Some actors can become so inextricably linked to their characters that it might be hard to decouple the two, but this association also changes. For instance, Casey Kasem was the first voice for Scooby Doo's Shaggy Rogers dating back to the 1960s, but modern audiences may be more apt to see Matthew Lillard as the character based on his work in the live-action adaptations from the early 2000s. Nintendo's Princess Zelda received her first fully voiced English portrayal in a mainline game with 2017's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild thanks to Patricia Summersett, who cemented her position coming back three years later for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Though reception to voice acting in the series has not always been positive, she said playing the character is "one of the biggest gifts of my career."
Game Rant spoke with Summersett about her voice work, including as Breath of the Wild's Princess Zelda; her other passions; and her recent move to unplug from technology. Interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: You've worked in movies, voice acting, and live on stage. Where did you start and how did it build out?
A: In terms of doing acting, I do all of it still. Right now to make my living I do a mixture of video games, I just shot a TV episode, I do a little bit of dubbing, radio, and motion capture. I'm also screenwriting at the moment - but not professionally, I'm not getting paid for it. That and recording music. Like a lot of artists, I jump all around because it makes sense to be diverse with your interests; say yes to a lot of things when you're trying to cobble together a living.
I didn't really take acting seriously until University, but I was very serious as a figure skater when I was younger. I think that trained me to have a certain kind of discipline and expectation of working hard for some craft. I did that from the age of five.
When I was in high school I did my first musicals. I played Cha-Cha in Grease and Lola in Damn Yankees, which left a huge impression on me. I somehow was able to get these wonderful little parts; granted, very tiny town we were in. I was really inspired by it, but nonetheless I ended up pursued ice dancing after high school knowing that it had a limited shelf life and there was an opportunity to find a partner in Florida.
Fast-forward a few years I thought I would be an ice dancer, I didn't think that I would ultimately be an actor. My first love was dance, but the ice dancing ended when I was 20. I looked around for the next thing I could pursue, realized nursing wasn't going to cut it for me. I loved it, but I'm not great at math. Then I took an acting class and it was like, 'Oh my gosh. I think I found my calling.' It also felt more sustainable than a short shelf life in ice dancing, so I enrolled in a school, auditioned twice to get in, and finally got myself into an acting program at Concordia in Montreal. I was so pumped and haven't looked back.
It wasn't until I was 21 when I got into the school, so I didn't start professionally training for acting until then. Felt like I was a late bloomer, but in retrospect not really.
Q: Certainly seems like you've gotten a lot out of it since then.
A: Yeah, right? I think anything you pursue with great passion you can get something out of.
Q: Like you said artists tend to jump around and take whatever they can, but do you have an interest in any particular kind of roles?
A: I'm often into the darker roles, and I definitely have a thing for female warriors. I feel like part of that is because I have an athletic background, so fight training, moving around, and needing a lot of physical coordination is something that I had trained a lot in as a child. Also, I have a low voice, so that lends to older or stronger female characters.
It's actually a bit harder for me to play weak, lighter characters; I have to go against type a little when I do. I've been like that since I was quite young, so I've always been cast older. That's something that has followed me around. I definitely like more complex, thoughtful characters, so I gravitate toward those; I feel grounded and comfortable in them.
Aside from that, one can't be horribly picky. I'm not a huge fan of formulaic comedies. I don't watch them, and I also don't pursue them. That would be the difference, but aside from that I try to go for anything. That's part of the adventure of being an actor, you never know what you're going to get.
Q: How much of yourself do you try to bring into a role versus what a director wants or needs?
A: It's funny, because whatever role I do it would be crazy to think it was anyone other than me. Regardless of whether or not I'm manipulating my voice a certain way or taking on a rhythm that gives me a slightly different version of my own psychology, inevitably it's all you underneath. It's important for it to come from a place of your own impulses, and if it's too far from you, you don't usually get cast as that anyway.
I feel like that's a little bit of a generalization. Obviously there's major shapeshifting that can happen, but most of the time I try to stay as close as possible to something effortless when I'm approaching an audition, especially as I get older. I do feel like the more grounded or close to the self it is, it's going to offer something that has a better chance of being communicated.
Q: Jumping off of you saying you preferred warrior-like characters, how did that play into starting out as Zelda in Breath of the Wild?
A: Well, I didn't think I was going to get cast. I auditioned as a few things not knowing what they were, and I was surprised when I did get cast. It was a bit of a personal stretch for me, but I also put a lot of time into the audition, and it was interesting because whether or not it lined up with me perfectly, I definitely got the psychology of her. I understood where she was coming from based on the description they gave, that's pretty easy to relate to.
So I did bring that into it, which was an attempt at how she felt the pressure and had a regal-ness to her.
I had also just been studying in London, I'd done my Masters of Classical Acting a few years earlier. I was aware of that, being around that sort of royal system which doesn't exist in the states. There's a different expectation and psychology to it, so I was inspired by that a little as well.
How does that play into getting the role? That's a good question, maybe they sensed the tension in my audition and that's kind of what they were looking for. Ultimately Zelda is a character struggling to find herself and her voice, so maybe there was something in that quality they leaned into.
Q: How different is it to approach a character with a lot of history like Zelda versus a role that's entirely original?
A: That so depends on a case-by-case basis. What the script is, what the team is, whether it's dubbing, motion capture, fully in-body, or something you only get a short amount of time to do.
The Zelda role is exceptional because I got the chance to do a lot of it. There were a lot of sessions, and a character development I got to play with for several months. Then, of course, I got to come back a few years later and do it again, which was such a wonderful, wonderful gift.
Obviously there's more pressure when something exists and you know people will inevitably have mixed reactions because they have an expectation in their head. But again, I spent a lot of time thinking about that subject, and at the end of the day I simply did my best. I put my 10 years of training into it and really just gave it my heart, knowing it was a big deal and hoping to nail it.
I have no regrets. However it has been received or not received, I think overall it has been one of the biggest gifts of my career. It has been extraordinary.
I think about that a lot now with the pandemic and how Comic-Cons have been cancelled, so I don't get to travel anymore and meet the fans that I used to meet. I've met so many wonderful, cool people around the world and that all stopped. I'm not sure for me when that's going to start up again, it might be a very long time, but I look back at that chapter and I'm like, 'Wow. It was a different world, like a dream world.' I'm so happy it happened.
Q: On the subject of inspiration, while you're the first major voice of Zelda in a mainline game, she has had voices in interpretations like the old cartoon and CD-I games. Did you look into any of those while preparing?
A: Excuuuuuse me.
There aren't a lot of voice references for her that are spoken outside of those early cartoons, which have nothing to do with the game really. What they asked for was something new with the script, and the fact it was the first official game with voice acting meant it was going to be unique.
I definitely looked into the lore and read the Hyrule Historia. I went back through the games and got the feel of them again. But not for the voice so much, because that would have been counterproductive. They cast me based on my audition so they already had what they were going for in mind, and by the time I came in for sessions they had an idea for what the range and general tone was going to be. If I had come in saying I wanted to do something completely different, they would have been like "that's not why we cast you in the first place."
Q: Have you continued to be deep into the games and lore? Or have other projects taken over more of your time?
A: I've actually stepped back from nearly everything quite a lot in the past year. To be honest I got very burnt out, so at the beginning of 2020 - before the pandemic - I stopped everything and decided to focus on myself again. I was finding I could no longer create anything or do original work, and that was really scary for me at the time, so I needed to slow down.
Then the whole world slowed down, which hopefully won't lead to a situation that looks like the one in Breath of the Wild.
So its been a while since I was into the lore of the game. In terms of playing games, my gosh, I've had no time and I've taken a digital minimalism approach in the last year for my own mental health and sanity. From the news, from social media. I've limited all that and it feels so good. I feel much better.
Q: In an interview with Zelda Dungeon last year you said you've grown a 'thicker skin' since Breath of the Wild came out regarding the mixed reaction to its voice acting. Have you noticed a shift in attitude among fans, though?
A: I've heard there has been a shift in attitude, people tell me that, and part of me thinks that's fantastic. I'm so glad. In one way I love to be embraced for whatever work I put in, I want people to love the work, be inspired, and enjoy the game.
On the other hand, part of me doesn't care. I really have spent too much time at this point caring about that stuff. I feel like I've put in my dues and I work hard, so if somebody doesn't like it, then sorry but I'm still going to do what I do and give it my all.
Giving it my all right now means relearning personal boundaries. Inside there is seed of inspiration for why I chose this artistic path in the first place; if I lose that seed, then what kind of storyteller am I exactly? What am I inspiring in others if my own journey to the mentorship platform is increasingly unsustainable? I see these questions reflected in the game and in the world of gaming in general right now. I want to join the innovators in this field of questioning, but from a balanced place - otherwise what’s the point?
I have both feelings about it. Obviously I want to be loved by everybody under the moon - don't we all? On the other hand, I'll use soft language to say I don't give a flip. In the end I'm probably my own worst critic.
Q: In terms of putting in your dues: When you came back for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity I understand it was a different role where Zelda took more of that warrior position. How was it working on that versus Breath of the Wild?
A: It was very different because it was a spin-off game, and it was years after the first one recorded. Everyone was super appreciative to be back. There was a talk in the room about how [Zelda] gets to be a warrior, she gets to fight, which is very exciting. It felt like a sort of Zelda 2.0.
I just had a lot of fun with it. It's a huge thrill to be allowed back into a character that's been such a blessing in the first place, and to get a second crack at it - super cool.
Q: You said you tend to like playing those kind of roles more. Did you pull any inspirations from your previous works for how you played Zelda 2.0?
A: I always pull inspiration from other work, because whatever one is working on at the time will bleed into what they're doing. I also pulled inspiration from Zelda in the first version, because she ultimately is the same core person who gained more access to her gut and her ferocity. The creation process is always a big mosaic of inspirations around you, right?
So that was partly me, but also partly the director as well. It was just a really fun experience.
Q: Age of Calamity has more interactions between characters. How much of an influence did working more with your castmates have on your role?
A: Because of the pandemic, when we recorded everything I didn't even know who was going to be on the game. It was very secretive. As it developers you hear little files and it sounds like the original cast is back, but you don't know.
I can say, when I saw the designs doing the dubbing and got to see the characters standing side-by-side, boy that was a warm feeling. It felt like the ultimate reuniting. So maybe, without realizing it, now that I think about it that reunion does influence you. It makes you, and therefore your character, excited to see her friends.
Q: Was that secrecy any different for the first game?
A: It was so secret both times, and everybody's very good about that. Nobody talked about it, we're under strict NDA and it's of the upmost importance. Things were revealed when they were revealed to us. Which is exciting too, it has that feeling of having to wait, anticipate, and wonder.
Q: I'm sure we can't talk a lot about Breath of the Wild 2, but how has it been waiting to say anything?
A: You assume I know things about this, but that's the thing: I don't know. Obviously, even if I did I wouldn't be able to say anything, but we are kept in the dark for a reason. I'm just as in the dark as you are, but I hope I get to work on the next game - that would be amazing. I never, ever take those things for granted. Anything can happen, anything can change.
I feel optimistic that maybe I'll get the chance to redo this role one more time, but I don't know. I try not to worry about it too much at this point. If I am so lucky, I'll be ready and waiting with a monstrously large heart container.
Q: Well in terms of people anticipating news, you said you're unplugged from social media, but do you have similar feelings as fans waiting for the story to continue?
A: I feel like they're going to announce something soon-ish. They did say something about that back in February, didn't they? In some sort of Nintendo Direct.
So I assume it's coming, but because I've been offline mostly I don't spend a lot of time looking or concerning myself with it. It kind of stresses me, makes me nervous. I just try to be chill and think about other things.
Q: Earlier you brought up your siblings being musicians, and you're in a band as well. Tell me a little about that, and how it does or doesn't intersect with your acting.
A: It's a huge passion in my life. In fact, I was just sending my band's co-founder Nick Carpenter new lyrics a couple of hours ago. We very much delayed releasing a second album, we were supposed to release it a year ago and now it'll probably be another nine months.
Basically, my little folk band is going back in and recreating new music, so it will be an entirely different album when it does come out. We're working on putting together a music video with an awesome, upcoming director from Montreal, Caitlyn Sponheimer. She's done bit parts in The Boys and series like that, but she's also a really cool director and I've been in talks with her about filming our seminal music video for this album.
Music has affected my voice work in two ways. One is that singing is very good for keeping up the muscles and vocal chords, as well as helping with your range and staying grounded. I think they go naturally together.
The other thing is sometimes there have been amazing crossovers. A couple of years ago, I had been working on Ghost Recon doing motion capture with skateboarder Rodney Mullen and Jon Bernthal, and a couple of other people from Montreal. Because we all enjoyed hanging out, my band then performed for them at a bar one night, Rodney complemented the music, and that led to Howard Bilerman inviting us to record a live music video at his studio, Hotel2Tango. That then led to recent workshops we've done.
One of the songs on the album is about video games, which I've never said anything about because we weren't sure if we were going to release it. It's kind of a strange song, but it sort of mirrors a video game symphony. In fact, it's called Video Game Symphony.
Q: Is that about video game stuff in general? Does it pull from something in particular?
A: The song is the experience of what it felt like to be immersed in the video game and Comic-Con world while watching a lot of video game symphonies, because I love those and kept getting to see them. It's kind of a love story gone wrong, which you might not necessarily pick up, but the backdrop of having a relationship not go well while having one of the best experiences of your life. It mirrors that in an interesting way.
Q: How did this band start?
A: The co-founder and I did this crazy theatre piece years ago, and fell in love while we were doing it. We dated and then broke up, but realized we were intended to be creative partners forever if we could. We developed this amazing friendship from that time, and eventually the love letters we'd written to each other became our first songs.
Later on we decided to form a band, but we'd already done all sorts of creative projects together. We went to the arctic together and did an ice show, we'd do a lot of cabaret, we'd write together, I've been an actor in a number of his pieces.
We created a lot of stuff in different genres, but the band is the most enduring because music and sound are the most pure joy for him and I think for myself, too. It's the longest-reaching hand we have; sound, your voice. It's also the most pleasurable, and there's a lot of movement in it compared to other kinds of writing.
Q: You mentioned the connection between your band and Ghost Recon, but have you noticed any overlap with fans who enjoy Zelda?
A: We don't have a lot of music out there that's recent, and we haven't done any major push for publicity. It's funny, I have a different approach for the band where I'll put it out there but it's a very different community. I don't expect there to be a lot of crossover.
With that said, in the comments of a lot of songs, I get a lot of video game fans making random comments. A lot of that is Ash from Rainbow Six, it's as much her as Zelda. That's always really funny to me, because the fanbase for Rainbow Six has nothing to do with the kind of music we make. It's a heartfelt love song that's deep and intellectual, and somebody will comment, "Ash has no hitbox." Like okay, cool.
Q: Would you say they're your favorite performances? Which roles have stood out to you most?
A: Oh man, I have so many and that answer would change by the day. I really enjoyed doing Age of Calamity, it was such a blast and I felt so fortunate to do it when that happened. I've had that privilege with Ash as well, when I went back to do extensive motion capture. The family that exists at Ubisoft is such a pure joy, I feel so fortunate whenever I'm in that studio.
Both of those scenarios feel familial because there's been enough of it to give you a nice, warm feeling when you walk into the room. I say that, though it might change suddenly, as tends to happen with acting. But I'm quite happy with my characters for those two roles.
Q: World events permitting, what's next on your agenda? As far as things you can talk about.
A: There are a couple of games I'm working on. When they come out I'll probably know what they are, maybe. I've worked on games and completely forgotten about them, and then they're just out there somewhere.
Aside from game work, I would really love to get over the border and visit my family, visit them when the time is right - when I'm vaccinated and potentially when they've loosened things. I'm just trying to be a responsible citizen and not do anything prematurely.
If Comic-Cons exist in the future, I venture I would enjoy getting back to them, but not in the next year. It would have to be further on when everything is safer.
Q: How have you noticed your industry adapting to COVID?
A: It's so different now. The industry has really done its best to adapt. Some people travel for work but I haven't really needed to, I'm more focused on what I can do from here at the sound studio I built into my apartment. Pretty much exactly a year ago I did this as everything shut down, and it was the best move ever. I can't imagine not having it as a roommate now.
I shot a TV episode about a month ago, and the COVID standards are completely different. Now when you're on set you wear a mask and goggle at all times and you keep distanced. When it's your scene, you take them off, do the scene, and then wheel around and they put them back on as quickly as possible. You're only allowed to be unmasked next to people for 15 minutes a day total, so they measure that stringently to reduce as much exposure as possible. It's an adjustment, but they're making it happen.
Q: Are there any 'dream' roles you'd love? Any characters you might have a specific take on?
A: I recently auditioned for something I felt was totally in my wheelhouse and it made me really excited, if I did get that role it would be bomb. I can't say what it is or even describe it, but I did enjoy it because I cut off all my hair, which was something I've wanted to do for a long time. I used to have long, blonde hair, and now I have very short, spiky hair. I felt like my hair lent to that role.
Aside from the video game world, I'm excited to release the album. That's another thing I'm focusing on now.
I try not to be too idealistic about what comes my way, because I don't want to be disappointed. It's hard to be picky when you've already gotten such cool opportunities, you know? I don't know how many iconic roles I could play, I got to play one - and twice at that. It's good to keep the expectations in check.
Q: Is there anything else you want to add?
A: Acting aside, I've been thinking a lot about digital minimalism and sustainability, both internally and in the world. As I move forward in my career and personal life, that's really on my mind.
I will say that my experience playing Zelda has gotten me thinking about this subject a lot, both in terms of how much travelling I did around the world, but also what it means to have a game that celebrates nature yet does it virtually, and how ironic that is. I asked myself where is the sweet spot, where does the balance exist for me and my life, with my love for nature and pursuit of virtual immersion or screen time.
It was just a subject that I've pondered often, for what it's worth.
[END]
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now on Nintendo Switch.