The voice behind Princess Zelda discusses the direction and expectations, or lackthereof, she was given during her audition.
Patricia Summersett has been the English voice of Princess Zelda since the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 2017. Now, she’s opening up about the audition process, the direction she was given by Nintendo, and more.
Summersett Was Given ‘Bleached Script’ Ahead of Casting
In an interview with IGN, Patricia Summersett explained that she was given a bleached script when first auditioning for the role. This means that she was given limited information about the role she was auditioning for and didn’t actually know she was attempting to provide the voice for one of gaming’s most iconic characters.
Summersett was given the description of Zelda as a younger teenage princess who is wise beyond her years. She was also told that the character had the weight of the world thrust upon her.
“Those were key things I’d gone into when I looked at the script, when I started to play around with my voice and decide what to do for that particular character,” she said.
Additionally, Summersett reveals that she’d also tried out for other roles in the game, one of which ended up being Urbosa.
Summersett Views Her Zelda Accent As Hylian
As for Zelda having a British accent, Summersett revealed that it was not a note from Nintendo. Rather, it was a choice she made on her own.
“I schooled in London and so I thought something that sounds a little bit RP would make it heightened and put it into that kind of class system I was imagining for royalty. So I did that,” she said. “It’s a little more comfortable to say this is a Hylian accent versus just a particular version of a UK accent.”
Link and Zelda are coming to the big screen for the first time ever in 2027. Check out the latest on the Legend of Zelda movie at this link.
How do you feel about the current voice of Princess Zelda in the video games? What direction would you like Nintendo to take the franchise in moving forward? Sound off in our official Discord server. Also, don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
