Samantha Béart on the impact of Baldur’s Gate, new roles, and secrecy in games

If you watched one of the many Summer Game Fest showcases earlier this month, chances are you heard Samantha Béart.

The BAFTA-nominated Baldur’s Gate 3 Karlach actor has roles in multiple games that were featured — only some of which have been revealed publicly, like the adventure game Fading Echo and beat ’em up Absolum. 

MobileSyrup caught up with Béart, who is non-binary and uses they/she pronouns, for a wide-ranging chat about the universality of Karlach’s story, some of these new SGF titles, their BAFTA Breakthrough-winning lead performance in The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow and the need for greater transparency in the gaming industry.

Samantha Béart. (Image credit: Samantha Béart)

One of your projects that was revealed recently is Fading Echo, which is a desert punk action-adventure game. What can you tell me about your character and your role in that game?

Béart: Yeah, her name is One. She’s not a “Chosen One,” she’s a “Forged One,” is what I’ve been told. And that’s given me a lot to work with. The developer, New Tales, have been very kind to let me into Discord. I had a chat with the lead animator this morning. That’s really going to help me perform. The cast are fantastic, really amazing as well. To get Jasmine Bhullar [DesiQuest], not only as one of the characters, but as the writer as well. To be honest, my knowledge is catching up with what they’re telling you guys as well. So they’re putting things up on social media every day, just to feed you a little bit more about what’s to come.

I’ve played an alpha or something, I’ve got a Steam key. I’ve played it — it’s fantastic. And it’s great to be able to talk to you with that authenticity of “I’ve actually played this game before it’s out,” rather than afterwards. That’s pretty cool! So, yeah, it’s just really smooth and fun and dynamic. And you really do work with the elements, because you can see one turn into water, and that will help with puzzles and getting through different obstacles and beating enemies and interacting with elements like lava and poison. It’s really cool. I’m very much looking forward to it being fully playable.

Would you say that’s uncommon when you do these interviews and you haven’t actually been able to play the game yet?

Fading Echo. (Image credit: New Tales)

Béart: Oh, this is completely unprecedented, and I hope it encourages others to just be more transparent with the talent as well as outsourcers. I guess we’re “outsourcers” on this. Because it helps us give our best. In recorded media, traditionally, you’ll meet up before, you’ll have a read-through, you’ll have a test session when you’ll get to have some input. There’s all those processes of interaction, and it doesn’t all just come together at the end — or that’s what it seems like on my side of things. So just as a performer, as an artist, it’s really enriching to be able to take all of that work that all these other people have done and use that to inspire myself, and then we all inspire each other.

And it reminded me… I watched this documentary on early Lucasfilm, and the way that they’re essentially in a room together, and everyone could see what everyone is doing, and that really just gets those creative juices flowing. And it’s pure collaborative work. I just love that. And in this day and age, we’ve got Discord, right? [laughs] And I’ve got an invite to get to Lyon [France] if I want to meet [New Tales], and I’d love to, so we will sort that out at some point. But yeah, I’m enjoying the openness and the joy, and I can see devs — they’re happy folks. And it’s just really wonderful. I think we’ll see more of this dev team get their flowers as well. I think we’re going to see more individuals, or at least more heads of department, and I hope that sets a precedent, because I think it’s high time we see behind-the-scenes, as we do in other forms of media.

I couldn’t agree more. Another project that you were confirmed to be in recently is Absolum. You play Cider, who’s quoted as being “an enigmatic fusion of human and construct.” Maybe this is just me projecting as a big Baldur’s Gate fan, but was that just a coincidence — a living creature that’s also a construct, which kind of overlaps with Karlach — or was that intentional?

Cider in Absolum. (Image credit: Dotemu)

Béart: You would have to ask [developer/publisher] Dotemu, I have no idea! [laughs] People come with an offer of audition. It’s not like I get a list to choose from or anything. They just come to me with that… They [Cider] play very differently. They’re very agile. They’re quite roguish. They’re martial arts-based. They have a telescopic arm, which is very nice. So I played that last night with a friend on the Super Deluxe Games Cast, which is also a channel on Twitch, if you want to check that out. There’s not much for me to say, because it’s more traditional in that I came in and I did the thing, but they did show me the animation, which really helps me just pitch the tone right. And I played beat ’em ups before, but this is more RPG — it’s got some story to it. So getting the tone right is really, really important to me.

So yeah, we played the demo last night with Cider, and we finished it, which is pretty cool. It’s really fun. Even in the demo, there’s just some cool little features they put in that they don’t really need to at this point. So you can play with the graphics. Obviously, you can change the sound levels and everything and the difficulties. We played some of it on God Mode because we didn’t have forever, and it is a roguelike, so we made it a little bit easy for ourselves. But the fact that you’ve got all that makes it super accessible, as well. So I’m really excited, and it’s reviewing really well. So again, luck of the draw — just got very lucky on that one. And it’s very different to Karlach and some of the other stuff, so as a performer, it’s really exciting, too.

The gaming industry doesn’t always do the best job with preservation, especially as we move into the digital age. That’s why I thought it was really cool a few weeks ago seeing Lost in Cult announce this “Criterion Collection,” if you will, for games, and of those initial three games, The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow, was one of them. So for you, what was it like to see that renewed spotlight on the game? And the second part of that question, since you’re a gamer: what are a few games that you would like to see preserved in a special collection like that?

In case you missed it, Herbert and Thomasina (@SamanthaBeart) have some news to share… pic.twitter.com/96Rde0WANo

— Shaun Aitcheson – Hob’s Barrow OUT NOW! (@shaunaitcheson) May 20, 2025

Béart: Yeah, amazing! Love Hob’s Barrow. It’s a grower. It started out as an indie that, again, reviewed very well, but didn’t have the reach. And I think myself and Dave Jones, who plays Halsin in Baldur’s Gate 3, we just were very determined to let the world know it existed, so we mentioned it in pretty much every interview. And plus, we play very different roles in Hob’s Barrow than we do in Baldur’s Gate, so again, just for ourselves, to show people we do other things as well. And to be honest, if I was to be typecast, looking at the body of work I’ve done, it’s a very “prim and proper, scientific, cerebral” type of character, not the barbarian. That’s very unusual, and it’s quite funny. There was a thing the other day where someone said, “I can’t cast Sam because I only see them as Karlach.” That’s interesting, because if you look at literally anything else… Just look at my show reel, just give me two minutes to show you!” [laughs]

So it’s really nice to be able to show people that work. It’s still valid. It’s still out there. It’s a really cool piece of art. Hob’s Barrow is art. We’ll be coming up to “Spooky Season” again, and [people] will love it. And I recorded, you might have seen, a live version of quite a well-known scene in the game where Herbert the cat somehow gets into your locked room in the middle of a thunderstorm at the end of the bed. I did that during PAX, because why not? [laughs] I had a creepy cat plushy with me, and I thought, let’s go!

So it’s just really fun as more people discover that, as they come to cons and go, “Oh my God, I didn’t realize you were in this!” People are starting to see some of the other things I’ve done. And I’ve got Cabernet, which was an indie last year, that I got because of Hob’s Barrow. I got Karlach because of Hob’s Barrow. And there’s a game called War of the Western Deep that’s been demoing at the Paxes, and that was because of Hob’s Barrow. So I’m probably getting more work from that, actually, than from Baldur’s Gate.

So, to answer the other question… Oh gosh, more games that get to be preserved… I’m trying to think, because I like to buy physical copies of games!

Me too!

Béart: Now I’m trying to think, “What haven’t I got?” Did Control by Remedy ever get a physical release?

Yes, I believe so.

Béart: It did, didn’t it?

But that’s a good shout! Anything from Remedy, honestly…

Béart: …Needs to be preserved in a museum! Return of the Obra Dinn — is that out in any sort of physical media? That probably should be.

[Editor’s note: It did get a limited physical run by, appropriately enough, Limited Run Games.]

I’m not sure, actually, but that’s also a great shout!

Return of the Obra Dinn. (Image credit: 3909)

Béart: I’ll give that my vote, just thinking off the top of my head, because I do prefer to have physical media myself. For the very same reason that they can take it away from us anytime they want!

Pivoting away from specific roles… SAG-AFTRA was just finally able to secure that deal for actors with the video game companies, which is great to see. But of course, there’s always more work that can be done, especially with the rise of AI and technologies like that. So from your perspective, what else should we continue to do, holistically, to make sure that actors are being best protected and supported in your work?

Béart: So just to be very clear, I’m not a member of SAG-AFTRA. I get asked about SAG-AFTRA a lot, and I just want to make sure, because I’m not always party to everything. Those last few weeks have been confidential, so it’s been very hard to comment on what’s going on. Obviously, a victory for SAG is a victory for all of us, because that is the centre of the market, in the U.S. I know that in the U.K., we’re legally very restricted in terms of unionization. So there’s actually really no protection for us. It’s nice to be able to say, well, “SAG-AFTRA charged this much for this sort of work, these are the conditions they have in place!” They sort of provide us a boilerplate in order for us to form our own contracts. So that’s a really useful win.

Because a couple of weeks ago, some of these big productions were coming to the U.K., and they were paying even less than they normally do. So it was like, “Right, okay, we don’t have a leg to stand on, interesting.” And thankfully, this now looks to be resolved. We can keep going back to trying to make things fairer. I think it’s again, transparency. I think this is a problem across the industry — that people don’t always know what they’re working on. It’s the whole fact that if I’ve had a big, big project cancelled, I’ll never be able to talk about that, and neither will the devs who spent years [on it]. I did a session, they did years, and neither of us can talk about it. And I think that’s crazy. If I do some contractor work for governmental organization. I can say that much. I can at least say I did that. Whereas, I think as a dev, and certainly as an actor, you can’t go, “Well, it’s a secret, but I did some work on this for ‘x’ number of years.” You just can’t do that. And I think that’s a real shame.

And then again, to get us to do our best work, I think we need to foster that transparency. At this point, we have many actors who are into games. Maybe that’s becoming a requirement. But just in terms of tone, a fantasy game is going to be really different from a found phone game that’s voyeuristic and more intimate. And time is money. If you’re asking all these questions in the studio, you’re wasting that time as well. So it should be a mutually beneficial thing. We have NDAs. You don’t need to do what I call the “double NDA” and still not tell us after we signed it what we’re actually working on. It’s not cool. We don’t like it. AI, I think, has been covered really well, but in terms of the conditions and transparency… Maybe keep us on a list, so when you release the game, you tell us that that’s been released, and we can talk about it. I think what happens in most cases is the friend calls you up and tells you you’re in a game. That’s not cool anymore. I think we need to keep that open. As I said, it fosters a healthy relationship with the industry and helps us give our best work.

That’s a great point. And I think that’s partly why something like Baldur’s Gate 3 resonates with people so much, because you [actors] have that big, open relationship with the developers and the fans, and it creates this sort of big community that everyone really loves. It’s also rare to see a game, first of all, be that beloved, and then also continue to evolve and grow and keep adding so many things to it. So I’m curious, from your perspective, as someone who’s been a part of it for years now, what’s it like to see it grow as you’re going to these conventions, and meeting fans and everything? What are some of your favourite interactions when you get to meet fans and then they talk about how much this game and this character mean to them?

We’re in love with this acrylic painting of Karlach from pulidoarts! The style, Clive in the corner…it’s just so deliciously gothic.

Credit: https://t.co/GVXuGopYO4 pic.twitter.com/wpkTtHmt5U

— Baldur’s Gate 3 (@baldursgate3) November 10, 2023

Béart: The whole fan experience has been life-changing. I can’t say that enough. It’s wonderful to meet the people who are actually playing the game. When we recorded, it was solo with an Excel spreadsheet and a director and some engineers and that’s it, and you have no idea how it’s landing. And just the way it’s caught people’s imagination is so inspiring, from cosplays, art to dressing up your dog as one of the characters, to some of the fruitier pieces of head canon that are on the internet. Yes, I know about AO3. We all know about that! [laughs] There’s been albums produced, music inspired by my character. It’s just quite something. And I thought that first summer that, “Okay, we’ve got a good couple of months, and then the next thing’s gonna come along and enjoy as long as it lasts.” And that hasn’t happened yet. And we’re coming into Year 2 since the release, and it’s just phenomenal.

It’s a really wonderful community, and people love to confess what they did, who they did it to, how they will atone for their sins on the next run. Of course, everyone has a completely different experience playing this game, and I’ve likened the attention to theatre shows where everyone claps at the end and goes home, whereas I’m getting people coming up to me on an individual basis and being given my round of applause. So it’s quite intense in a way that other forms of acting aren’t. But they’re good people, and they come from all walks of life. You get to know folks, and the reach of it just blows me away. People who’ve never played a game before then picked up probably one of the hardest things, and they don’t know [Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition] rules. And they persisted with it because they fell in love with the characters and the story — generations of family playing together. It’s quite something. It really is, and it isn’t lost on me, and I’m very grateful to be in this position.

Absolutely. I was completely new to D&D, even, coming into BG3. I just love RPGs, and I heard this was a great game. And if I may, I loved Karlach. Honestly, I’m not just saying it, but Karlach was my favourite character. Because right before I played the game, I had to put my dog down, sadly…

Béart: I’m so sorry.

Thank you. But I really resonated with this story of, “She’s kind of a lovely puppy upfront, but then she’s trying to make the best with the time she has left.”

Béart: Yeah, and that’s a real universal story, isn’t it? Sometimes it takes a death for us to remember that there’s limited time and we should make the most of it. I’m not surprised it resonated in the way it did with people. But what surprised me about her is that people found it so comforting. I thought it might be a bit tough for some people, but people contact me in really some of the hardest mental states you can be — in chronic and terminal illnesses — and they said she’s comforted them. [exhales] And I can’t ask for more! As an artist, you go there to entertain people. You don’t think, “Oh yes, I’m going to make someone feel really good about themselves.” I’m just blown away by the whole thing.

Yeah! You can have those multitudes of, “She’s very bubbly and fun, but then also has that pain,” and you played that so beautifully. Looking outside of that, if there is any particular character that you’d like to play in another RPG — or another game in general? What’s your dream role that you would like to have?

Béart: Are we pitching? I get asked this a lot. I do get asked, “What franchises do you want to be in?” As if, I put it out in the world, it will happen. Sure, put me in the next Cyberpunk, put me in Warframe! I don’t know. [laughs] But as I said, some of these franchises I’m in, so I can’t say it’s already happened, and I’m really happy about that. It’s really cool. I think now that the actors strike is over, there’ll be some acceleration of these announcements. I put a thing on Instagram saying I’m sitting on nine titles — it’s now six. I’ve talked about three [Fading Echo, Absolum and War of the Western Deep], and it’s now six. So it’s happening quite quickly, because these trailer shows, I watched them all, and I go, “Bam, bam, bam, okay, those are out. I can talk about those now.”

Fading Echo is different — we’ve announced before I’ve recorded anything for it, but I know that character probably better than any other I’ve known before going in. So that’s cool. I mean, [I’d love] a lead femme role in a big game. I’ve done the lead-ish ensemble role in a big game. Let’s play a lead in something. I loved Mass Effect, but Jennifer Hale is still alive, so I’m not gonna go for that one, am I? [laughs] Let Jen do her thing. So, yeah, it’s like, “Come on, let’s do it. Let’s do the big one.”

You could be a squadmate in Mass Effect? That would be awesome.

Béart: No, no, I’ve got ambition! I’ve got ambition. [laughs] Going for a lead role in something. I feel I’ve done the squadmate thing. Let’s do it!

This interview has been edited for language and clarity.

Fading Echo is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. A release date has not yet been confirmed. Absolum is coming to PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC, but is also undated. A free demo is available on Steam. War of the Western Deep is set to come to PC on a yet-to-be-determined date. And finally, Béart has a role in Tron: Catalyst, a just-released PC action-adventure game.

Image credit: Larian Studios/New Tales/Dotemu