Today, Remedy shared an interview with actor Peter Franzén, the incredible Alan Wake 2 actor who portrayed the fan-favourite Koskela brothers, Jaakko and Ilmo. In the piece, he talks about his approach to both characters and what he hopes players will receive from the game.
Check out the five-minute interview below, along with a full transcript, or watch directly on the Remedy YouTube channel.
For the video, Vida Starčević (Senior Community Manager) was the interviewer, with editing and b-roll by Julius Fondem (Community Manager).
Peter Franzén: I'm always interested in new challenges, and in this game, I was given a role- two roles or three roles, but I'm playing twin brothers in it. So, of course that kind of a challenge is always interesting for an actor. And as an actor, I need challenges all the time, of course, to keep the mill churning inside of me. So that's... that was pretty much the first thing that I got latched on.
[Title screen reads "Peter Franzén. 'Ilmo & Jaakko Koskela'"]
Franzén: I'm Peter Franzén, and in Alan Wake 2, I play Jaakko. They are brothers Jaakko and Ilmo, and also a strange character called Huotari.
[Text on screen reads, "Describe Ilmo & Jaakko in 2 sentences!'"]
Franzén: Two sentences?
Vida Starčević, (off-screen): Three, let's say three?
Franzén: One and a half sentences for each. (Laughs) Yeah, Jaakko and Ilmo, they are twin brothers, and... Ilmo is a very energetic sort of forward- thinking businessman/slash motorcycle enthusiast. And it's not a gang, but it's like a club. And his brother Jaakko, he’s a little bit more laid-back family man. Lets his brother dictate what they're going to do, and he's okay with it. He's a very gentle soul... to a point.
[Text on screen reads, "What is exciting about working on Alan Wake 2?'"]
Franzén: With the characters, I think I've sort of... I don't think I have played characters like that before. The twin brothers, they are like a new thing. Of course, it's, you know, I've played so many things though. So, there is a reminiscent of something, but... the biggest thing that I'm really intrigued in this project is to see those characters in the game and how they collaborate with all the other characters, and in the bigger picture, the game itself and the game's world. So, that's- I'm really, really excited to sit down and sort of get absorbed into that world.
[Text on screen reads, "How do you feel about the Finnish elements in Alan Wake 2?'"]
Franzén: Alan Wake 2 is a wonderful example of how cultures can be presented, and, of course, Finnish culture is not completely just what you see in Alan Wake [2], but there are so many, so many wonderful niblets of Finnish heritage and traditional things and also things that are mythological, which is a big part of our souls here in Finland still. I mean, there are the religions, regular religions, and but then we have our own religion, which is the nature. We have always been in the nature and in this, in Alan Wake 2, there is some of that too. And, of course, there is the melancholy that we have.
[Text on screen reads, "How did you make Ilmo & Jakko feel different?'"]
Franzén: Yeah, in order to make twin brothers different. Played by the same actor is of course. Of course, you change the appearance a little bit and then...that’s one of the key elements for me, at least, to start working with, sort of two characters that are basically the same. And um...of course there, as an actor, you have a little toolbox with you; all the time that you've learned through your career- throughout your career. And of course, you maybe change change the speed of expression; the other one has a little bit more energy and the other one is a little bit more laid back. So that makes, surprisingly, that...in the best circumstances, that makes already a big, big change. Big, big difference between the characters.
[Text on screen reads, "How do you hope players will react to Alan Wake 2?'"]
Franzén: Of course, what we do here is entertainment, and I hope that the person that plays the game is frightened, horrified, terrified... intrigued. Just wants to play the game really, really, until the end, if possible. And I hope that the person will enjoy it and understand the humour in it and search for those little snippets and bits and pieces that are humorous and will just make this game a bigger of an experience for perhaps bigger than anything they've ever played before.
