“There’s a lot of martial arts, there’s a lot of really cool special effects and CGI and action,” explained Mandvi, who stopped by to chat with MTV News during the red carpet premiere of the Jude Law-starring “Hamlet” production on Broadway.

We’d chatted with Mandvi back in June on the “Airbender” set, when the actor and comedian seemed much more willing to talk about the production. This time around, when it came to talk of the set design, all he’d say was, “It’s going to look really cool and I know exactly what it’s going to look like and I’m not telling you!”

So Mandvi was being a little more tight-lipped this time around, but he did share some of his experiences working alongside Patel, of “Slumdog Millionaire” fame.

“He’s a black belt,” said Mandvi, who’s best known for his work on “The Daily Show.” “That kid knows his martial arts, so they needed to help me. I was the old guy on set who was like, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing here.’”

Did Dev share any butt-kicking tips? “He taught me how to cheat at ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,’” he said in a sly reference to “Slumdog.” “That’s really all he taught me.”

-via MTV Splash Page

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Teen Nicola Peltz (Katara) balanced her youthful tastes (Wendy’s) with a grown-up side (Parc and Alma de Cuba) and said the Flyers game she attended was one of her favorites.

No airs for Jackson Rathbone (Sokka), who fit in with many 24-year-olds at Fairmount Pizza and Midtown III Diner. He and his band, 100 Monkeys, played both the North Star Bar and Kung Fu Necktie.

Dev Patel (Prince Zuko) said he felt at home at the Rittenhouse Hotel – particularly since his girlfriend/Slumdog Millionaire costar, Freida Pinto, visited him last weekend. He said his favorite restaurant was Melograno.

Shaun Toub (Uncle Iroh) enjoyed the Art Museum, especially the Japanese exhibit, and spoke highly of Parc and the Saloon.

Aasif Mandvi, who juggled his Airbender work with appearances in New York on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, said he grew to appreciate Philly’s atmosphere, which he described as “a little more chill than New York’s.”

[via Philly.com]

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Mandvi (far left) will play the role of Commander Zhao, the ambitious and hot-tempered Fire Nation commander.

Toub (middle left), from Iron Man and Crash fame, was cast as Uncle Iroh, the retired Fire Nation general and devoted surrogate parent Zuko.

Curtis (middle right), of acclaimed films like Training Day and The Insider, will play the ruthless ruler Fire Lord Ozai.

In addition, Keong Sim (far right) has been cast in the role of Earthbending Father. Whatever role that is…

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