The Witcher 3 voice actor changed CD Projekt Red's emotionless Geralt direction

Doug Cockle said he rejected idea of portraying Geralt as completely emotionless in The Witcher 3 Photo: Nintendo Doug Cockle, the voice actor behind Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher games, has revealed that CD Projekt Red initially wanted the character portrayed with almost no visible emotion in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Speaking to Tom's Guide, Cockle recalled receiving repeated instructions from the development team to suppress Geralt's emotions. The actor said he understood the intended characterisation but disagreed with portraying the Witcher as entirely emotionless. 'The most frequent note I had,' Cockle recalled, 'was, 'No emotion, Doug. No emotion. Flatten him out.'' Cockle said he 'never believed' Geralt 'had no emotion', arguing that a completely emotionless protagonist would make it difficult for players to relate to him. 'A character with no emotions at all, how can we, as human beings, relate to that? We're not emotionless creatures.' The actor also explained that his approach was influenced by his understanding of storytelling and acting. 'We deal in emotions,' Cockle said. 'That's a big part of telling the story.' He instead portrayed Geralt as someone who experiences emotions but deliberately suppresses them when making decisions. Cockle described this as a 'dichotomy in himself', allowing Geralt to retain his restrained personality without becoming completely detached. 'He's an emotional being, he does have emotions, but he tries very hard to not let them dictate the actions that he takes.' Cockle pointed to Geralt's relationship with his adopted daughter Ciri as evidence of the character's emotional capacity. Geralt repeatedly makes decisions designed to protect her throughout The Witcher 3. 'If he had no emotions,' Cockle said, 'he wouldn't make those choices.' According to Cockle, CD Projekt Red eventually became more receptive to his interpretation as the series progressed. 'As the series of games went on, the writers became more confident in the idea that he can be an emotional being and still be a little bit of a machine.'