Patricia Summersett is nothing like Princess Zelda. But to many, she is our Zelda. Matthew Lillard’s Shaggy or Keanu Reeves’ John Wick are just a few examples, and despite initial reception, Breath of the Wild’s take on Hylian royalty now occupies similar territory.
I caught up with Summersett shortly after the launch of Tears of the Kingdom, which has already sold over ten million copies alongside universal critical acclaim. It is one of the year’s biggest games, so being the woman at the centre of things can’t be easy.
“I definitely felt the pressure when [Breath of the Wild] was first announced, because when I auditioned for it I didn’t even know what the game was,” Summersett tells me. “I’m glad that I didn’t know, because I would have psyched myself out. I think it was fascinating new territory for everybody, and so I was probably exposed to every kind of reaction. It’s strange that now, after six years, I have overwhelming positive feedback and vibes coming at me, and see that as a really interesting evolution. It’s almost as if people got used to the direction.”
Breath of the Wild was the first mainline game to incorporate voice acting aside from distant grunts and gasps from its cast of characters. Link is still a silent protagonist, but everyone around him speaks for themselves and drives the narrative forward. Zelda is at the centre of all this with her regal British accent and determined enthusiasm to save Hyrule and make world changing discoveries. Despite hailing from Montreal, Summersett felt like giving it a fanciful edge was the best possible idea. I describe Zelda as ‘astonishingly British’ during our chat, and given it’s where I begrudgingly call home, Summersett can’t help but laugh.
“Of course, you being British would absolutely have that reaction,” she says. “That’s always been one of the big questions. Zelda is a fantasy game, and everyone came into it with their own take, and again, I went into that audition not knowing what it was. It came from my time in England and reading the description of the character or partly my experience living abroad and also training British accents for stage. It’s fun hearing you speak of it that way, but you know it’s what happened, it’s what came out, and it’s what was accepted, and they liked it.”
Voice acting in the world of video games can be a secretive business. Actors are normally beholden to iron-clad NDAs and specific restrictions that request they don’t talk about their characters in certain ways or give the impression of something being considered canon by fans. If it tarnishes the brand, you need to tread lightly. This seems to reach another level with Nintendo however, as Summersett sadly informs me time and time again that despite Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom being out in the wild, offering a personal take on Princess Zelda’s character and where she’s been and could be going is rather difficult.
“We definitely have enough context when we record, and it’s a similar process for all video games,” she explains. “There’s an immense amount of secrecy in building any sort of game, especially one that prides itself on innovation and has a lot to reveal and spends a lot of time developing these story points and gameplay in the ways Nintendo does. They just take their time, they get it right, and they release it when they want to. It’s been lovely. Everyone knows that what they’re working on is a big deal, so you come in with your A-game.”
Given the aforementioned secrecy, Summersett can only say so much, but she still offers some perspective on how she went about giving a voice to a character who had lived so long in silence. “The way that people see [Zelda] is more fleshed out. She has more of a voice, a dark and a light side, and a lot more nuance that has been revealed in the past two games. It was very interesting to work on a character like that who not only has a voice, but new meat on her bones in regards to storytelling.”
There’s also Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, where Summersett reprised her role. While the narrative here deals with alternate timelines and a lighter tone, when it came to revisiting the character not much changed at all. “It’s still Breath of the Wild Zelda to me, so it’s all coming from the same origin. And then you get to experiment with it, to explore a larger dynamic range and adventure within the character. But truly the seed of it comes from the same place as always. Which is one of the many benefits of being able to play a character for a while because there’s a trust in the foundation. When you make choices they can be more accurate, even if they’re bold choices.”
Zelda was playable in Age of Calamity, as was most of the cast. However, and to the continued dismay of fans, the Princess is still an NPC in Tears of the Kingdom even as her role in the narrative grows more prominent. When I posit this possibility to Summersett she tells me it once again falls under a veil of secrecy. “What I will say is I enjoyed recording in Hyrule Warriors because as a hack ‘n’ slash it was very charged, and obviously Zelda is a fighter in that game. That’s super cool. I imagine that fans would absolutely love to see her fight as much as possible, in any game anywhere, anytime.”
Link and Zelda’s relationship is a core focus in both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, to such an extent that they even seem to share a house together in Hateno Village in the sequel. There is a tangible trust between them, and as a fangirl whose brain has long rotted away thanks to romantic headcanons, I had to delve deeper into whether there is something more to the Princess and her Knight. “As a voice actor, looking at the overall relationship between Link and Zelda over the ages, I personally love the ambiguity and that if there is something there it’s, left to us. I guess in my own life, I can respect and celebrate relationships that aren’t conventional,” Summersett tells me.
“It also dodges the ending, and you’re always wondering what may occur which keeps the relationship active. There’s a tension in that, and this defiance of a definition is something really nice. I always come back to that, and I really love it as both an actor and as a human. Those relationships are super important to portray too, and I think they’re the best relationships we have in life, whether it be friendship or something that doesn’t have to fit a definition. I know that [Link and Zelda] are in a relationship with each other, it’s active, there’s a lot of care and a lot of listening, and I just love that about it.”
As a figure who has spent the past century holding back darkness in solitude, only to emerge in a world she once called home now in dire need of resurrection, Zelda is in a key position for the narrative right now. “I love when you get to see characters falter or show doubt, lose their faith, or deal with the darker parts of uncertainty that come with living,” Summersett admits. “Zelda does speak to that, and it’s hugely important for her as she tries to find her voice.”