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Neil Newbon, the actor behind Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3, shares his thoughts on who he’d play in a hypothetical Final Fantasy 8 remake — and it’s not Squall. No, Newbon would much prefer to play Seifer, as he feels he’d be much more «interesting» to explore.
This comes from Newbon’s chat with Ginx TV, which airs this Sunday evening. In the interview, Newbon reveals that Final Fantasy 8 is his personal favourite Final Fantasy game, and he has a lot of thoughts on who he’d play in a potential remake of the classic.
Neil Newbon Would Love To Play Seifer From Final Fantasy 8
«Seifer, he wants to be appreciated,» explains Newbon. «When you come back to all of it, why he’s such a bully and why he’s so aggressive, you go back to the core value of the character — he just wants to be loved and respected and taken in. Which is very common in many characters, but it’s an interesting thread to follow — because then he’s not a ‘villain’.»
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Don’t get your hopes up for a remake, however. Both the directors for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 8 itself didn’t sound overly enthused about it when it was discussed earlier this year.
He continues, diving into how he approaches playing less-than-virtuous characters. «I don’t play villains. I play people that are sometimes morally questionable,» he explains. «You have to love them and you have to play them in a way where you’re honouring their story, you can’t judge them for it.
«Seifer is a very interesting character because it comes from such a deep place of insecurity and he does all these things trying to prove himself, and does the wrong thing, for the right reason — and ultimately he’s the one that gets punished.»
As for Squall, he does see the potential there, but ultimately feels that there would be less for him to work with — he’s too much of a Romeo.
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«Nobody wants to be Romeo. Romeo is a hard role,» says Newbon. «I actually did Romeo & Juliet, I played Tybalt. […] But I have to say, I did not envy Paul [Reddy, actor] who was playing Romeo, because it’s a tough role because you’ve got to be the ultimate young lover, and there’s not a huge amount of room to play with that character I feel. Whereas, with Mercutio and Tybalt, there’s a lot of stuff you can play with.»
Neil Newbon’s full interview will air on Ginx TV this Sunday on Freeview channel 282 and Sky Glass channel 419. It will also be available through the Ginx TV website via a Patreon subscription.
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Final Fantasy 8
Final Fantasy 8 was first launched in 1999 for the original PlayStation. It follows Squall Leonhart as he bands together with a party of characters to defeat a time-travelling sorceress intent on compressing time itself.
