Actor Doug Cockle and director Kang Hei Chul discuss their work developing and voicing the lesser-known, more bashful side of Andrzej Sapkowski’s famed and fierce monster hunter for the new animated film, now streaming on Netflix.
When voice actor Doug Cockle first went to audition for the role of “Geralt” for CD Projekt Red’s 2007 video game , he knew only three things about the character: he was a monster hunter, had no emotions and his voice was low and gravelly.
“I barely knew anything about , because the original Polish books were not in English, and there was nothing and no one to go to for information except the developers,” remembers Cockle.“Eventually, someone suggested that I think about Clint Eastwood in the film.
That’s what inspired the voice.I just went to this audition, did my best Clint Eastwood and I was cast.” But throughout his 20-year-long journey voicing the rough and tough Witcher from Rivia, Cockle had always hoped he’d get the chance to explore a lesser-known side of Geralt.Then, along came where Cockle was able to dive into the bashful side of this otherwise stoic, magically-enhanced, monster-hunter protagonist. Based on “The Witcher” series author Andrzej Sapkowski’s short story “A Little Sacrifice,” the animated film, directed by Kang Hei Chul and now streaming on Netflix, follows Geralt (Cockle) on an investigation of attacks in a seaside village.
Journeying along with his friend and famous musical entertainer Jaskier (Joey Batey), Geralt soon finds himself drawn into a centuries-old conflict between humans and merpeople, stoked by the fact that the human king’s son has fallen for a mermaid princess.Meanwhile, Geralt also feels the effects of Cupid’s arrow as he begins to catch unusually sincere feelings for Jaskier’s childhood friend Essi (Christina Wren). Check out the trailer: “There’s a moment with Geralt and Essi on a castle balcony at a party and he gets a little tongue-tied,” shares Cockle.“It’s a side of Gerald that we haven't seen before in the games.
He's had moments, especially with the character Triss, which were a little bit saucy.But, in this scene with Essi, there is this boyishness of Geralt that’s allowed to come out.It was really fun to perform and even more fun to watch.” also marked the first time Cockle was able to watch the final animation of a Witcher scene during voice recording (ADR) sessions. “Every once in a while, you get to do a little bit of game voiceover work to an animation, but it's usually very, very rough,” explains Cockle.
“This time, when I walked in, and they pulled up that first scene to do the recording, I was like ‘Wow!’” Cockle’s first recording was the film’s opening scene, animated by the renowned Studio MIR (and Netflix's ), when Jaskier and Geralt encounter a sea creature seemingly hell-bent on eating them both whole.Geralt does his Witcher “thing” and goes head-to-head with the monster, launching himself into the air with impressive speed, spinning, flipping from rock to rock to avoid the creature’s claws, launching firebolts at the belly of the beast and, eventually, leaping into the air and landing with his sword firmly planted in the now bloody monster. “I was totally fanboying over it,” admits Cockle, referring to the animated sequence.“Geralt was quite acrobatic.
You don’t always get action sequences like that in games because the player has to be able to control what the character is doing.But, in an animated film, Geralt could do anything.” Director Chul was also given considerable creative freedom to not only explore the personalities and capabilities of the characters, but to expand on the world Sapkowski created 35 years ago. “Since I first entered this world as a storyboard artist for , I have been deeply impressed by its unique and rich world setting,” notes Chul.“The strength of lies in its ability to reinterpret traditional fantasy stories from a dark and mature perspective.
The monsters Geralt encounters cannot be simply classified as 'evil'; they are complex beings with their own motivations.This complexity made it particularly intriguing to explore the classical myth of the Little Mermaid from 's unique viewpoint.” According to Chul, the deep sea and sirens have not been prominently featured in stories – certainly not in the popular Netflix live-action series – and the director was excited to dive (pun intended) into the details of this complex script by Mike Ostrowski and Rae Benjamin that unpacks themes of racial stereotypes, idealism, love, war, betrayal and what it means to be a true “monster.” “What defines the boundary between humans and monsters?” questions Chul.“series has consistently explored the philosophical question of who the real monster is.
I aimed to maintain this theme in the film.As we explored the myths surrounding sirens and their world, we sought to portray Geralt's personal growth through complicated inner struggles, emphasizing that his journey goes beyond simple hunting quests.” Hence Geralt’s unconventionally boyish romance with Essi. “And when it came to the character design of our mermaids, we did lean toward a more monstrous figure, quite different from the traditionally beautiful image,” notes Chul.“However, we wanted them to have very detailed expressions that can convey the emotion of falling in love.
This meant they couldn't be entirely monstrous; they needed facial features that could express emotions while still maintaining a mysterious and frightening aura.” After generating dozens of concept drafts, Chul and his team decided to blend alien and fish-like characteristics with those of a human.The director notes that while the character designs of their mermaids involved months of research and iteration – with particular attention paid to skin texture and eye shape, as well as fin placement and flexibility – the creation of the mermaids’ underwater kingdom was just as challenging and painstaking. “ series has not featured the underwater world in detail, so we had to build an entire culture from scratch,” notes Chul.“In the early stages, we drew inspiration from various myths and folklore to create an original culture for merpeople that beautifully integrates into the world of .
We took into account the scenery, the various creatures inhabiting the area, their history and ecosystem and their relationships with humans.Adjusting their animation for the underwater environment was another significant challenge for us.” He continues, “From the early stages, we struggled with visualizing aspects like light refraction, water flow, and detailed particle effects.We studied the movements and swimming patterns of sea creatures, made the camera move as if it was floating in water and conducted numerous animation tests to achieve realism.” But despite the challenges, Chul says getting the chance to step into the world of once again is “a true honor.” “In the world of, the story and its message resonate even more powerfully when love emerges amidst the horrific violence,” notes Chul.
“I felt really fortunate to have this opportunity to direct a film with a broader perspective on this world and its characters.” Looking back, Cockle says he never anticipated would become the massive franchise it is today.But, even after voicing the character for two decades, he’s never gotten tired of exploring the many crevices and caverns of Geralt’s character. “Since I started this journey, I've seen the Polish television series, the Netflix live-action show and read all the books as soon as they came out in English,” says Cockle.“It’s been 20 years of me being associated with this character in one form or another and getting to know him.
And I think that it's a real blessing to be able to go on a journey like that.And Geralt never really leaves me.Sometimes I'll catch myself walking around the house grumbling in Geralt’s voice about doing the laundry.
I know stuff about Geralt that I couldn't even express because he just kind of lives in me now.It’s all been a real gift.That's all I can really say about it.” Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime.
She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment.Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
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