The first major content drop for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has arrived. Offering a variety of new maps and changes, there was something for everyone. One of the most intriguing additions is the Dead of the Night map for the Zombies mode.
Unlike the previous levels, this new experience boasts the vocal talents of Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt), Brian Blessed (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace), Kiefer Sutherland (24, Designated Survivor, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain), and Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter franchise, Sweeney Todd, Ocean’s 8).
For the unfamiliar, Dead of the Night revolves around a zombie outbreak taking place during a party in 1912. With only four survivors left, it’s up to players to assume the role of one of the remaining guests and uncover the secrets of the manor.
Recently, we got a chance to sit down and briefly speak to Ms. Carter about her role as the fraud psychic, Madam Mirela.
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- Heavy: Your last voice-over for a video game was back in 2005 with Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. What made you want to come back to games and voice Madam Mirela?
- Helena: It’s a nice job, I mean it has to be said. It’s low effort in that you don’t have to do hair and makeup, you don’t have to do costumes and it’s fun. It was just for the fun of it.
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Heavy: Did you draw any inspiration from previous characters when crafting the personality of Madam Mirela?
Helena: The people who work there wrote it. They gave me a whole character description. You know I haven’t done a game from scratch so I didn’t really know what to expect and I have never played Call of Duty. They gave you as much character background as you would any part.
And it just sounded a fun mix – the fraud and somebody who’s a pretend psychic. And then as I was playing around at first they said New York [accent] and then they said: “Actually we need an East End and London [accent].” There are bits of other people I’ve played close to it like Mrs. Lovett. I was like “Oh god she’s sounding like Mrs. Lovett a bit.” When you slip into an accent you often go back to the accent you took before.
It was fun. It was just such fun to play. It’s hard to actually justify being paid to do it.
Heavy: Were there any challenges during recording or working on the character?
Helena: Not really, it was in the writing. What’s good about just doing vocal work is that you don’t have to wait for anybody else. You’re just in your own booth. You don’t have to do any hair and makeup and everything. You just imagine everything and play around. It’s was just fun, a joy to do really.
Heavy: Did you get a chance to improv at all?
Helena: We did improv because a lot of it was written in American and we made it more idiomatically English. You just do lots of different options. Sometimes you’re like “Oh I wish I had the other actors with me” but you just need to imagine people speaking to you. But it’s a completely weird situation you are in.
Heavy: Did you have a favorite line or moment when recording for Madam Mirela?
Helena: I wish I could remember, but I haven’t done so much killing ever before. Or such glee in killing, not quite my thing. I did have to remind myself it was only a game. I think she reminded me of Bellatrix in a way.
Dead of the Night is now available on all platforms via the Black Ops 4 Pass.