Andrew Wincott’s BAFTA award winning performance as Raphael, one of Baldur’s Gate 3’s most entertaining villains, was one of the RPG’s many highlights. He also famously gave us one of the game’s most memorable musical numbers when he sang his own boss theme at the end of the House of Hope dungeon. It turns out, though, that this performance also gave him the wrong impression of what the game was all about.
Chatting to Larian about the making of the House of Hope, writing director Adam Smith shared an anecdote about meeting Wincott in person for the first time. Smith was showing him the YouTube video of his musical number, which at the time already had a million views. “He said, ‘My god, are the other actors’ songs as popular?’ Then he said, ‘Well, was it not a musical?’ He wasn’t joking; he genuinely thought it was a musical. He’s fantastic.”
This was also Wincott’s first time singing on the job. His casting agency had told Larian he could sing, when he actually told the agency he probably couldn’t. Obviously it worked out in the end, with Raphael’s Final Act quickly becoming a fan favourite. For the number, Wincott shares the song with Mariya Anastasova, who performed several of BG3’s songs, including the hauntingly beautiful Down by the River.
It turns out that both the House of Hope and Raphael went through a lot of changes during development. At one point, Raphael was known as the Monitor and was a lot more active, constantly spying on the party. Players would have also been able to take control of the house and fly it across the Nine Hells.
While I’d be very down for Larian adapting BG3 into a musical, the studio has bid farewell to the Forgotten Realms for good. It’s gearing up for two new RPGs instead, which are probably going to be massive. They’re still some ways off, however, but in the meantime why not give my interview with Smith and CEO Swen Vincke about the past, present and future of Larian a read?