Ubisoft Hired Greek Actors for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Coming out of this year’s E3, Assassin’s Creed has more buzz surrounding it than in recent years. This is attributed to the Ancient Greece setting, RPG elements, and the choice to play as a man or woman. Another addition to the franchise that’s receiving attention is talk of romance options. For the first time in the series, the lead character’s sexuality is determined by player choice. While there are detractors to this particular change of direction, most of whom seem ignorant to Greek history, Ubisoft has garnered due praise for such a move. And this isn’t the only big step their taking with regards to representation.

Audio director, Lydia Andrew, told VG24/7 that Ubisoft specifically sought out Greek actors for the various roles.

“What we tried to do was look for actors who are Greek or have Greek ancestry,” she said. “We really felt like it was a nice opportunity for us to have a deep dive into the culture of Greece and obviously Ancient Greece. You can have a great actor who’s great at accents, and that’s fantastic, but you can also find great Greek actors and work with them too.”

Could anyone have played Ezio Auditore as well as Roger Craig Smith? We will never know. He owned that character, though; his contribution to the series is unparalleled. But that Ubisoft is making an effort to hire talent that can authentically represent the stories they aim to tell is significant. Greek actor Melissanthi Mahut portrays Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s Kassandra, one of the two possible leads. Alexios’ voice actor, Michael Antonakos, is also of Greek descent. Their involvement could mean little to some, while acting as a source of inspiration for countless others.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey launches on PC, PS4, and Xbox One later this year on Friday, October 5.

[Source via PC Gamer]