honesty for a new generation. With a second musical project on the way, a role in Mike Flanagan’s ‘The Life of Chuck’, and a growing list of credits across animation and television, Trinity is a full-spectrum artist whose creativity, curiosity, and commitment to representation make her one of the industry’s brightest rising talents.

dress MARC JACOBS
tights COMMANDO
shoes LARROUDE

You became a global fan favorite as Tuk. How does returning as Tuktirey in ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ deepen your connection to the character?
I’ve grown up with her, and we’re growing up together. Tuk has been a part of me for more than half my life, and she’ll be a part of me forever. With every day that I got to be in her shoes and continue to discover, I was able to deepen my connection to her. Even though ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ picks up right where ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ left off, Tuk is changed because of all that she’s had to go through. She’s dealing with death and departure for the first time. She also doesn’t really have a chance to process her grief because things just keep getting more and more complicated for her and her family.
Thinking about Tuk and Tuk’s growth makes me super psyched to deepen my connection to her for Avatar 4 and 5. Avatar 4 has a time jump, so I can’t wait to bring to life teenage Tuk and to bring to life her growth.

What aspect of Tuk’s journey in the new film excited you the most when you first read the script?
I was excited for all the scenes with Varaang, played by the amazing Oona Chaplin. Those scenes seemed to be so interesting, intense and fun, and they really turned out to be. Oona is so warm and kind, but her character and her in character gives me chills.
I was excited to film the intense situations, and I always felt inspired by Tuk’s fearless passion for her family, as well as to make it through no matter what.

James Cameron is known for his immersive direction. What did he teach you about curiosity, commitment, or craft that changed you?
He’s patient, nurturing, creative, and passionate. He’s the type of person to encourage a big dreamer to dream even bigger because they’ve got this. That’s what he’s done for me. He really cares. He cares about his vision, he cares about the world, he cares about his actors, he cares about his crew. He’s been there for me on set and off set. He is the best pen pal. No matter how busy he is, he’ll always read my emails and always finds time to listen to my songs when I send them now and then. He’s just a really inspirational person. He’s head of the household for the most awesome ‘Avatar’ family.

Your prep for this film included free diving, archery, parkour, Na’vi movement, knife work, and dialect training. Which skill was your favorite to learn, and which surprised you?
I was in a ‘Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen obsession, and I was also obsessed with Neytiri in the first ‘Avatar’, so I was really excited for archery. Free diving constantly surprised me because I didn’t know what to expect, and I’d never fathomed such a thing before. I loved swimming and swam all the time. It was the long breath holds that surprised me. It was fun to prep for deep emotional moments that would take place in deep water. It’s hard to pick a favorite because every day was a blast.
Actually, there’s this clip in the new ‘Fire and Water’ documentary, about the Avatar filming process, where we head up to the tank, we’ve started our 3-month training process, we’re focused on free diving at that moment, and I say “This is the best day of my life”. I wouldn’t have remembered that if it wasn’t on tape. That pretty much describes how I was and how I felt when it came to the training process, and honestly, everything ‘Avatar’.

jacket and skirt DIESEL
top BROOKS BROTHERS
shoes FERRAGAMO

How do you balance the emotional depth of performance with the technical demands of performance capture?
I didn’t have to think of technical demands much because that’s what the amazing crew members were focusing on. They were doing the “capture,” and I got to focus on the “performance”. I think the emotional depth comes so naturally when I’m connected to Tuk, when I feel for the story, when I let my imagination go limitless, when I’m reacting with my other actors, and when James spends the time to place us in that moment by talking in detail with us before each take. When we’re filming, I forget everything else, and I’m just worried for my family, intrigued by my Ilu, and so on.

jacket PALM ANGELS
top ERES
pants ELLERY
shoes DAPHNE.LAB

You’re also part of Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of ‘The Life of Chuck’. What drew you to the story, and what was it like stepping into a Stephen King world?
Everything about the project seemed so exciting and unlike anything I’d gotten to do yet. I really loved Cat as a character. I fell more and more in love with her as I got to discover her from the audition process to filming, especially when Mike, our director, told me “The cool kids like her and so do the nerdy kids, so to speak”.
I was enamored with the themes of the story and really admired the people I’d get to work with, from cast to crew. I was always intrigued by the horror genre, and that really excited me when the audition came in my email, but I also had a cool surprise that this film wasn’t horror and more like the “rethink life in an unsettling, but heartwarming and beautiful way while the world is ending” genre.

Your debut album ‘Confessions of a Preteen’ resonated deeply with young listeners. What themes are inspiring your sophomore project?
On the surface, this sophomore project has so much of being crushed by the crush, in hopeful romantic and hopeless romantic ways. It’s also such a self-discovery.
Now, I’m much older, so I’m influenced much more by what’s going on in the world, which often makes me feel these moments of wondering why my feelings, my songs, or my heart matters. I wonder if it’s silly to want to fall in love, to experience heartache, to forever feel that teenage sense where time feels so fleeting and limitless all at once, to feel this weird intertwine of “too young” and “too old” come together. Why would these things be important with everything going on in the world? Then, I wonder if these are the moments we live for, and I think it’s important to hope, to love, to discover, to yearn, to experience, to take a leap.I often write in a much more positive and outgoing version of myself. 
My sophomore project is my own coming-of-age rom-com soundtrack. It’s self-discovery, it’s taking chances, it’s all the awkward in between moments. It’s how I process what was, what could’ve been, and what could be.

dress SHUSHU/TONG
shoes ADIDAS

Where does songwriting fit into your life as an actor? Does it serve as an emotional outlet, a storytelling tool, or something else entirely?
Songwriting is definitely both of those things you just mentioned. Mostly, it’s how I live and breathe. I truly can’t imagine my life without it. It’s how I untangle and unravel my thoughts, it’s how I discover myself, it’s how I discover more about what’s around me, it’s another storytelling form I love. I find music to be a real safe haven, wonderland, discovery, full of connection, and just so much fun.
In my experience, acting and songwriting have really influenced each other. They’re two cool ways of storytelling. Acting is stepping into someone else’s shoes, and songwriting is more about being true to myself while still finding what that “myself” even is. On the acting side, I learn so much from every audition, every project I get to be a part of, and most of all, every character I cross paths with. Those all give me so much perspective, which leads to my songwriting. Something that really gets me in a character’s brain is writing songs as them and from their perspectives. I also end up writing songs from myself, but inspired by a way a character will lead me to a self discovery.

You’ve said being biracial—Chinese and English—is an important part of your identity. How does that shape the stories you want to tell or the roles you choose?
It’s affected what roles I’m able to play, which can be sad and beautiful depending on the situation. I love my family so much, and I’m really ecstatic to carry DNA from both of these cultures. It makes me sad when my mom wishes she wasn’t Asian in the moments she wishes my siblings and I could have better opportunities. Whenever she remarks on this, I protest and tell her it’s one of the parts I love most about myself, and I’m proud of who I am.
It inspires me to write the stories from myself, my family, my friends, and others. It inspires me to take on projects where race doesn’t define me, but it also inspires me to take on projects that really tell these important stories, share the lives of different people, and share different perspectives. I’m really inspired by the trailblazers who have come before me.

dress VRG GRL
tights COMMANDO
sweatshirt MOSCHINO
shoes ALDO

As someone growing up in the public eye, how do you stay grounded and connected to your own values?
I haven’t really felt the concept of the public eye too much yet, except for when on the press tour or rare and cool moments like that. Other than that, I’ve just been living a normal life while being really lucky to get to do the things I love. This question always stumps me because I’m not sure I can relate to it yet. I might feel different one day.
I’m lucky to have awesome people around me, from my team to my family to my friends.

What can you share with us about your upcoming projects?
I’m so excited for the music releases. I’m gearing up. I just released the kickoff single to it all, ‘you make me wanna dance’. I hope when people listen to it, it makes them want to dance, the way it did for me when I wrote it.
On the acting side, I’m really excited to jump into teenage Tuk, so I guess I’ve got fingers, toes, everything crossed. And, I would really love to do a rom-com. I’m also incredibly intrigued by the horror genre.

TEAM CREDITS:

talent TRINITY JO-LI BLISS
photography NICK RASMUSSEN
styling VERONICA GRAYE at TMG LA
makeup ROBERT BRYAN at the Wall Group
hair ANYA ALIAN at A-Frame Agency
photography assistance GREG WALLACE
editor TIMOTEJ LETONJA
editorial director and interview JANA LETONJA