Tears of the Kingdom Voice Actress Patricia Summersett on How Playing Zelda Changed Her Life

Patricia Somerset had no idea what she was auditioning for after being called to a mysterious casting call in the mid-2010s. A seasoned actress at this point in her career, she has shown her talent for a wide range of intermediate characters in both animation and film. (Summerset appears in Assassin’s Creed: Rogue and Assassin’s Creed Her Syndicate. Rainbow Six fans will know her as the feisty FBI agent Ash who brings a grenade launcher into the shootout. )

So when Somerset was handed a blank script with some Arthurian motifs on it, he treated it like another day in the office.

“It looked like an RPG fantasy,” Somerset said. There was only information that she was a princess character with a heavy burden on her shoulders.

A few weeks later, Mr. Somerset heard the news. She will play the famous Princess Zelda role in Breath of the Wild. She’s reminiscent of Nintendo’s Switch days, bringing to life a character who’s been mostly taciturn and pompous throughout the series’ 40-year history. Breath of the Wild isn’t a game with a lot of dialogue, and Summerset couldn’t have asked for more than to slurp out desperate pleas and words of affirmation to the eternal hero of time, but over the years For fans of , it was hardly demanded. She almost gets whiplash when she sees Zelda open her mouth to speak. In retrospect, she thinks Somerset is glad she didn’t know who she was auditioning for before she got the part. The importance of this opportunity to her did not put any pressure on her.

“I feel like if I knew what it was, I would have overthinked the process,” she said. “I’m glad I went with the blinds.”

💚💚💚 pic.twitter.com/MuOndxHTTb

— Patricia Summerset (@Summersett_) May 12, 2023

Somerset said one of Breath of the Wild’s goals was to embody Zelda’s imprint on cultural consciousness. Emphasizing her lightness and emphasizing darkness helped polish this barren post-apocalyptic Hyrule incarnation with human stakes. (The game was developed in Japan, which meant Summerset had its own twist on performances already conceived abroad.) Once the game was in the hands of players, Somerset has emerged as a real voice acting superstar. It happens when you step behind a Vestige of Legend and beckon to Link through the Seeker Lithograph.

“There are rooms where nothing changes. I live a very normal life. In other rooms, I move through space differently. In terms of fandom, playing Zelda is next level.” I’ve traveled the world and met fans everywhere,” Somerset said. “It’s interesting to see the differences and similarities that people in different countries celebrate this series. You become a symbol for the people. It’s not so much about you, but how much they love this series.” You will be the person they shake hands with.” “All the Zelda tattoos that people have shown me have a special place in my brain. I want to thank all of them.” increase.”

Somerset will reprise her role in arguably the most important video game on the 2023 calendar, The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears. Unusually for Nintendo, the game is a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild and eschews the obsolete, obsolete pattern that Zelda creations usually follow. The trailer nods to what to expect from the source code. We’ve seen Link fuse his mechanics with his Minecraft-engineered engineering, and we’ve seen him climb a few islands in the sky. Tears of the Kingdom takes on a more brooding tone than its predecessor, and in the third and final trailer released in April, we hear Zelda’s song again glorifying Summerset’s rescue.

Somerset didn’t know she would be playing Zelda again until she received another casting call from Hyrule headquarters. Like many other voice actors, she learned that chickens should never be counted before they hatch. (After all, wouldn’t it be so surprising if Nintendo went in a completely different direction after Breath of the Wild? This is the same company that made Majora’s Mask followed by The Wind Waker. is.)

Somerset doesn’t reveal too much tears of the kingdom It’s a secret to me. She is bound by strict non-disclosure agreements and is extra careful about spoilers. When asked if Princess Zelda would expand her reach in her sequel, Summerset only gave a few cryptic hints.

“If you look at the trailer, you can see that the gameplay shows a very large-scale adventure,” she told me. “When you’re re-entering the game after already playing a character, you’ll want to stretch as much as possible.”

“Plus, it’s Nintendo,” Somerset added. “There’s always something fun to do.”

I ran one more query. Is Tears of the Kingdom focused on Princess Zelda fanservice? The Zelda lineage is at its best when it frees the titular princess from her golden activities and lets her play with big boys. Think Sheikh from Ocarina or Petra from The Wind Waker. So, will we Zelda Stan be satisfied when players finally witness everything Hyrule has to offer in the new game?

“Yes,” she answered without question. “oh yeah.”

Tears of the Kingdom, released today, reveals what Summerset has to offer as the world embarks on its latest journey to Death Mountain, Zora’s Realm, Goron Village, and other new and familiar locations. You can clarify exactly what you are doing. Hidden in the Hyrule powerhouse. She’s here to answer all your questions and curiosities as her legend comes alive again. Zelda is finally alive.

Looking for more information? A complete walkthrough of Tears of the Kingdom, the best things to do first, a guide to what the game won’t tell you (but probably should), Breath of the Wild Provides useful instructions on how to import. horses, how to unlock the full map, and more.

Blogroll image credit: Greg Doherty/Ziff Davis

Luke Winkie is a freelance writer for IGN.