Bless him, he apologized for the late reply as it was due to a lot of press-related things going on (understandable at this time).
Here they are guys, YOUR questions answered by Albert Wesker himself!...
1. How long have you been in the motion-capture business?
@5 years. I started when Reuben Langdon and JUST CAUSE, help get me on as one of the mo-cap and voices in Castlevania 2
2. Which do you prefer doing more, motion acting or on-screen acting?
Mo-Cap/voice, for the fans and all the discussion/speculation, but film/tv for the process.
3. For the budding motion-capture wannabes out there, what advice would you give for them?
Learn to improve, take movement courses, do Shakespeare and get a stunt or martial arts background under your belt. Shakes for language and 'heightened' acting, and stunts/MA, cause lets face it--thats the bulk of video games, no?
4. The big question in regards to Resident Evil 5...how does it feel to motion capture Resident Evil’s main and most badass antagonist? Was the process in doing so daunting or did you slip in to the role pretty quickly?
I had NO IDEA how big RE5 and Wesker were! Reuben and the JUST CAUSE fellas kept telling me it was big, but I just nodded and said 'yeah yeah'. Ive been playing bad/tough guys for years, so it was just another baddie for me. At the time I was playing to very evil/tough versions of Tybalt (Romeo&Juliet), Messalla (Julius Caesar) and Laertese (Hamlet) with my Shakespeare company, so I was already in the butt-kicking state of mind.
5. Did the motions - in terms of his superhuman teleportation - and swagger, as well as the combat finesse of Wesker, affect you in any shape or form?
Not really. I drew from my own confidence and experience as a man and fighter to help color Wesker. A good director will cast an actor because he/she sees elements of the character in the artist, first. CASTING is the hardest part of direction--finding the right people. Once you cast the right people, you just letem go do their thing.
6. Overall, was it an enjoyable experience; something you’d love to do again in the future if Capcom requested your services (Wesker or no Wesker)?
Hell Yeah! I love playing bad! Capcom America and Chris Kramer have been so awesome and am really grateful to work with them.
7. Are you a keen follower of the series or was Resident Evil 5 your first foray in to unknown territory? Do you plan on playing the game yourself and if so, which console is your chosen one?
Nope, never played the game. I hope to play it at a gaming or anime convention soon!
8. Did you actually have any prior knowledge of the series before doing the role?
I did research on the character and JUST CAUSE gave me a bunch of materials to whet my appetite for destruction.
9. In Resident Evil 5, who did you enjoy working with most? Of course, Reuben Langdon and Karen Dyer portray Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar respectively, and we’ve also seen them face to face with Wesker himself, so was it a blast to have to do battle with these two?
Oh hell yeah! Reuben is an excellent martial artist and Karen Dyer is fearless!
10. What about Nina Fehren as Excella Gionne? Excella appears to be far more business-like with her approach, so was it quite awkward performing the more subtle scenes with her or did you feel as comfortable as you did when performing the fight scenes? Wesker’s never been seen with a female friend (unless you count the conniving Ada) so do you think that this is uncharted territory for the character?
Jim Sonzero, Nina and I spent the whole day shooting that scene and many hours discussing/shooting others like it. thats the good thing about having, not only film actors, but film directors to help create character, relationship, motivation...all around humanity of the game. Having skilled film artists performing instead of anime or just voice artists, brings a new vernacular to the creation/filming process that would not exist otherwise. We understand and can prtray character and realtionship beter than those who do not act on stage, screen or TV.
Uncharted territory? Yes, not just for Albert, but the gaming industry as well. Having film directors and actors portraying the characters, creates a level of humanity that gamers will subconsciously tune in to and have more of an investment in the game, its characters and the world they live in.
11. We also see a man named Ricardo Irving (Allan Groves) and a masked female who we refer to as the “Plague Doctor”. Does Albert Wesker provide any form of communication with either of these characters? If so, how well did you get along with their respective mo-cap actors?
Play the game and find out!
12. Overall, I can safely say that what we’ve seen so far of you as Wesker, has tickled the fancy of every budding RE5 player so hopefully fighting you won‘t be too difficult. Do you have any last words for the PlayStation.com community?
Enjoy the game; but instead of getting caught up in conspiracy speculation, try and find the symbolism and poetry in the story. Unconsciously, you will get it and it will draw you in--but you wont know why....consciously. Try and search for the humanity in the story, characters, situations and plot line and you will enjoy the game and its characters even more.
Enjoy!
PSN = Deathsyt.
