Nick Apostolides, famous for portraying Leon in Resident Evil 2 and 4 remake, has his sights set on playing another classic series character – should Capcom ever call.
We now stand at just a little under a month out from when Capcom released its much-beloved reimagining of Resident Evil 4. In our review, we called it “another fantastic remake” as the series rolls on with its string of hits, and this positive sentiment was matched by critics and players alike who instantly fell back in love with the story of Leon S. Kennedy trying to save the president’s daughter from a Spanish cult.
Leon actor Nick Apostolides has now played the character twice in the gams, first in 2019’s equally excellent Resident Evil 2 remake and then of course just recently in the remake of Resident Evil 4. We recently caught up with Nick during his appearance at Insomnia Gaming Festival, where during our interview he got talking about another beloved Resident Evil character he’d potentially love to play one day. As if Leon wasn’t cool enough!
“If they ever do a future Resi game and they brought back Barry Burton,” said Nick, “and let’s say I was like 50 [or] 55 years old, I would want to play Barry Burton one day.
Burton was a member of the same STARS unit that featured franchise mainstays, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, making his debut in 1998’s original Resident Evil game for the PlayStation One. The last time we saw Burton featured in a Resident Evil game was in the 2015 spin-off Revelations 2 where he appeared as a main protagonist; he’s been mostly MIA ever since.
Nick recognises, however, that age might not be on his side yet to play Burton, but that hasn’t stopped his aspirations to someday portray the character in future. “When my voice got a little more growly…” he continued. “Barry Burton is a hero of mine. He’s one of my favourite characters of all time.” You can’t play Barry Burton without paying tribute to his famous Jill Sandwich line, of course, and thankfully Nick seemed eager at the prospect.
Burly Burton
Though Capcom hasn’t shown any sign of what Resident Evil game it intends to remake next, despite Resident Evil 5 being the logical choice as the next in line, I’m hopeful that they’ll consider the first game. They already did it once for the Nintendo Gamecube with a version that’s been ported to near enough every modern console ever since, but it’d be a great opportunity for this new generation of Resident Evil fans to enjoy the game in a new light – and get first-hand experience of what Barry Burton is about.
Burton is definitely one of the most underutilised Resident Evil protagonists for my money, only really popping up here and there as a way to support other series headliners like Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and yes, sometimes even Leon S. Kennedy. I’m not saying Capcom should consider centring an entire game around him. But if Nick Apostolides is keen to take on the role in a future title, I can’t see why he shouldn’t get the chance in a hypothetical remake of the very first Resident Evil title.
