Lae'zel's voice actor says that 'Baldur's Gate 3 is definitely as good—if not miles better—than any film or TV show I've done'

Lae'zel, face covered in blood, stands in the Astral Plane
(Image credit: Larian)

The talent behind Lae'zel in Baldur's Gate 3, Devora Wilde, is an accomplished voice actor—but she's also been on TV, starring in programs such as the Channel 4 sitcom Hollyoaks, where I imagine she was considerably less yellow. Though I think I'd probably tune in more if Chester suffered a Gith invasion.

Recently, on SlitherineGames' cooking show "The Geek Recipes", Wilde talked about her experience transitioning from TV and movies to games—and how games are being taken more seriously as their stories grow more ambitious, and the exhausting 'debate' of whether a game counts as art (yes) is dead.

In terms of whether games matched up to the production values and scale of TV and film, Wilde notes: "I think we're definitely getting there," in fact, she "would say that Baldur's Gate 3 is definitely for me as good—if not miles better—than any film or TV show I've done." Acting as Lae'zel over the course of the game's early access, Wilde notes that the entire cast of Baldur's Gate 3 is "so fleshed out, so real … I think that's why so many people have connected, because they've felt like real characters you go on this journey with."

Even in her short time within the gaming industry, Wilde says she's seen games progress tremendously. She talks about her role as Nika Yankovich in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, a character who crops up in a short sidequest gig. She says: "even that was such an emotionally charged character, only present for a few minutes—but she has a whole story and a whole life behind her."

When it comes to the work itself, however, Wilde feels like recognition is still unfortunately lacking. "I think people don't give voice acting as much credit. People say it's 'just the voice'—but it's so much more … it's a skill, it's a very specific skill. It's still acting of course, but it's a skill you really have to learn."

For Wilde, "acting is acting at the end of the day. You're still doing the same preparation, approaching the character in much the same way, thinking about motivations, all of those things. Just because it's a voice project doesn't mean you do less work for it." 

Wilde also credits her entry into the games industry as having introduced her to a new hobby. "It'd be great to do other stuff, but something I've realised as somebody who had very little knowledge of gaming is how much I actually really love videogames.

"To show people through projects like Baldur's Gate 3 that actually the storytelling can be just as immersive and brilliant and entertaining as any TV show," Wilde adds, "is really quite amazing."

Harvey Randall
Staff Writer

Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.

Read more
Baldur's Gate 3 - Lae'Zel looks disaproving
Lae'zel's voice actor Devora Wilde also auditioned for Shadowheart, Karlach, 'And probably Astarion?'
Astarion, a beautiful vampire spawn in Baldur's Gate 3, looks dubiously at the player character.
'What do you mean real actors?': Astarion's VO, who shared an awards category with Idris Elba after Baldur's Gate 3, remembers the dark ages of mocap
Commander Shepard in Mass Effect 3.
Mass Effect's Jennifer Hale, who played femshep, 'saw no line' before she recorded them for Bioware's flagship trilogy: 'It was all cold reading on the spot'
Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach concept art
'The dream of the tech industry is to sell off your company at an overinflated price and retire,' says actor behind Baldur's Gate 3's Karlach, 'And I feel that's being done with game studios right now'
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
'It really truly changed my life in every possible way': Lady Dimitrescu actor says her Resident Evil Village role was just as transformative for her as it was for roughly half the internet in 2021
Karlach smolders
Karlach voice actor offers a pre-emptive no thanks to Disco Elysium successors that don't include the original project lead: 'Miss me with that casting call'
Latest in Baldur's Gate
Minthara BG3 looking upset
Another round of Baldur's Gate 3 unearthing reveals Minthara can end up living in a sewer, an unused beach ending, and more
Gale, a wizard from Baldur's Gate 3, looks very bloodied and very sad at the player while a celestial midnight blooms behind his depressed mug.
Baldur's Gate 3's stress test update fixes heartbreaking bug that wiped out Honour Mode runs at the last possible moment
Baldur's Gate 3 player character made to resemble Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher.
Wait a minute, Geralt of Rivia actor Doug Cockle was in Baldur's Gate 3 this whole time
Half Orc wearing rare Bhaalist Armor in Baldur's Gate 3 standing in front of Astarion and Karlach
It turns out you can get Baldur's Gate 3's best assassin armor without killing a baby angel elephant and joining a cult, all you have to do is pickpocket a ghost
Gale, a wizard from Baldur's Gate 3, looks very bloodied and very sad at the player while a celestial midnight blooms behind his depressed mug.
Baldur's Gate 3's stress test update has, mercifully, made one of its new OP cantrips halfway balanced again—but it's really still quite good
Withers Big Naturals mod image - Withers with big naturals
Sure, why not, here's a guy beating Baldur's Gate 3 without a race or class at all
Latest in News
starcraft 2 face
StarCraft fans taunted by the announcement of a new StarCraft... board game
kingdom come: deliverance 2 henry looks confused
'Medieval Batman' completes Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 pacifist playthrough with zero kills and 535 knockouts
SUQIAN, CHINA - OCTOBER 6, 2024 - Illustration Tencent's plan to buy Ubisoft, Suqian, Jiangsu province, China, October 6, 2024. (Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Ubisoft and Tencent are forming a new company that will take control of its most successful franchises: Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six
The Huntress holding a bloody spear.
The biggest update since Path of Exile 2's early access launch is coming next week, bringing a new class and a bunch of endgame changes
A motley crew riding out in point-and-click adventure Rosewater
Promising '90s style point-and-clicker Rosewater rides out today, featuring trail-worn cowpoke authors and weird alt-universe science
A girl cheering in Everybody's Golf Hot Shots.
My favourite, most underrated anime golf game series is actually getting a PC entry for the first time in its nearly 30-year history