It turns out, the original voice actor behind Albert Wesker, the iconic villain of the original Resident Evil game, didn’t know how popular his character and line delivery was in Capcom’s 1996 horror game until long after it launched on the PlayStation.
Wesker has been voiced by several actors over the course of the Resident Evil franchise’s lifetime, but Pablo Kuntz originated the role in one of several freelance voice jobs he was taking on in the 90s. In an interview with PC Gamer, Kuntz describes voicing Wesker as “a wonderful experience,” but it was one of many jobs the actor took on while living in Japan, at the time.
As such, Kuntz has been distanced from the Resident Evil community, having only confirmed his involvement four years ago in a YouTube video comment section.
“Reconnecting with fans has quite honestly been a life-changer,” Kuntz tells PC Gamer. “It’s been a huge blessing, meeting a large number of great people that are supportive, kind, and witty. …It may have been a bit surprising at first, the incredible affection that people have for the game, but I don’t feel that way now. I (we) get it!”
Since then, Kuntz has been playing through the Resident Evil series with his son Lexonal on YouTube, which marked the first time the actor heard his performance as Wesker in context. As he only voiced the character in the first game, Kuntz has even started redubbing the character’s later appearances in games like Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, and tells PC Gamer he plans to redub further appearances in the future.
In the meantime, Kuntz has launched a Patreon to support the YouTube channel and includes perks like a Cameo-style video message and behind-the-scenes content.
Wesker has appeared in several Resident Evil projects since Kuntz originated his English voice in the 90s, with D.C. Douglas having voiced him in most of his English appearances. The character seemingly died in Resident Evil 5, though he was still mentioned in Resident Evil 6 when it was revealed he was the father of new character Jake Muller. His most recent appearance was as the Killer character in the Resident Evil and Dead By Daylight crossover that began earlier this year.
Kenneth Shepard is a writer covering games, entertainment, and queerness all around the internet. Find him on Twitter at @shepardcdr, and listen to his biweekly video game retrospective podcast Normandy FM, which is currently covering Cyberpunk 2077.
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