Can I make a confession? Can I make it even if I’m pretty sure I’ve said it before, multiple times, on this very website? I can? Great. Lae’zel is my favourite companion from Baldur’s Gate 3. Yes, yes, everyone loves Karlach and the fancy vampire boy, but for me? I couldn’t go anywhere without dragging my Songun BFFL along for the ride. Much like real life, I just can’t get invested in someone if there isn’t some implicit threat of violence against my person at all times.
What was I saying? Oh right, Lae’zel’s the best, and it’s in no small part down to the stellar voicework by her actor, Devora Wilde. And you know what? It turns out she kind of had the character absolutely nailed right from the start. In a post on Twitter earlier today, Wilde posted the “forty six seconds that changed her life,” her “one and only audition” for the role of Lae’zel in BG3 that ended up landing her the part.
Forty six seconds that changed my life! I’m a huge fan of demystifying the process so here is the one and only audition I did that landed me the role of Lae’zel in Baldur’s Gate 3! Thank you to everyone who trusted me with the role of a lifetime @larianstudios #BaldursGate3 pic.twitter.com/oh0WRo9qUrAugust 5, 2024
Toe to tip, that’s Lae’zel. Sure, Wilde clearly refined the character in the booth—her voice is definitely huskier in BG3 proper—but it’s nevertheless unmistakeable. The military bearing, the haughtiness, the raw contempt. That’s my number one Gith right there. The only real shock is the reference to drinking piss, which I don’t recall featuring heavily in the game itself. Maybe I missed it? I probably missed it.
Wilde calls Lae’zel the “role of a lifetime,” and it’s hard to disagree. BG3’s voicework, Wilde’s included, has earned its cast accolade after accolade, and the actors have been loath to leave the characters behind even as Larian moves on to non-Baldur’s Gate things. They’ve played tabletop D&D as their characters, created playlists for them, and even generated intra-cast marital strife. No wonder Wilde once said “Baldur’s Gate 3 is definitely as good—if not miles better—than any film or TV show I’ve done.”
We’d certainly agree, which is why we sat down with Larian to chat about its reinvention, why it scrapped BG4, and what it has planned for the future.
