Zach Tyler Eisen rose to stardom at a young age as the voice actor for Aang in Avatar: The Last Airbender, but fans may wonder what happened to him as they haven’t seen much of him since. That’s because, after a prolific career as a child star and voice actor, Eisen effectively retired from acting to focus on other interests in the entertainment industry. So what exactly has the voice of Aang been up to since the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender?
Eisen started acting in commercials when he was just four years old and continued gaining more and more prominent roles into his prepubescence. He voiced characters on the Nick Jr. shows Little Bill and The Backyardigans and starred in the animated feature film The Ant Bully as lead protagonist Lucas Nickle. His most famous role, of course, is Aang in Avatar, but after the show wrapped up, Eisen stepped away from it and most of his other acting work.
During his teenage years, Eisen took a break from his entertainment career altogether, eventually attending Syracuse University after graduating high school, where he studied film and television production. In a 2021 appearance on Nickelodeon’s official Avatar: The Last Airbender podcast Braving the Elements, Eisen explained that he’s more interested in working behind the camera as an adult. As such, he’s taken on more work in audio, production, and direction, with his main focus being cinematography. He’s primarily worked in short films and more independent tv productions like Hunted, Mack, and Truth or Dare – a series he helped create in college – while also doing other odd jobs around the industry.
Although Eisen may not be as active on the con circuit or as plugged into the Avatar fandom as former costars like Dante Basco and Jack De Sena, who voiced Avatar's Prince Zuko and Sokka, respectively, he remains connected to the community and has spoken multiple times in more recent years about how grateful he is for the opportunity to work on the show. Playing Aang was obviously a big part of his early life, after all. But the former star is now understandably more focused on his other creative pursuits.
Recently, Eisen has been a bit more directly involved in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, appearing on streams with former castmates and doing more interviews about his time on the show. It’s clear that most of his professional energy will stay dedicated to his cinematography career and the rest of his behind-the-scenes work. But with the modern resurgence of Avatar: The Last Airbender and new shows and movies on the way, it’s also possible that fans may be seeing a bit more of Eisen around the community from time to time.