Baldur’s Gate 3is undeniably one of the best games of the past few years, and part of that is because of the incredible companions that join Tav on their journey. Each one is easily someone’s favorite and is a huge part of why they played and still continue to play the game. Whether that’s Lae’zel, Shadowheart, Gale, Astarion, Karlach, Wyll, Halsin, Jaheira, Minsc, or even Minthara, these characters and the actors behind their performances are a huge reason for that success. And ifKarlach is one of your favoriteBaldur’s Gate 3characters, then that’s plenty of reason to check outTron: CatalystandAbsolum.
Tron: Catalystis available now for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X, whileAbsolumdoesn’t have an official release date yet (but there is a demo on Steam). Each game features a character performed by Samantha Béart, who also performs as Karlach inBaldur’s Gate 3. However, fans shouldn’t expect to go intoTron: CatalystorAbsolumexpecting Karlach 2.0. As Béart told Game Rant in a recent interview, they value versatility in their craft. It’s easy to see when looking at her gameography that they’ve played some versatile characters before too, but during our interview, Game Rant did ask about this versatility and what it means forTron: CatalystandAbsolum.
What Béart Enjoys When Playing a Character
While some actors end up typecast as one certain character archetype or another, many enjoy playing a wide variety of roles. Béart is one of the latter. As an example, she plays a prim and properVictorian character in theExcavation of Hob’s Barrow, while anyone who knows Karlach knows that’s nothing like her. When asked why they enjoy playing these different roles, Béart said,
“There’s something in wanting to play all these different things, but also yeah, there’s the challenge of it. I really enjoy that. I don’t want to be on autopilot. I want to be discovering new bits and bobs. That’s where the exciting work is, I think.”
Comparing any of Béart’s characters puts that range on display, with One inFading Echostanding in contrast to Cider inAbsolum, but it’s not going to end there. While she’s talking about her latest roles in contemporary games (includingFading Echo, Absolum, andTron: Catalyst), Béart also said that players will see them “doing some different things….over the next year or so.” More announcements may be imminent then, but reallyFading Echo, Absolum, andTron: Catalystare the current trifecta of Béart.
Check out this feature where Béart and I talk aboutplaying One in Fading Echo
Béart on Playing Oracle in Tron: Catalyst
“I think it’s probably something you haven’t seen me do before,” said Béart as we discussed her role as Oracle inTron: Catalyst. Understandably, that’s exciting for an actor like Béart, and it was relatively easy to get into. Béart has known Mike Bithell of Bithell Games,developer ofTron: Catalyst, for a while. When they were offered the role, the tone and identity ofTronhelped Béart get into character: “If someone says Tron, you know exactly what it’s going to be: the fluidity, the music, the visuals, all these sorts of things are immediately helpful.” That’s also a big thing when a developer like Bithell is putting trust in the actor.
She explained that, while Michael Sheen in theTronmovie was a bit of an influence, Bithell relied on their instinct:
“Let’s just say Michael Sheen in the Tron movie was a bit of an influence. It’s quite camp to play something very different with that, and yeah again, I am looking forward to what you guys think of that. [Bithell] was really happy for me to go on my instinct with that character because you don’t want to repeat yourself. You want to be challenged. You want to put new things out there to surprise and delight players.”
Béart on Playing Cider in Absolum
While players can dive intoTron: Catalystnow to check out Béart’s performance, as well as just enjoy aTrongame,Absolumis not ready for release yet. There is a demo players can check out, and they should know it’s made by DotEmu, thesame studio behindStreets of Rage 4. Béart takes on the role of Cider, one of four playable characters, who is also a semi-robotic life form. As it stands, she is fully recorded for the project.
While they understandably couldn’t say too much aboutAbsolum, there were two interesting standout details. First, Béart described Cider as a rogue-ish character, an archetype that she described as “probably more my type if I had a type.” Béart also talked about how the development team helped inform her take on the character:
“With Absolum, they were showing me the character’s movement, so when I was doing efforts and everything, you know, I had a well-informed take. In other jobs, you just have an Excel spreadsheet in front of you, and you just have to hope that the way your brain has populated that world matches closely with what the directors have in mind.”
For every game an actor signs onto, there is a completely different process when it comes to recording and capturing the character. Sometimes they are given the tools to really understand the character, down to sounds made during movement, while sometimes they are asked to fill in a lot of blanks. It would seem the former is more beneficial, but as it stands, there’s a lot of promise inAbsolumandTron: Catalystas gamesthemselves—but also in the capabilities of the people bringing them to life, including actor Samantha Béart.
