From the classic PlayStation era to Angelina Jolie in the movie adaptation and then to the latest Survivor trilogy, Lara Croft has become a global hit thanks to her incredible tomb-exploring adventures! Set after Shadow of the Tomb Raider, this brand new Netflix anime series titled Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft shows Lara (Hayley Atwell) as she attempts to figure out who she is. It’s a transitional and somewhat unpredictable time for the character; ultimately, anything can happen! There’s been a vast array of incredible villains within the franchise. STARBURST is excited to talk with actor Richard Armitage (The Hobbit, Castlevania) to uncover the creative journey behind its latest antagonist, Charles Devereaux! A mysterious, Bond-style character who’s determined to cause havoc…
STARBURST: How did you get involved with Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft?
Richard Armitage: I think they came to me because of the work I had done on Castlevania. There was a little bit of alchemy going on with that character, Trevor Belmont, so I think they thought that my voice would work really well for Charles Devereaux. So I happily jumped on board. I think he is a brilliant character, and every generation deserves their version of Tomb Raider.
How much of a Tomb Raider fan were you before this? Had you played any of the games?
I’m not actually much of a gamer. I remember the groundswell about it when Angelina Jolie was going to play her, and I dipped in a bit to the game. She was my first Lara Croft; she was the one I followed. We’ve had Alicia Vikander since. So I suppose, the live-action is what I’m more familiar with. Although, they blend into one, really. If I close my eyes and think of it, it’s definitely the game animation that comes into my head. It’s always that classic shot where you’re behind her, and then you jump with her. I think it’s that first break into animation where you suddenly went, “Oh my god, the graphics have changed.” Everything changed with Tomb Raider.
What can you tell us about the character of Charles Devereaux; is there anything that you really wanted to see from him in the show?
Devereaux is a mercenary, he is seeking revenge against The Cabal, that assassinated his father, known as The Light. His goal is to reunite the four peril stones and upset the natural order of the earth. The first time we see him, we think he is some kind of mentor to Lara Croft, but there’s a deep, dark force working inside of him. He’s unleashing this devastating natural disaster. He is a force of destruction! Which is perfect for me.
There are some great villains in the games, such as Mathias Vogel and Natla; how would you say he compares to what’s come before him?
With any character, where you’re sort of in the shell of a suave human, but with this ability to control the mind, I think that’s always going to be a delicious role to play. It’s quite frightening. My parallel is the ultimate Bond villain really, so somebody that’s really slick and sharp, well put together, but has that megalomania in his brain. Where he is going to tear himself apart, because of it. He is going to drink the kool aid himself, and that’s where we kind of go in the series.
How did the look and design of Charles Devereaux come to be? And what do you remember the most about seeing him on-screen for the first time?
This happened a little bit with Castlevania, where I think the animators maybe do take inspiration from the casting a little bit as they go along. So there’s a bit of an exchange. The minute I saw the first look of Devereaux, I was like, “I’m totally dying my hair white, and I’m going to dye my beard white.” I just think that bleached-out look was very striking. He looks pretty cool; I like him.
You could play him in a potential live version of the show!
I said it with Castlevania, and I said it with this! I could age into him. I don’t know how many live action Tomb Raider’s you can have, but you’re watching it on screen thinking, “I wish I could get to do a live-action version of this.”
“Every generation deserves their version of Tomb Raider”
You’ve done a lot of voice acting work in the past with Castlevania and Total War; can you elaborate on what the voice recording process is normally like for you?
I really love sitting or standing in front of a microphone, and what’s great about animation, is you do get a lot of pre-visuals to look at. Sometimes, it’s just a sketch; sometimes, it’s quite advanced. You don’t really see the finished version until it’s done. So you come in about two-thirds of the way through, and sometimes it’s just a storyboard. But I get really into it. I often have to be told to stand still because you can hear me moving around, but I love it. Sometimes, you have to come back in later on, when the animation has advanced further, to re-voice things because they’ve gone away and reworked, and I love seeing it develop, particularly with this character. I watched him evolve. I really enjoyed him when he was cracking apart. You could see the magic starting to work. I get very excited in the recording room.
What was Hayley Atwell like to work with, and what does she bring to the legendary character of Lara Croft?
We weren’t in the same room for this, but weirdly, we were in the same room when we worked on Captain America. So, we’ve passed each other a few times, and we’ve got friends in common. I did actually have a reference; it’s been a while, probably ten years, since I’ve seen her. I went to see her on stage when she was in the West End, and we’ve exchanged conversation in the past, but we weren’t together for this one. I do think she’s brilliant; she’s so quintessentially British, which I think people forget, that Lara Croft is. She’s got that very, cut class, British accent, and she is very put together, but when she needs to she can sort of unleash herself. I mean, Hayley is one of those actors where I feel like she’s an action hero. If you look at her in things like Captain America and Mission Impossible, the way she is cast, she’s got that quintessentially English rose thing, but man, can she kick ass! She is so perfect for this role.
And going on from that, what did you really want to see from the dynamic between Lara and Devereaux?
I think early on, it’s the sense of verbal sparing between them, and they’re generations apart. He knows what she is capable of, she runs rings around him, infuriating him, he knows what she can do. There’s just that sense of him wanting to empower her but, at the same time, stop her. I think that kind of rivalry is always going to be really great to watch on-screen in an animation.
Lara is in quite a transitional space, especially after what she’s been through in the Survivor Trilogy. She’s trying to figure out her next step, so it must have been quite exciting to help capture this new journey opposite Hayley.
Yeah, they incorporate a lot more of the friendship between her pals. So she’s less of a solo character in this one; she’s leaning on her pals, so I think that’s a new line for the story, which is good. And I think that mind control is an interesting side to all of this because everyone is susceptible to it.
As we mentioned, the series follows on from the recent Survivor Trilogy of games. However, storywise, is there anything else you can tell us at this point?
They’ll see Lara grow. You’re going to see her go from the survivor/original Lara to a high adventure hero. It’s all about her growth, really.
Will the show be a good balance for both new and old franchise fans?
Definitely! There are little Easter eggs along the way for the fans. I think you are going to see little callbacks to the games. There’s a Christmas tree featured, zooming into the ornaments. So, new people to the story probably won’t get that, but fans of the game will. You’ll see lots of Lara’s famous weapons that she’s known for. There’s a lot of anticipation and a lot of payoff. I think that’s what is going to be great about it.
Why do you think the anime style works so well for the world of Tomb Raider?
That’s a really good question! I genuinely don’t know, I think it’s because you can go anywhere with it. You can go to any destination, and you can take this story anywhere, and you can make Lara do anything. You can go anywhere the imagination takes you! I think you’ll see many series of this show.
Finally, why should STARBURST readers watch Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft?
It’s not just an adaptation of the familiar game, it’s a new story, and it’s a bridge between the survivor series, the video games, and it is all about what’s next. So it’s like, “Where is she going now!?”
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft will be available via Netflix on October 10th.
