Hollywood actor Celestin Cornielle chose wisely for his first video game role. He provided the full performance capture experience to bring Javier Salazar to life in Treyarch’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Cornielle talks about the going virtual in Activision’s epic new shooter in this exclusive interview.
How familiar were you with Call of Duty before you took this role?
Very familiar. You can’t go anywhere in the world without hearing about Call of Duty and the franchise. It’s a huge franchise. I definitely was familiar, but I was not a gamer, so that lets you know just how popular it was.
What are your thoughts on what they’ve done with this franchise over the last few years?
It’s incredible. This is a franchise that has no limits. David Goyer is the writer of this one, so not only are the fans going to get the type of action that they’re used to, but now they’re going to get a totally different experience with an incredible cast and an incredible story behind it.
The game takes place in 2025. What do you think that opens up as far as new weapons, drones, and robots?
It’s 2025, but the technology that’s used in the game mirrors a lot of the technology that the military already has in development. This is something that is real. When you’re watching the game, and playing the game, know that this stuff is real.
In the game, you go back and forth to different periods. What do you think that adds to the gameplay experience?
It’s wonderful, and just adds this incredible element. I know as a child, I always dreamt of being able to time travel. Now, not only do I get that opportunity, but the world gets that opportunity to time travel when they play Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
What did David Goyer bring to the story and your character?
An incredible story, and as far as my character, an incredible arc. It’s phenomenal what he did. Everyone knows his writing credits, but he just added human elements and a certain realism to the story. If you could take a project, the starting point should always be a good story. Now we’ve taken an amazing franchise and added an amazing story.
What’s it been like working on this performance capture?
It’s been one of the greatest experiences of my life. This is all new to me; this is my first game. Coming from TV and film, it’s something that I totally had to get used to, and my life has changed because of it. Just wearing these wetsuit things, and the markers, and being in a virtual environment, to me resembles TRON. It’s life-changing, and adds a different layer of vulnerability and trust. You really have to trust your team. You have limited access to information, so you’re forced to ask questions and really trust the direction that your director is taking you. It’s an amazing process.
How does performance capture compare to doing the old-fashioned voice over work?
I have done some VO with this game, but it’s totally different. Imagine seeing yourself live, performing things on a screen as a character, but it’s you. Every little nuance that you do, every gesture is there. It’s just something magical. It blows me away to see myself on screen.
Published: Nov 16, 2012 11:53 am