DEADLINE: Its been four years between the release of bothFinal Fantasy VII Remakeand the recent release ofRebirth.
Can you walk us through the journey of having played Aerith thus far?
Thats why its one of my favorite scenes to date.
Aerith played by Briana White in Final Fantasy VII RebirthSquare Enix
Its the birth of her character and the joining of our personalities for the first time.
I look back on that scene fondly.
So, I really feel like Ive been with Aerith for a lifetime.
Tifa (Britt Baron) and Aerith (Briana White) in Costa del Sol inFinal Fantasy VII RebirthSquare Enix
I think that she represents hope.
I believe that is the core of her character.
Whenever I have hardships in life, I am always able to bounce back, even though its difficult.
Lots of acting but no voice work, and its very technically specific to do this project.
So, I relate to her in that way.
And then there is the more day-to-day, I dont want to say surface level, but simpler way.
Shes very playful, and I really like that key in of interaction with my friends as well.
She and I definitely share that in common, too.
How do you even manage to listen to yourself while youre playing a game as yourself?
A lot of actors cant handle that.
WHITE:There are a lot of people who cant.
I wouldnt say I have that issue.
And I think its even harder to do with acting because thats your entire being.
Its kind of fun.
I absolutely love it.
Shes so playful and fun, but what is your take on Aeriths personality?
Is she too overbearing or not sassy enough?
WHITE:I discovered she was sassy as soon as I got the audition.
And he goes, How much?
to which she responds, Well, that depends on the customer.
InRebirth,she deepens her relationship with all of the other characters.
If I could inject more sass into everything she does, I would.
But sometimes, the voice director has to pull me back a little bit.
DEADLINE: Speaking of restraints, though, what was the most challenging thing to convey forRebirthregarding Aerith?
Is it going to be similar enough to the past?
Or is it going to be different?
DEADLINE: Do you have a favorite scene you recorded versus one you encountered while playing the game yourself?
WHITE:I havent finished playing the game yet.
Im still pretty early on, actually.
The things that Ive heard and seen from other people, they love it too.
So, Im really glad to have been a part of that.
DEADLINE: The Loveless theatrical scene is also popular on the gaming streets.
Did you get to hear the song while you were recording?
WHITE:No [laughs].
We really get the bare bones when we are recording.
They dont bring anything in there that we dont absolutely need so you can give the performance.
And Im thinking to myself, Are they about to make me sing?
Am I ready for that?
I dont think I could handle that.
Id give it my best.
And then it never came back up.
And, of course, its such a beautiful song, and its so emotional.
Of course, Im tearing up and going; I could never have given that performance.
She does an incredible job.
I wouldnt have it any other way, truly.
DEADLINE: Sometimes there are games that are just vibes and fun.
And other times, a video game comes along and defines an era.
FinalFantasy VIIis certainly that.
I thought that was so beautiful.
Its such a real thing.
Its on all sorts of top 10 biggest moments in gaming lists.
So it was like, OK, Im going to take on that legacy?
And she teaches a lot of… her story represents what it means to lose someone you love.
And you have to find a way to move forward through that.
She is fun and playful, even in the face of intense fear.
Thats absolutely something to take inspiration from.
DEADLINE: In what ways do you think you changed your approach playing Aerith inRebirthversusRemake?
I was not sure of the process.
Id never worked with any voice director before.
And then they kind of piece together things like absolute magic, you wouldnt believe.
I have no idea how the final product is going to turn out.
There was a lot of anxiety inRemake.
I dont think that came through in my performance to the voice directors and audio engineers credit.
There are so many brilliantly silly, goofy, fun moments, whichRemakehas too, but I thinkRebirthexpanded that.
And so, I got to really have fun with voice acting inRebirth.
And that suits Aeriths character, I think.
It matches her character arc.
She spends a lot of her life in very difficult situations, in partial captivity even.
The other thing about it is it is really good for breath control.
DEADLINE: OK, wait.
But now I like the idea of Aerith being a Disney princess.
Who should she be friends with?
We need to make this happen.
She always looks on the bright side.
I mean, the connections, theyre totally there.
I think they would be best friends.
