Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 actors Ben Starr and Jennifer English, also known for leading roles in great games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Final Fantasy 16, say they’ll inevitably also appear in crappy games.
In a video interview with Todd Kenreck, Starr explained how an actor’s performance is just one small factor among a ton of other variables that decide whether a game is any good or not, and that, because a lot of the time actors don’t even know what game they’re performing for, they will eventually end up playing characters in not-so-great games.
“It’s fortunate that people want to come to us and express their love for this game, but also, we are not the reason why the game is amazing,” Starr said. “We are an aspect of why people enjoy this game, but the game is great. And we’re gonna be a part of some absolute stinkers, I imagine, in the future.”
English, agreeing, joked that she’s “got 17” of these stinkers on the way, adding, “we don’t have control.” English also recounted a story where she recorded lines at a studio only to be told by Starr that, “oh, it’s just that.”
“We sometimes will only get our characters’ lines, let alone a whole script,” added English.
As an outsider looking in, I would think you’d want to know what games you’re acting in for all sorts of reasons from awards to money to personal pride, but it sounds like that’s just not always possible. Still, Starr admitted, “I am trying to change that for myself. I’m trying to curate a – god, this sounds awful – I am trying to curate a portfolio of work that I’m proud of.”
English very recently said she’s already been in plenty of “shit games,” but said you’ll have a hard time finding them as she’s managed to keep them off of her CV. As for Starr, well, there’s that Balatro commercial. (I kid.)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was inspired by JRPG greats like Final Fantasy, but its director loves gaming because of an old-school 1988 beat ’em up
