Samantha Béart talks Karlach, Baldur's Gate III, and upcoming projects at Gamescom 2025

Actor Samantha Béart made their Gamescom debut this year, bringing fans closer to Karlach from Baldur's Gate III and giving a glimpse of her upcoming roles in Absolum and Fading Echo.

"It's my first Gamescom, and I apologise to the German people and to the international community," Béart joked, reflecting on the scale of the event compared to other conventions. "I've just come back from San Diego Comic-Con, and this dwarfs it, about three times over."

Béart shared insights on their work in Absolum, an upcoming side-scrolling beat-'em-up by Dotemu and Supermonks, describing one of the playable characters, Cider: "They have a telescopic arm, and they like punching wrongdoers... very light, and not so full of trauma." They also highlighted their work in the indie puzzle game Fading Echo, which features TTRPG veterans like Matt Mercer and Laura Bailey: "My character has gravity-defying blue hair, and she has a tendency to turn into water when she's solving puzzles... It's anime-based. It's really cute."

On their approach to acting in video games, Béart emphasized the importance of understanding a character's place in the larger story: "I will give a better performance if I know, like, why I'm doing stuff... specificity is the soul of narrative." Their experience as a literature student, they said, gives them perspective on collaborative storytelling in games: "Games are the most collaborative format... It's about seeing where you fit in as a chess piece."

Béart also reflected on the enduring popularity of Karlach and Baldur's Gate III, which recently celebrated its two-year anniversary. "It's been unrelenting... luckily the fans are wonderful people. I get to meet them en masse at conventions and I adore that exchange." They noted on the game's replayability and depth: "There's still bits people haven't discovered.."

You can watch the full interview below.