Ozioma Akagha And Jason E. Kelley Interview: Deathloop, Acting, And Representation
“I never found one person that was okay with me chainsawing them in half,” Ozioma Akagha, who plays Julianna Blake in Deathloop, tells me. “Except for Colt,” adds Jason E. Kelley, who, as you may have guessed, plays Colt Vahn. Both actors were nominated for Best Performance at the recent BAFTAs, eventually losing out to Returnal’s Jane Perry, and as they chat about finding a virtual partner “who is ready, available, and open to being stabbed, shot, being blown up, and dismembered”, it’s impossible not to feel the chemistry between them while hearing their stories and anecdotes on Arkane’s most recent creation.
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Akagha started her acting career in video games with Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, playing Plastic, one of the supporting characters. She remembers the three-year recording process with joy and excitement, this being her first experience working not only in gaming, but also with motion capture. From there she would go on to take bigger roles, giving her voice to Barbara Casey, Zena Woodard, and Angela Cummings in Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, or as Alyx in the latest Half-Life.
On the other hand, Kelley had more opportunities in TV, shorts, and commercials before jumping into games. When the time came, he voiced Doomguy in Doom Eternal and Bohai in the recent Horizon Forbidden West. “It’s taking about an eight-year journey to get where I am today and I feel like I’m just getting started,” he explains. “I’m just getting the hang of what it is that I want.”
However, it’s as Deathloop’s antagonist and protagonist, respectively, where they made their mark. As its name suggests, this immersive sim uses timeloops as a core mechanic. Colt needs
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