The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt brought many classic elements of the expanded The Witcher franchise into its own story, including some returning characters. One of those returning characters was Vesemir, an ancient witcher who taught and acted as a father figure to Geralt of Rivia and the young Ciri. Unfortunately for fans of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's interpretation of Vesemir, his original Polish voice actor, Miłogost Reczek, passed away at the age of 60.
Miłogost Reczek is well known for his roles as Vesemir in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and as Viktor Vektor, the first Ripperdoc the player meets in Cyberpunk 2077. He also lent his voice to the Polish dub of Thomas the Tank Engine, which may be a surprise to those who knew him for his roles in more mature projects.
News of Miłogost Reczek's passing appears to have been announced through a Facebook post from the Polish audiobook company Storytel, which also worked with him. He was reportedly in treatment for cancer since 2018. The post included a brief video of the actor in a recording studio, speaking into the microphone. This was reportedly taken from one of the last recordings he made, which appears to feature a surprise for the sound engineer at the end of the line. It may allow international fans a moment to say farewell to the man who brought Vesemir to life in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Reportedly, Miłogost Reczek's talent and gravitas got him the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Polish dub of the Star Wars films, a character originally played by Ewan MacGregor. He also voiced the Polish version of Talos, a side character featured in more recent Marvel movies, who was originally portrayed by Ben Mendelsohn. Interestingly, some fans argued that an actor best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, Mark Hamill, would make a good Vesemir in The Witcher Netflix show.
It can be quite painful to say goodbye to the people who brought beloved characters to life. While Vesemir will be appearing in The Witcher season two, he will be portrayed by Kim Bodnia, not Miłogost Reczek. For fans of Vesemir as he appeared in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the only way to experience him is to play the game again. Fortunately, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a game filled with quests, monsters, branching narrative options, and other features that add replay value, so playing it over again may not be a chore.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions also in development.
Source: Game Developer