Jessie Flower from The Last Airbender would say Toph in real life

Naturally, Michaela Jill Murphy built a bond with her character throughout the 37 episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender in which she voiced her, as is clear from the way the actor speaks enthusiastically about Toph in interviews. On the panel in SakAnime Winter 2020, Murphy, and Jack De Sena, who plays the non-magical Sokka, were asked what they would say to their characters if they had the chance. With good humor, De Sena said that he would tell Sokka something along the lines of “beware of eclipses”, which would be very useful for the gang to know at the beginning of the series.

Murphy thought for a moment before saying that her words to Toph would be in the form of advice, “You can be a slightly more gentle teacher. I promise the student will learn.” Murphy has acknowledged that Toph’s toughness attracts many to her, but feels that her teaching style often leads to misunderstandings. “You can love a little more. Not everyone is going to shut you down, slash, not everyone is out to get you,” she concluded. Toph is indeed a bit edgy when teaching Aang, but she grows through experience thanks to Michaela’s memorable performance by Jill Murphy.