The Hitman And The Handler: An Interview With Agent 47 And Diana Burnwood
For two decades, Danish developer IO Interactive has been creating gaming's greatest stealth sandboxes. The Hitman series has changed a lot over the years, but a few things always remain the same: the deep, systems-driven stealth, the beautiful, intricate levels, the pitch-black humour—and, of course, its two lead characters, Agent 47 and Diana Burnwood. Played by David Bateson and Jane Perry respectively, I spoke to the actors behind these beloved characters about their work on the series.
Jane Perry: In 2011, I was asked to voice the in-game tutorial for Hitman: Absolution. This, however, was not your average tutorial. I was allowed, and in fact encouraged by head writer Michael Vogt, to indulge in a bit of wryness to reflect the series' dark sense of humour. Michael and I have worked together for many years and I adore him! This ended up being a great success, and IO asked if I would step up and play Diana.
David Bateson: In 1992, I left the UK broke and disillusioned and returned to Denmark, a place I had visited while working as an actor. I had no plan, no ambitions. I just wanted to be in a better environment than I had unfortunately experienced in my 7 years in London as an actor. Then, in 1999, I'm in a studio in Copenhagen, recording some corporate copy, when a guy interrupts the session to ask me if I wouldn't mind having a look at some level design stills and footage of a new computer game about a Hitman.
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JP: From a purely technical perspective, I really notice the change every time I do motion capture. When I step into the 'volume', or mocap stage, things just seem to keep levelling up from the previous job. It's become so sophisticated, streamlined, and
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