“The eclectic cast of characters is one of the defining parts of Far Cry 3, so we knew for Far Cry 4 that we wanted to create a whole new cast of wild personalities.
Vaas was the ‘poster boy’ for Far Cry 3 and its brand of insanity and we were asked by company very early on ‘who will be the next Vaas?’ This was a huge challenge, and the pressure of our previous success was a big part of what led to Pagan Min.
Creating a memorable character doesn’t just happen overnight or from just one person. It starts with a short sentence. Pagan Min was something like an opium warlord who moves into a weak country, takes over, and calls himself the King. But this is just the start. From there we start investigating his character in more depth: his visual appearance, his personality traits, his motivations, and his backstory. The ultimate goal is to create the materials we need to start looking for the right actor.
When we cast for a character we want to find an actor that will bring themselves into the role and help to define the character. We don’t tell the actors exactly who this character is, or what his or her mannerisms should be, we look to the actor to bring the character to life. When we find the right actor, we go back to the biography of the character and rework the motivations and defining moments to support the performance given by the actor.”
— Mark Thompson, Narrative Director,Far Cry 4