Resident Evil's Leon Kennedy Talks All Things Requiem

Nick Apostolides is now a Resident Evil veteran. After stepping into Leon Kennedy's shoes for Resident Evil 2's remake, the actor has portrayed the character across the third and fourth games' remakes and the newly released Resident Evil Requiem.

However, Requiem represents the first time that Apostolides has appeared as the character in a brand new Resident Evil title. Ahead of its release, we sat down with the actor to discuss his love for the franchise, the pressures of playing Leon, and how he came up with some of the character's most memorable jokes.

Returns to Raccoon City as Leon

“I'd say the resurgence started with the release of 7, Biohazard,” Apostolides tells me as we look back on the series. “I think Capcom corrected the course with that game. It went back to the roots of limited survival horror, and to be a part of this new era, which started with 2 for me, it's been a gift.”

About 15 months passed between Apostolides' work on Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Requiem. But despite the relatively short turnaround, the actor has no complaints, as he has long been a huge fan of the franchise. With Requiem, he gets the chance to do something that not many people will ever have: to complete a game in which he is the protagonist – and on his birthday.

“It's been the greatest honor of my life because I've just loved this franchise since almost day one,” he says. “I started back in 1998, and so now to be a part of it and help shape where it's going, well, a character anyway, it means a lot to me.

“I'm going to go home and play it with my little brother the day it comes out. It'll take us a few days to beat it, and my birthday is March 1st. [48 hours after Requiem’s release]so the plan is to beat this game on my birthday, with my little brother.”

Requiem's Leon is the first time Apostolides has gotten to put his personal spin on the character, and it's an interesting project for him. This iteration of Leon is different. He's grizzly and experienced in ways he may not have been in the previous games.

“He was in his 20s in those two games [Resident Evil 2 and 4]. He started getting a lot more confident in 4, but Requiem is about twice his life later, he's almost 50 years old,” Apostolides says. “He's experienced so much in the Resident Evil canon, between the games and the movies, that's all I had to take into account.”

This new version of Leon felt a little closer to home for Apostolides. He was able to draw on his real-life experience to help shape the character, and while he hasn't experienced a zombie apocalypse, he's been through enough to understand.

“Everything had to weigh on him after all this time. All the loss he's suffered had to be put on this character that I've built with Capcom, and he had to be heavy,” he tells me. “I understand in my own life what it's like because I'm almost 42. And things just happen. I wouldn't say I'm a spring chicken anymore because I've seen a lot of things, and I've been through a lot of things, and it takes a toll. So I always had to keep that in mind.”

Resident Evil 4 Leon was simply fun for me because it was a bit easier. It was more like an 80s action movie. I acted out a childhood dream.

With each version of Leon so vastly different, I asked Apostolides if he had a favorite to play, and while he didn't, there were parts of both that he loved.

“I would say Resident Evil 4 Leon was just fun for me because it was a little bit lighter. It was more like an '80s action movie. I was acting out a childhood dream,” he recalls. “I think this new one in Requiem was just more challenging. Of course it's fun. I enjoyed every moment of it. But it was more challenging because I had to think about so much more. We'd never seen an old Leon like this. So I had to come up with a lot of new ideas. How does he move? Is he a little slower? Does he have more pain? Everything aches a little harder on the voice.”

Capcom showed a lot of faith in the actor, especially after his appearance in Resident Evil 2's remake, and so together they helped shape this new iteration of Leon. It was Resident Evil 4 where the relationship between the two really blossomed.

“In 4, they would ask me a lot of line recommendations. If I said, 'Hey, I really think Leon should do this in this scene,' they would incorporate changes into the footage because of my ideas,” he says. “There were some brilliant lines written by the team and also influenced by the location director. But some of them were generic. A lot of Leon's one-liners and zingers, they were generic. And I'm like, 'we can make these really cook.' And so I spit out probably about 50 of them in different scenarios in the game.”

When I ask Apostolides if he can tell me about any of his favorites, he tells me, “I came up with, 'You want to get ugly? Let's get ugly,' when he fights Mendez, 'Tell someone who's joking,' when he shoots Saddler in the face, and 'You talk too much' to Salazar before he shoots him in the face.”

Leon's Grand Requiem Reveal

Leon Kennedy looks at his phone in Resident Evil Requiem.

In the lead-up to Resident Evil Requiem, the game's developers did everything in their power to keep Leon's involvement a secret. They refused to discuss it with me when I interviewed them, a common theme among conversations they had, and despite what felt like a million leaks, they held off on the disclosure until the last minute. Apostolides tells me that while the will-he-won't-he saga was going on, he just wanted to “have a bucket of popcorn.”

“I don't spend a lot of time on social media, but it's impossible not to see it. And it was everywhere and it was fun,” he recalls. “A year ago pictures of older Leon came and I thought, 'How are they even? They haven't even announced the game yet. How do they know we worked on it?”

Although he was clearly the voice of Apostolides in the trailers for Leon, the actor didn't get to confirm it was him until Capcom revealed it, telling me, “I couldn't announce my involvement publicly until February 19 [when the casting was confirmed] . And so I had to still deny everything. I have been congratulated thousands of times online. And I just had no comment. “I know you recognize my voice, but no comment.” It's a little more awkward. I think I dreaded the announcement of Leon.”

I think I dreaded the announcement of Leon.

Ultimately, Leon's reveal came as no surprise, but the outpouring of love (and lust) for the character was a bit more of a shock. Immediately after his reveal, the internet began to thirst for the older version of the character, something Apostolides was well aware of.

“I mean, that's what you get when you portray a very sexualized and handsome character,” he says, laughing. “I could have been cast as an ogre or something, but he's a handsome, charming guy. It's hard not to like him. And so the internet put him in these thirst trap memes. I think it's funny as hell, personally. I've seen some that make me laugh out loud alone.”

Close-up of Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil Requiem

With Resident Evil Requiem being the first game in the series to offer both first-person and third-person perspectives, I ended my chat by asking Apostolides how he planned to play the game.

“When Resident Evil 7 was coming out, I was working with the same production team. And they actually asked me to promise them that the first time I play that game is in VR, because it's the game that was developed for VR, specifically for VR,” he says. “This time they said, 'We strongly recommend that you play Grace in first person and Leon and third,' and I will. I trust the developers on this one. They're brilliant.”