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Becoming Amicia – Charlotte McBurney on A Plague Tale, Final Fantasy and more
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
Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to:
- Follow the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
- Subscribe on YouTube for full episodes and clips
- Leave a review and let us know who you want featured next!
🎧 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
🔗 Listen & Subscribe:
🎧 Spotify: https://readyaimfire.tv/spotify
🍏 Apple Podcasts: https://readyaimfire.tv/apple
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReadyAimFireStudio
🌍 Website & Email Sign-Up: https://readyaimfire.tv
📱 Follow ReadyAimFire:Instagram: @readyaimfirestudio
TikTok: @readyaimfirestudio
Twitter/X: @rdymfr
LinkedIn: ReadyAimFire
Bluesky: readyaimfire.bsky.social
New episodes drop every other week.
Subscribe now and rediscover the games you love.
Listen to ReadyAimFire
Copyright 2025 ReadyAimFire
View all episodes
By ReadyAimFireAfter 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
Enjoyed the episode? Don’t forget to:
- Follow the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
- Subscribe on YouTube for full episodes and clips
- Leave a review and let us know who you want featured next!
🎧 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
🔗 Listen & Subscribe:
🎧 Spotify: https://readyaimfire.tv/spotify
🍏 Apple Podcasts: https://readyaimfire.tv/apple
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReadyAimFireStudio
🌍 Website & Email Sign-Up: https://readyaimfire.tv
📱 Follow ReadyAimFire:Instagram: @readyaimfirestudio
TikTok: @readyaimfirestudio
Twitter/X: @rdymfr
LinkedIn: ReadyAimFire
Bluesky: readyaimfire.bsky.social
New episodes drop every other week.
Subscribe now and rediscover the games you love.
Listen to ReadyAimFire
Copyright 2025 ReadyAimFire