From creator Andrew Dabb, the Netflix series Resident Evil (which hails from the popular media franchise created by Capcom) serves as the third live-action adaptation set in this universe. The show, which takes its backstory and lore from the video games but branches off into its own original continuity, is set over a perspective of dual timelines, one taking place in our present and one set in a semi-distant future.
In 2022, Dr. Albert Wesker (Lance Reddick) and his two daughters, Jade (Tamara Smart) and Billie (Siena Agudong) have recently relocated to a new planned community known as New Raccoon City, a vision established by the mysterious Umbrella Corporation — to which Wesker serves as an executive and researcher publicly tasked with the creation of a new product known as "Joy." In secret, however, Wesker is seeking to engineer a response to the epidemic of something called the "T-virus." Meanwhile, Jade and Billie, suspicious of their father's actual work, start digging into Umbrella's secrets — much to the chagrin of Wesker's boss and company head Evelyn Marcus (Paola Núñez).
In the future timeline of 2036, Jade (Ella Balinska) is on the run from Umbrella, who is seeking her for some nefarious purpose — but she also has to survive dangerous groups of "zeroes," those who have been infected by the T-virus, in order to make it home to her family. However, Jade's situation becomes even more complicated when it's revealed that not only Umbrella, but her sister Billie (Adeline Rudolph) has quite the bone to pick with her too.
Ahead of the show's July 14 premiere, Collider had the opportunity to briefly speak with Reddick about joining the Resident Evil universe in the role of a character with a pretty big legacy. Over the course of the interview, which you can watch above or read below, Reddick explained how he was first cast as Albert Wesker, how he kept in shape in order to learn the fight choreography required for the role, his favorite part about playing all of the different facets of Wesker, and more.
Collider: I would love to go back with you and ask about your history with this show. How familiar were you with the franchise before you signed on?
LANCE REDDICK: I only knew the movies. I didn't even realize that it was based on video games. So I didn't even know that the movies were based on the video games. When it first came to me, the movies were the only thing that were in my head. I had the good fortune of being able to read the first seven episodes, they were written already, before I even met on the project. So what drew me to the show was the character, and the story, and how well it was written.
So basically, they approached you specifically in mind for this role? And then you got a chance to see what their plans were before even saying yes?
REDDICK: No, no, no. So, it came up. I'm still amazed that my agent actually had the first seven episodes already, in retrospect. They did not approach me for the role. I read [the episodes]. Then, I was like, "I want to do this." Then called Netflix, like, "Well, we're seeing a lot of people." My manager's like, "Well, he hasn't auditioned for a series in 20 years. He's not going to do that." So, he called the showrunner. Showrunner was like, "Lance Reddick, great idea. Let me talk to the other producers." Talked to other producers. "Lance Reddick, great idea." So then I ended up meeting with the other producers and the showrunner, and that's how I got the job.
You make the show, honestly. I was pleasantly surprised by how much stunt action you get to perform in this show, some really badass stuff. What was that like to train for? How did that feel to play out on the actual day of filming?
REDDICK: Well, generally, I try to keep in shape, and because I knew where the story was going, I was working out almost every day for the first four months before we even got shooting that stuff. And then, I didn't have a lot, but I had some stunt... We choreographed everything. I had a couple days of choreography before we actually shot. There's a big scene at the restaurant, and then there are two other things, one which I can't really get into because it's spoiler territory. But it was just about staying loose and staying in shape, yeah.
Without going into too much spoiler territory, Wesker is a character who presents initially as one very specific type of man, but then we start to see many different, I would say, facets to his character as the show goes on. What did you enjoy most about getting to play all those different sides of him?
REDDICK: It sounds like the most pretentious thing. What I enjoyed most about playing all those different sides of him was getting to play all those different sides of him. As an actor, you always want to do something different, and that was one of the reasons why I was so drawn to this, is because, well, I haven't played a guy like this before, and I really want to do that. But you're always looking to play something different and unique. So having a character that has so many different facets, it's almost like getting a bunch of different jobs in one job.
Personally, I was really excited to get to see you express so many different sides of this character. I think fans are going to be surprised to see all the different layers to Albert Wesker, as well as the relationship with his daughters, which I think is really something that just is the heart of the show.
REDDICK: I agree.
Resident Evil is currently available to stream on Netflix.