Actor Lance Reddick has been cast as Albert Wesker in the new Netflix TV series, vampire. For those who have never played games or watched movies, Wesker is one of the most notorious enemies in gaming history. With his elegant, cartoonish villain looks and some of his abilities, he’s able to get along well with the likes of Chris Redfield. However, the new Netflix series shows us another side of Wesker by revealing his home life with his family. It’s a somewhat unique angle, but it causes some tension as his family begins to see and reveal his sinister secrets and learn that their father might not be the nice guy he claims to be.
ComicBook.com got to sit down with Lance Reddick and talk about his role on the series. Although Reddick was not familiar with the games before joining the show, he did watch the movies and used them as a reference. Once he realized what he fell for, they also understood the weight of fans’ expectations and had to reckon with that. If you are interested in the series, you can also check out our review of Netflix vampire Where we gave it 3.5/5.
The following interview has been edited slightly for length and clarity.
I know you play Destiny and some other games. Did you play Resident Evil games before joining the show or after you got hold of the cast?
Lance Riddick: I haven’t played Resident Evil video games, and I still haven’t. As a matter of fact, when the project came to me, I didn’t even know it was based on a video game. I only knew the movies. And I was able to read the first seven episodes even before I had a meeting for this role. So I had a very clear idea of what the character was and what the story line was, at least for season one. So I actually signed that up because I was so excited about what I read on the page.
Have you had any concerns about making a mod for a video game series? I know from time to time there is a perception that they don’t always go well. But did it cross your mind as you entered?
Interestingly enough, it didn’t even cross my mind until then. After the fact. When I was doing that, I was very excited about the character and the story that was being written. As an actor, I wasn’t treating her as a video game fan, I was treating her as an actor. And as an actor, that’s what you’ve always been looking for. So when something like this comes along, and you get it in spades, you jump on it. jump on it. And you’ll kind of worry about those other things later. But the thing you always forget is that it always comes later. So yeah, after that I got kind of nervous about, “Oh my gosh, what die-hard fans are, who want to see the game on screen, how are they going to feel about that?”
I’m sure, you know, you said you’re familiar with the movies. Wesker, in those movies and games, is very different from what we see here. He’s a family man on this show, unlike the cartoonish villain found in movies and games.
Although you see some evil!
Yes you are. You have to see some evil. Was that what sparked your interest in playing this role in particular?.
What intrigued me about this was that you could see both of them [sides], because I don’t think… I mean, I was really lucky to have been able to play… I don’t want to say morally, but a morally ambiguous kind of character before, not least which is the role I just finished playing on Bosch. But this really took it to a whole new level because you see a guy who is kind of really, how do I put it? On a high level psychopath, who actually loves his daughters, and in terms of his sense of morality and morals, is actually trying to figure it out as he goes along. And he’s having a hard time doing that because he actually has a boss that’s higher on the psychopathic scale, a lot.
I’m sure, as you know from the movies too, there are plenty of heroes in the Resident Evil series. And I’m not sure if you’re familiar with Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy or something, but are there any other heroes or characters you’re familiar with in the Resident Evil universe that you’d like to see maybe next season, if you guys go back and go with toe-to-toe feet? Because Wesker is a formidable enemy to those kinds of characters.
Fabulous. It’s very difficult because I haven’t played games, even though I’ve already seen most of the movies. There was one summer when I had two weeks where, don’t ask me why, but I was as late as 4:00 in the morning watching movies. But honestly, the movies are so heavy that Milla Jovovich’s character is the only one I really remember. And I feel like it will be really interesting to see if and how her character is going to enter this series.
That would be very fun. See some, like I said… I don’t want to give spoilers.
Yes, it is difficult!
It is very difficult. I asked my co-workers to write this question to me because he could do it a little better than I did. But he wanted to say that your role as Resident Evil has some unique similarities to your role in Fringe all those years ago. How do you think your role on this show prepared you for the challenges of the role on this show?
Well… first of all, what you’re talking about, I feel like I can’t talk much about it because I don’t want to give spoilers. However, speaking of Fringe, I often thought while filming, “Wow. I’m going to play Walter,” which ironically, although Fringe was Olivia’s story, really became the hit character for that show. And so, at least in that respect, I feel like, “Wow, I’m going to play Walter in all of his iterations.”
Was it easy to take advantage of that, knowing you have some history there?
No, because I didn’t try to do what John did because I mean, it’s more like trying, “I’ll write a symphony. I’ll do Beethoven.” I mean, it’s like, “No, no.” So I tried to be honest with what was on the page. And the only thing I did was I had a long conversation with a friend of mine from high school who is now a biochemistry professor. So just understanding her kind of science, not because it taught me biochemistry, but kind of psychology of how that works was fun and helpful.
Talk to me a little about New Raccoon City. Where did you guys take a picture of this place? It’s such a captivating site that I’ve been constantly trying to figure out how to build these kits and where this is.
Lance Riddick:
Well, interestingly enough, I mean we shot it in South Africa, in Cape Town. But maybe… man, I hope I don’t get into trouble because of this. Perhaps the most amazing and terrifying group was not the one. He was alive. It was where Billy, Jed, and Albert lived when they were in high school. And they just moved…this is the new raccoon city. yes. And they put it in South Africa so they could explain it, and no one would be trying to change accents all the time. But all the houses are really white, and they’re all some kind of cookie cutter. It’s really in this remote location as it looks, just look at this, it’s just a field, a field, a field, a field, a highway, and this development of all these white, electric fenced homes, so that was weird.
The only other thing I would ask is that you know that Albert Wesker is a famous video game character. Have you done any research outside of the cinema? Or did you mostly stick with it and try to build your own character?
Well, I really didn’t use movies for research. They happen to be a reference. Most of my work is done with the text. I had to, for reasons I can’t get into because it’s a spoiler area, but I had to watch some play with Albert Wesker because there were moments where it was important to understand how he moves and what his position is, both psychologically and physically.
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