Capcom Europe Interviews D.C. Douglas / Albert Wesker in London

Capcom: What was it like to inherit the role of Wesker?
D.C. Douglas: That is a great way of putting it, inheriting the role. Yeah, it was nerve-wracking at first. I mean, at first I didn’t realize that I inherited the role the way you put it. I knew that I didn’t know the role was that big and that there were that many people out there that loved this game and this character because it was Umbrella Chronicles that I first came aboard. It was also kind of a rocky beginning because the Umbrella Chronicles, the producers wanted me to be a little more like Peter Joseph, who just previously performed it, who is a wonderful actor and has a very specific thing. So I worked as best I could for that voice and Umbrella Chronicles. I don’t think I did that great, but people seem to be happy with it, and then they brought me back for Resident Evil 5, and that’s when I realized how big this character was and the honor that it was that I was actually inheriting the role from Richard Waugh, who I had known about but thought I was going to be doing Peter Jessup when I went into those sessions. The very first one that they played was Richard Waugh that we want you to do. Oh, so it was a quick learning curve on trying to incorporate his voice style and merge a little bit Peter Jessup’s, and also throw in my own thing when I could. And then of course the character is evolving through this game, so there’s a whole new territory of his voice and now that I’ve done so many of these conventions since then, meeting fans, and they always ask me to do the voice, the voice I think is actually mutated again just because it’s always saying it to fans. But it’s an honor and I can’t believe that I keep skating bigger and bigger, the longer he’s dead the more popular he becomes, which is fascinating. Whether I guess there’s mannan an educated man but I would assume that.

Capcom: Why is Wesker such an enduring character?
D.C. Douglas: There are some just archetypal things happening with him and somebody like this classic story things as the villain, as the antihero, and he started as such a regular person in some respects and with each game just kind of evolved into essentially a god. So, I mean, when you follow a journey from like 1996 or whatever was to his death, you deaths, you it’s going to get ingrained in that fanbase beautifully. When you feel that you’re at a loss in your life for something and you’re playing the game and you find this character is so badass and looks very good and got great abs and you start to identify with the dream wish to embody some of his qualities and I think that’s how he kind of got under the skin of so many fans and that’s why he endures so much. Also, he just says all the things that you want to say when you really want to just forgive my language, slap somebody. It’s like he just does it with his words, he does it with a snare of the look, and that kind of badassery is not going to die easily.

Capcom: When reading through the Wesker scripts, what was the strangest dialogue?
D.C. Douglas: The script is though I had this lounging time before they record session I wish I had that, you know, you basically don’t get to see the stuff until you get in there and even then sometimes you don’t even know what order it is in and what the context is and they kind of have to help you along as you’re recording it. So it’s really a most voiceover for videogames is like that but it’s like you have to fly by the seat of your pants so a lot of times you don’t realize the line is bizarre until you’ve moved on a couple pages and then you go what I think it said back there so I’m taking over the world is that right, okay that’s making sure I’m going so it’s all humanity I’m going to change. Okay, but I mean the weirdest one was when I, Liam O’Brien directed Resident Evil 5 and what was so we went through most the script and at one of the sessions at the end of it he’s like okay because I’m just gonna throw a couple of lines he goes you will give me an egg and I would happy that’s funny that’s funny see no DC say the line of it really all right everybody like 15 variations of it I require an egg you would give me an egg like what is this egg it’s actually kind of funny as I refer to that line in one of the little fan videos they did where I crossed to Mass Effect character I did Legion with Albert Wesker which you guys should check out it’s a legion Wesker Alliance and there’s a reference to the egg thing

in that so let’s check it out it’s exactly at the end of the session.

Capcom: What did you think when you learned Wesker was going to die?
D.C. Douglas: At the end of it I’m like hey hey thanks for the great character and bringing me on right when he dies and of course why can I see useful hey it’s Capcom you never know but actually it’s funny cuz I did I’ve done five titles as that character so there were several others that came on after Resident Evil 5 so that was kind of neat to know that I got to keep coming back to him and of course doing a little a really hyped up version of him for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and who knows what else ancillary may happen in the future years crossed you cap comes asking me this.

Capcom: Do you think there’s a chance that Wesker could come back?
D.C. Douglas: Yes, is there a chance but there’s always a chance. I mean, it’s creativity, you can write in anything he could be well I’m not even gonna talk about what he could possibly how he could possibly come back but there’s ways like you can go on your own website there and read through all the threads because people that have so many different ways that he could come back so pick one of them and start writing and then call me oh no it’s cool it’s actually it’s neat well you know it’s.

Capcom: What is it like when you meet Wesker cosplayers?
D.C. Douglas: I don’t know if you guys know this I did a film called apocalypse kiss it was an indie production company in Philadelphia the producers were fans of Albert Wesker and Resident Evil and so they essentially offered me the role of the serial killer in the film and I went well that’s cool I mean the characters of serial killers who’s not necessarily Wesker like but then the more I started think about had six months to get ready for it and so I actually started to had to bulk up and get in shape for the role and because he has a nude scene and sorry I’ve had coffee and jet lag the anyway so and when we got close to production I I email and said you know and since you guys are big fans of Albert Wesker you know and I and you’ve given me this role why don’t we just do like some allusions to him such as why don’t I maybe dye my hair blonde and he writes back in all caps is you do that like yeah so if you find it online I think through midnight releasing is the company it’s called apocalypse kiss and so that character is a little bit of an homage to Albert Wesker so I had to dyed hair blonde and dyed my eyebrows got a suit got a tan I sort of got the ABS but not quite like you guys gave him an RA 5 and so that was my version of cosplay so literally we were in between shoots up between scenes and downtime while we’re doing some tech stuff and so then one of the producers carmella hayslett comes over to me and she’s huge you know fan and so she says can we do can we just do one little cosplay thing anyway so put on the trench coat we found some glasses and we had somebody be one on my I found it so I’ve actually caused played wesker doing the voice and that’s on YouTube as well so but so when I meet these other cosplayers no I think it’s it’s neat I think in some of the stuff that you guys do that you put the effort that you put into your outfits are pretty amazing and I mean some of them are like just look like kind of cartoonish characters of them versions of them caricatures but then there’s others that are like like wow like some people have like the jawline and all of that I so jealous at that and what the jawline you know it’s.

Capcom: What’s been the most memorable fan interaction?
D.C. Douglas: Somebody once sent me through a friend they gave me a thumb drive that had I think 30,000 pages of fanfiction about Albert Wesker along with you know it was like several gigabytes of stuff it was like a two gigabyte drive or whatever feel bad I feel like I need to get this drive back to her and if she’s watching I do have it I haven’t gone through all 30,000 pages yet it was like it was like wow that is that is commitment to the character and to the franchise but yeah that was probably the biggest thing the one thing I find funny is every now and then there’ll be somebody cause like I’m yes I’ve done Albert Wesker and I’ve done some other video games and I do like I do TV stuff and as an actor or an on-camera actor but but I’m I’m I’m not recognized usually until I go to these conventions then all of a sudden I’m a star I’m a rock star for a two days and then I go back to

my regular life as you know what have many actors reading for cop number five or something um and but so when I have somebody in the line who’s trembling you know and then I go and I give them a hug and it was actually was Belfast it was girls she was like literally on the verge of tears trembling I gave her a hug and then I thought well I’ll just whisper something in her ear and I think I said it’s lovely to meet you and she literally like just fell to the floor trembling you know like I’m not a faint was a half of faint but she fell to the floor and her boyfriend’s there and I’m like is she okay that was like is like wow it’s like he has an effect on people but you know I talk so much I’m sorry but I will say something the the I’ve gotten letters from people that talk about and I know this is probably common among many different actors and characters in franchises but it’s very touching it is that people talk about how they went through an illness or a really rough time in their life and or they just didn’t have friends at school or whatever and then they play these games and then they they identify was something this was talking about earlier about like they identify the characters it helps empower them and and and so these beautiful letters about how my portrayal of that character helped them through a rough period and it’s like I’m just lucky that I got the job and the fact that it spoke to them and did something good in their lives is is that’s like the dream of an actor to know that that I actually had some part in affecting them.