After a childhood spent backstage at the opera, what’s it like to find yourself voicing one of gaming’s most unforgettable heroines?

This episode, ReadyAimFire welcomes Charlotte McBurney, the BAFTA-nominated actor behind Amicia de Rune in A Plague Tale: Innocence and A Plague Tale: Requiem, and young Jill in Final Fantasy XVI. From a whirlwind of a creative upbringing to stepping into roles that challenge heart and soul, Charlotte takes us through her journey so far, with some hilarious anecdotes and revealing insights.

You’ll hear: 

• How Charlotte grew up backstage at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and once ‘kidnapped’ a lollipop lady off the street to perform her own version of The Nutcracker
• How the Requiem script was written with Charlotte in mind, after the devs saw what she could do in the first game
• What Charlotte really thinks about Amicia’s signature slingshot kills
• Why she believes actors who truly love games change the medium from within.

“I feel very, very deeply connected to Amicia. It's my first character that I ever got to play professionally. We sort of grew up together.” Charlotte McBurney

If you’re curious as to how a theatrical family pedigree, late-night dinner debates with Yo-Yo Ma, and sheer creative audacity combine to shape one of gaming’s most unforgettable heroines, this episode is for you.

🧭 Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction to acting: enchanted by the opera stage

00:05:05 – Theatre's timeless influence on gaming

00:06:36 – Voice acting: the craft of amplifying expressions

00:10:12 – Charlotte’s first experience: learning on the job

00:15:44 – The emotional toll of voice acting 

00:17:09 – A script that brought her to tears: A Plague Tale’s incredible writing 

00:21:56 – Surprising similarities: narrative and design in gaming and opera

00:25:44 – Discovering gaming through friendship

00:28:45 – Charlotte’s favourite game scene in A Plague Tale

00:32:30 – Recording Requiem, insights into the process

00:35:20 – Amicia de Rune’s journey ends

00:37:19 – Siblings vs the Inquisition – and rats!

00:39:41 – Why Charlotte loves rats

00:44:28 – The power of character: the bond between Charlotte and Amicia

00:47:29 – Respected in the room: R&D and game development

00:51:27 – The process of performance

00:55:27 – Charlotte’s (surprising!) musical instrument of choice

58:09 – Solo show: The City for Incurable Women

👤 Guest Info:

Charlotte McBurney is known for A Plague Tale: Requiem, A Plague Tale: Innocence, Final Fantasy XVI and podcast series Abridgd... Too Far! She is also part of theatre collective fish in a dress, and is currently appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe in The City for Incurable Women at the Pleasance Courtyard. 

🌐IMDb  📸 Instagram

🔗 Resources & Mentions:

(chronological order of appearance)

• Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Lyric Opera of Chicago
• The Nutcracker 
• Complicité (theatre company)
• Plague Tale series 
• Final Fantasy XVI
• BAFTA 
• The Last of Us
• Neil Druckmann 
• God of War 
• Chris Judge
• Yo-Yo Ma (cellist)
• Anna Karenina 
• Wes Anderson 
• Opera: Libretto 
• Puccini 
• Alien 
• Doom 
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2002 game)
• EGX 
• Edinburgh Fringe 
• The City for Incurable Women (Charlotte’s show at the Edinburgh Fringe)

💬 Quotes:

“I think people who love games should work in games… I mean that's how Plague Tale came about, right? It was basically these guys loved the Last of Us and that was where a lot of the inspiration came for Plague Tale.”

– Charlotte McBurney

“Growing up, being in the opera, where you get your hair and makeup done, you get a fabulous costume and you go on stage and the music is so loud that my teeny tiny body would just vibrate. And once you've heard that, you're like, yeah, I want to do this.”

– Charlotte McBurney

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🎧 Check Out More ReadyAimFire Episodes:

• Episode 1: Devora Wilde on Lae’zel and Performance in Baldur’s Gate 3
• Episode 2: Michael Geary on Warhammer, Magic, and Mushroom Warriors
• Episode 3: Damien Goodwin on directing Returnal, Helldivers 2 and more
• Episode 4: Doug Cockle on D&D love and voicing Geralt in the Witcher 
• Episode 5: Tom McKay & Luke Dale on Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
• Episode 6: Kirsty Gillmore on directing for games including Baldur’s Gate 3
• Episode 7: Hannah Price, Oli Chance, Morgan Rushton & Martin Vaughan on Final Fantasy XVI
• Episode 9: Anthony Howell & Will Porter revisit Alien: Isolation

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