Posted in: Capcom, Games, Resident Evil, Video Game Publishers, Video Games | Tagged: resident evil, Resident Evil Requiem

Resident Evil Requiem: Angela Sant'Albano on Tough Grace Scenes

Resident Evil Requiem star Angela Sant'Albano reveals her most difficult Grace Ashcroft scenes, what she learned from her experience & more.

When Angela Sant'Albano accepted the role of Grace Ashcroft in Resident Evil: Requiem, new doors opened for her beyond what she thought possible. Aside from learning to act under motion capture with assistance from co-star and Resident Evil veteran Nick Apostolides, who plays Leon S. Kennedy since the 2019 Resident Evil 2 remake, she's also challenging herself in ways most of her mainstream projects haven't allowed her to tap into, given the cathartic nature of the franchise. As per the previous titles in the franchise, players encounter their own set of challenges depending on who is selected on a playthrough. Set 28 years after the destruction of Raccoon City, the game follows FBI Analyst Grace and DSO agent Leon in the latest chapter against the Umbrella Corporation's ongoing destructive legacy and arsenal of bioengineered weapons. Sant'Albano spoke to Bleeding Cool about the most difficult scenes she filmed for the Capcom game, the most invaluable lessons she learned from her experience, her future in writing and gaming.

WARNING: The following contains game-related spoilers.

Resident Evil Requiem Star Angela Sant'Albano on Her Most Difficult Grace Scenes, Invaluable Lessons & More

BC: What was the most difficult scene that you had to go through, or was there something mocap-related that you struggled to figure out during production?

Sant'Albano: I would say the two most challenging scenes for me were the high-impact, emotionally charged ones. The first being when Alyssa (Jane Perry) dies, and I see her get murdered, and the second being when Emily (Emma Rose Creaner) transforms into The Girl. I would say that, because as an actor, I never had to get to such an extreme emotional place in such a short period of time, and I was just nervous, to be honest [laughs].

I remember before we shot the Alyssa scene, I thought, "Ange, give it 150 percent. We're going to do it five times or however many they need." Still, in my brain, I was like, "I can do this five times, screaming, howling, crying, and just imagining my own mother, honestly, and going to that darker place." Once I did it the first time when we took one, I was like, "Oh shit! I can do it, okay. All right!" I relaxed, and then it became…I trusted myself a lot more to get to that place in such a short period of time.

It was the same for the scene with Emily, because there were so many beats to that scene, we wanted to have land. [Grace] performs CPR, then she thinks she's coming back to life, so there's that moment of, "Oh my God! I saved her," and then she started to transform, but we don't know what's happening, so I'm retreating. There were so many very specific beats that we wanted to capture, and I care so much about Grace's relationship with Emily, because I believe it's the heart of Grace's arc and story. She's the person that Grace connects with the most intimately since her mother's passing. That scene, that moment of loss, had to feel so painful for her, and I cared about it so much. I think the more you care about a scene, the harder it is, because you want to do it justice, and you want the player to feel exactly the way Grace feels in that moment. I hope we manage to do that.

If there's anything you can isolate as far as before getting into this project and what you came away with since having done everything, what would you say is the most invaluable thing you've gained from that experience, from doing Resident Evil Requiem?

Honestly, playing Grace was such a blessing, because she was the first character I was [waves hand] gifted that didn't feel very close to me when I first met her or when I was fed the scenes. I thought, "Oh wow, finally! I get a meaty character that's different, where I get to transform." As an actor, I've always loved transformation. Even when I was little, I would always play. When I was at my all-girls school, I would play the clown, and in Shakespeare plays, or I would play the male roles. I played like Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, like I always played these characters, where I would have to morph and turn into something very different, and in my professional career, I hadn't been given that yet.

When I got Grace, I was so excited by that challenge, and that it was something I had waited for a long time, and with that also came fear, right? Since I hadn't done it. I think what I learned was to trust myself and to lean in when you're given that gift; be specific in the characteristics that you're developing for the character. I built her very slowly through mood boards and observing other people. Honestly, people who are close to me that I know are a little bit more like Grace, and I suppose trusting yourself to make that big jump of playing a character that feels a little bit farther from you. Does that make sense? [laughs]

Yeah, of course. So, what's next for you?

Well, honestly, I'm writing a film right now, so that's been my absolute bread and butter, and then hopefully, more games, film, TV, and theater, all of it, I love it all. I've gained such a love for games now that I didn't have before, because I didn't grow up as a gamer. I gamed a little bit, of course, as we all do, but now I'm so excited by these worlds that I'm diving into. It feels very strange, because when you grow up watching TV and films, going to the theater, it becomes a part of your everyday life. I think now I'm a little bit having that with games where I go, "Oh my God! There are so many worlds that I haven't visited yet, and so many genres I haven't tapped into." It's a very exciting time, because there's so much to consume and play. Yeah, so hopefully a little bit of everything, that's my dream.

Resident Evil Requiem is available on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.

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