Q&A with Nadia Verrucci

Our Admin Col_96 and several Assassin's Creed Community Members had the opportunity to ask Nadia Verrucci questions on her Assassin's Creed experience. (Voice of Juno, Teodora Cobntano and Dilara in Assassin's Creed)

Col: Hey Nadia, thanks for joining us today! Before we get started with the Q&A, could you tell us a bit about your work for Assassin’s Creed?

Nadia: My work with Assassin's Creed has been very fun!  I went in to audition for Sister Teodora, and then I didn't hear back for quite awhile so it was a really nice surprise when I landed the role.  I thought an Assassin/Nun/Brothel Owner was a pretty kick-ass part!  Somehow, that role segued into voicing Juno...I can't remember an actual audition for that, so I'm not sure if I went in or if it was just offered.  I have a terrible memory!  And of course, playing Juno has been so fun, I love that people have such different opinions and responses to her character.

Col: Juno was first introduced in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, when she spoke with Desmond Miles. Since then, she has appeared in nearly every Assassin’s Creed Game. What do you like about playing Juno? What attracted you to her?

Nadia: I love that Juno is a complicated character. I know that she's a main villain in the series but she's not a cardboard cutout baddie.  She's definitely a manipulator - she has a goal and she'll do what she needs to do to achieve it.  But what she went through with Aita allowed us to see a different side of her, which I think makes her so much more interesting to watch and portray. 

Col: How much editing is required to make Juno’s voice sound the way it does?

Nadia: To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what they do in the studio once I'm done voicing.  As far as I can tell, there's an echo added to varying degrees and (in later games) whatever effects they need to make her voice sound like it's coming through the wires/equipment.  But it definitely sounds like my own voice underneath all that!

Col: How many of the Assassin’s Creed Games have you played?

Nadia: I've watched a lot of the cutscenes, and I've even watched some videos of other people making their way through various games, but I've never actually played one the games myself!  

Col: Did you see the Assassin’s Creed Movie. If so, what did you think of it?

Nadia: Oh boy, everyone asks me that question and honestly, I felt a bit lukewarm about it.  I thought it started off quite interestingly, but there was a "glossing over" of characters and storyline that I didn't enjoy.  The look of the movie was great, though; the action and parkour was pretty amazing. 

Col: Juno was recently revealed on the Cover of Assassin’s Creed: Uprising #6. Have you read any of the Titan Comics?

Nadia: Someone else mentioned that to me recently so of course I went online to check it out!  It's a pretty nice cover, I quite liked it.  I've never been into comic books in general, but I think I'm actually going to pick a few up and give them a try; I love to read and having recently met many artists at the Utica Comicon, I have a new appreciation for the work that goes into creating them. So get back to me in a few months and I'll tell you what I thought of them!

Community Questions

Claudio Canfora:  What is your opinion of the evolution of Juno through the differents games and other media platforms?

Nadia: I'm not sure where Juno has appeared on other media platforms, other than perhaps the comics.  As far as I know she doesn't appear in any of the short films, but never having seen them I'm not 100% sure.  As for her evolution throughout the games, I feel like she was given a really great back story that not only helped make the FC storyline clear, but allowed her to be a nicely fleshed out character. She has been relegated to The Grey to try to regain strength, so now I'm just hoping she can break out and take over the world!!  ;)

Pan Demonium: How do you prepare for your voice acting role? Do you play the games or just watch gameplay, footage etc?

Nadia: When I go into the studio there's only the text to work off of.  I can't remember every game situation, but I think there have been times when I received the script in advance and instances when I didn't, but in the latter case it would've been just to record a few lines.  Oftentimes while I'm recording they'll do what's called "performance capture", which is like motion capture but just for your face, so they'll use that later to help create Juno’s scenes.  From one game to the next it can quite awhile, so I just go back to review where we left off in terms of her storyline, so that I can get back into the swing of it.

Sorrosyss: Did anything directly inspire your voice for Juno?

Nadia:  I didn't really have any kind of reference point for Juno before I started voicing her, so I really went off of her text at the beginning.  And of course, the writers and voice directors have input, too!  I felt like the spirit of her character came pretty easily, I just played around with the best way to place my voice. I ended up pitching a bit lower, since I felt that sounded more grounded and commanding, and smoothed it out a bit for a more mysterious and hypnotic feel.  I hope that comes across!

Special Thanks to Nadia for taking part in the Q+A, and to everyone who sent in a question.

You can find Nadia on:

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