Kicking Rocks with Toph! Avatar Voice Actress Michaela Jill Murphy aka Jessie Flower Interview with Jazzy Mag!
She’s the greatest earthbender in the world, and don’t you dunderheads ever forget it! She’s Michaela Jill Murphy, also known as Jessie Flower, the voice of the iconic Toph Beifong on Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Image courtesy of Beneath the Tangles
Avatar was my favorite show as a kid since its airing all the way back in ’05, so there was no way I could pass up the chance! After getting to chat briefly with her at her booth at New York Comic Con this year, we had been planning an interview over email since. On November 10th, it all came to fruition!
Me cosplaying as The Dude from The Big Lebowski at Michaela Jill Murphy/Jessie Flower's table
The recording of this interview was done in the most bootleg possible fashion, so please excuse the roughness of the video… my computer is barely alive. So I used my dad’s phone to record my phone, talking on a phone. Go figure.
Because of this, I wasn’t able to cut it before upload, so the prelude to the call was kept. Hope ya like extra footage!
The interview, itself, was a total joy, without a hitch!
Murphy took on the role of Toph Beifong, the blind earthbending teacher of Avatar Aang when she was only 12 years old, during the show’s second season. After having worked about five years in voice over, her first Avatar audition was for the voice of Mei in Season 1.
Later, a formal audition was sent to Murphy a few months later, much to the delight of the showrunners and directors, landing her the role.
With every iconic and quintessential role played by an actor, the question usually follows: How much are you like your character? I asked Michaela about this, and she had this to tell me:
She notes how show creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko developed the cast of characters and how the voice cast bares so much similarity. She concludes:
“Maybe when I retire, I, too, will return to the swamps and be with the badger moles!”
The OG earthbenders, those badger moles!
Next, I had to ask about my favorite episode, which Murphy happens to share with me, Season 2’s “The Library.” When asking memories of the episode, she gave some insight into the show’s production as well.
According to her, episodes were often recorded out of order, and usually without visual beforehand. This was the case when recording “The Library.” Not having cable at the time and the episodes not being shown in the studio meant Murphy did not watch it until later.
With her mentioning the voice cast similarities with their characters, I had to know: is Dante Bosco really as broody as Zuko? Michaela replied:
It makes me wonder, what if Zuko, himself, would have channeled all his frustration into art?
“If you turn all that angst into artsy bro, that’s definitely where he lives.”
The big Avatar news this year was the announcement of three new animated Avatar films! One of which, not yet titled, features the characters from the original series as young adults. Unfortunately, Murphy is as in the dark about its production as we are.
She is “99 percent sure” that she and the rest of the original cast will not appear in the film. She will stay apprised however.
When asking what she wants to see for Toph’s future, she states she would like to see her grow into more of a team player and to find love.
“Probably my favorite thing to see is how her heart grows, and if she’ll have a moment like that.”
Her favorite line in the series comes from “The Library,” which she happily performed! The line comes from the crew trying to spot the library in the desert, when the blind Toph jokes on them.
“Look, there it is! That’s what it’ll sound like when one of you actually spots it.”
We love a salty Toph.
Michaela is quite grateful to have landed the role she had, and has seen several generations of fans enjoy her work. When the series came to Netflix in 2020, the fervor and fanbase was in full swing. According to her, there is no comparison in fan love.
“I went to a few anime conventions in 2008-2009, but there wasn’t this fervor, this deep love and admiration. There wasn’t enough time to really let it sink in.”
We’re still admiring Toph Beifong all these years later, and the work Michaela Jill Murphy created. She left us with another iconic line, “Keep your knees high, twinkle toes!” and was off to the badger mole caves.
You can find her on Instagram @michealamostly, on TikTok @michaelajillmurphy, and the Hyype Space app @michaelajillmurphy, where you can enter the Avatar acting challenge! Read some lines and win the chance to chat with the cast!
Thank you, Michaela!
