Noah Ringer
Ringer at the 2010 New York City premiere of The Last Airbender
Born
Noah Andrew Ringer

(1996-11-18) November 18, 1996
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actor, martial artist
Years active2008–present

Noah Andrew Ringer (born November 18, 1996)[1][2] is an American martial artist and former child actor. He starred as Aang in the 2010 film The Last Airbender and played Emmett in Cowboys & Aliens.[3][4][5]

Life and career

Ringer was born in Dallas, Texas.[6] When he was ten, his mother enrolled him at ATA Martial Arts in Carrollton, Texas, part of the American Taekwondo Association (ATA).[7][8] He showed early promise and soon began competing in tournaments. In December 2008, at age twelve, Ringer earned his first degree black belt.[7]

Ringer kept his head shaved, and fellow students nicknamed him "Avatar", after the character Aang in the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender.[9] Ringer's taekwondo instructor, Master Eric Pechacek, started watching the show and also noticed the resemblance of Ringer to Aang, in both appearance and personality. He introduced the show to Ringer, who became an immediate fan.[10]

In July 2008, Pechacek received an email from the ATA, inviting any interested students to audition for the role of Aang in The Last Airbender. Pechacek urged Ringer to try out for the part.[7] For the audition video, Ringer dressed in Aang's attire, using his Halloween costume from the previous year.[11] He performed an XMA Jahng Bong routine and recited a few lines.[10] A month after sending in the video, Ringer was called to Philadelphia to meet with director M. Night Shyamalan. A month after that, he was offered the part.[8] Ringer had one month to prepare for the film. He did an intense study with director Linda Seto at the Dallas Young Actors Studio, where continued classes afterwards. He also began training in different types of martial arts, which continued during the filming process.[12]

In March 2011, Ringer was nominated for Best Performance In A Feature Film By A Leading Young Actor for the 32nd Annual Young Artist Awards.[13] In May 2011, Ringer won the 3rd Annual TheSkyKid.Com "Coming of Age" Best Actor movie award for his performance in The Last Airbender.[14]

Ringer played the role of Emmett Taggart in Cowboys & Aliens, a sci-fi western film directed by Jon Favreau.[3]

Martial arts

Ringer's first ATA tournament was the World Championships in Arkansas. He won first place in every category he competed in.[7] After watching the "extreme" routines at that tournament, Ringer decided to start training in Extreme Martial Arts, or XMA, which involved him choreographing his own moves and choosing his own music.[6][7] He became proficient with a variety of Eastern weapons, including the bō staff, which his character Aang uses.[10][15] During his first two years with the ATA, Ringer competed in 25 tournaments, winning 100 medals, 80 of them gold.[7] He was given "The Competitor of the Year" award for the Texas region in February 2008.[6] Ringer won the 2008-2009 title of Texas State Champion in five categories: Traditional Forms, Traditional Weapons, Sparring, X-Treme Forms, and X-Treme Weapons.[16]

For The Last Airbender, Ringer learned baguazhang, tai chi, and Wushu.[8][17] These styles are "soft", compared to taekwondo, which is a "hard" style.[17][18] Ringer continues to train in American taekwondo. In October 2010, he earned his second degree black belt.[18][19] Ringer teaches other students in the ATA, as part of the Leadership Program.[18] He also does gymnastics and has started to learn Choy Li Fut kung fu.[12]

Personal life

Ringer was homeschooled.[7] He has stated that he has some Native American heritage.[20]

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
2010 The Last Airbender Aang
2011 Cowboys & Aliens Emmett Taggart

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work(s) Result Ref.
2011 TheSkyKid.com "Coming of Age" Best Actor The Last Airbender Won [14]
2011 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor The Last Airbender Nominated [21]
2011 Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Screen Couple The Last Airbender Nominated

References

  1. ↑ Mixco, Rosemarie (August 30, 2010). "Noah El último maestro del aire". elsalvador.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010.
  2. ↑ Ringer, Noah. "The Last Airbender". Archived 2011-12-23 at the Wayback Machine Interview by Karen Valby. EW.com. Entertainment Weekly, November 3, 2010. Web. February 1, 2010.
  3. 1 2 DreamWorks Studios. "Cowboys & Aliens". Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine DreamWorks Studios. DreamWorks Animation, 2010. Web. February 14, 2011.
  4. ↑ Kroll, Justin. "Noah Ringer". Archived November 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Variety. April 16, 2010. Web. February 14, 2011.
  5. ↑ Marnell, Blair. "'Last Airbender' Star Noah Ringer Joins Cowboys and Aliens Cast." Archived September 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine MTV. April 19, 2010. Web. February 14, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 Paramount Pictures. "Noah Ringer". Archived January 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine The Last Airbender. Paramount Pictures, 2010. Web. February 1, 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Roth, James. "Local boy is 'Last Airbender'" Star Local News. July 14, 2010. Web. February 1, 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 "First News interviews The Last Airbender star Noah Ringer". Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine First News. December 14, 2010. Web. February 7, 2011.
  9. ↑ Bowles, Scott. "First Look: Actors put up a real fight in 'Airbender.'" Archived July 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine USA Today. May 25, 2009. Web. February 14, 2011.
  10. 1 2 3 Formichelli, Linda. "Noah Ringer's Big Break". ATA World Summer 2010: 18-24. Print.
  11. ↑ Valby, Karen. "The Kids' Table". Entertainment Weekly November 5, 2010: 46-49. Print.
  12. 1 2 "Hyper Exclusive Interview with Noah Ringer Star of The Last Airbender" Archived December 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Hyper. Scribd, 2010. Web. February 1, 2011.
  13. ↑ The Young Artist Foundation. "32nd Annual 2011 Nominations". Archived August 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Young Artist Awards. The Young Artist Foundation, 2011. Web. March 2, 2011.
  14. 1 2 theSkyKid.Com website. "3rd Annual Coming of Age Movie Awards Recipients Named". Archived May 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine SkyKids.Com Coming of Age Best Actor award. theSkyKid.com website, 2011. Web. May 9, 2011.
  15. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony. "Noah Ringer heeds Shyamalan's call". Archived November 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Variety. December 3, 2009. Web. February 9, 2011.
  16. ↑ American Taekwondo Association. "Texas 2008-2009 Championship Totals". Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine ATA. American Taekwondo Association, 2010. Web. February 9, 2011.
  17. 1 2 Bennett, Tara. "The Fourth Element". Sci Fi August 2010: 25-29. Print.
  18. 1 2 3 "American Taekwondo Association and Noah Ringer Kick off The Last Airbender DVD release". Archived October 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Webcast. Ustream.com. November 16, 2010. February 1, 2011.
  19. ↑ Ringer, Noah. Facebook.com. December 27, 2010. Web. February 1, 2011. <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Noah-Ringer/109306182466431?v=wall>
  20. ↑ Karen Valby (November 3, 2010). "Noah Ringer of 'The Last Airbender' has nothing up his sleeve: EW at 'The Kids' Table'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 23, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011. NOTE: Upon further inquiry, Karen Valby confirmed that Noah Ringer self-identified as "American Indian". For the discussion, see: Loraine Sammy (November 11, 2010). "Noah Ringer: American Indian". Racebending.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  21. ↑ "32nd Annual Young Artist Awards - Nominations / Special Awards". The Young Artist Foundation. 2011. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
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