Not so many weeks ago the gaming industry was rocked with some good news for a change, as Warhorse Studios announced the upcoming release of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, the sequel to a much-loved and cult-favorite game from 2018. Naturally, fans have been questioning everything from the direction of the story, to the characters and actors involved, as well as the sequel’s features.
Thankfully we were lucky enough to speak to Luke Dale, the charismatic Hans Capon from the first game, and soon to feature in the second!
[This was a written interview so some answers have been edited for clarity and length.]
Luke Dale Can’t Stop Talking About Kingdom Come: Deliverance, its Sequel, and Tattoo Ideas!
For the FandomWire readers who may not be aware of who you are, would you mind explaining that, and also what you do?
I’m Luke Dale, an actor and filmmaker. I’ve been playing Hans Capon [In Kingdom Come: Deliverance] for nearly a decade.
How did you come to feature in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 1?
I was given the opportunity to audition via a self-tape. It was initially to play Henry. My friend helped me shoot the tape, I couldn’t stop laughing at his silly face, maybe this brought an added dimension to the audition, who knows?
After seeing the tape, Dan Vavra was convinced I would make a good Capon, and invited me out to Prague to read a little more for the role. They then offered it in the room. What a day!
Just for my own personal amusement, I hope to see a RuneScape Hans Capon someday. Someone make this happen, please.
How does your approach differ when acting in a video game to that of live action?
One must employ their imagination much more. In a film/TV, you have the luxury of reacting naturally to your environment. With mocap you’re “wading through a lake” but, you’re not. You’re “seeing a vast landscape”, but you’re not. You have to really believe in what’s on the page and bring it to life. I like the challenge of this, it feels more theatrical.
Going back a few years to the first game, how did it feel to see KCD1, and specifically Hans Capon, be so well received by critics and the general audience alike?
KCD did amazingly well for a Kickstarter project! What’s special is seeing the fan base grow exponentially over the last 6 years. This is a true testament to the work Warhorse has done post-release to get the game into an amazing place, but also the longevity and quality the game offers.
As for Hans Capon? I fully expected people to think I was terrible, but that’s just the curse of being an actor, we often presume the worst. It’s definitely been a wonderful surprise to see how many people enjoy the buddy story between Hans and Henry.
Nope, sneaky sneaky!
Plenty of players loved Hans and the complex character arc he had in the first game. Did you have much of a say in the direction the character went?
I don’t want to get in the way of great writing and directing by suggesting lots of ideas. I just try my absolute best to believe every word I say. I would sometimes query certain lines that didn’t feel natural on the tongue, but this was usually because of a translation error, and we’d fix it on the spot.
As a follow-up to that, were you able to improvise with the role?
Not really with Hans, but there have been a few times when I have played villagers/soldiers and have been able to shout expletives to my heart’s content.
And with the first game in mind, do you have a standout moment, mission, or even piece of dialogue?
Cheeky! I can’t say yet.
What’s the most rewarding moment you’ve had regarding the franchise? On a personal level, I mean.
Recording the announcement trailer was very special. 4AM, freezing cold, Kutna Hora (Kuttenberg), huge film crew working their butts off. What an experience that was!
If you were given the opportunity, is there anything you’d like to change for Hans from the first game?
I would say wait for the second game, a lot more happens with the young lord.
The sequel’s announcement was incredibly well received, with rumors swirling beforehand that it was on the way. How long did you have to keep it a secret, and how difficult is it to not tell everyone about all the cool things you’re doing?
Three damned years. I was informed about the project by Warhorse just before the pandemic hit the UK and went into lockdown. It was excruciating not being able to share the news for that long. But the countless trips to the Czech Republic certainly helped.
This is Warhorse we’re talking about, they can do anything.
Were there any differences in how you portrayed the character in the first game compared to the sequel?
I hope the character is richer in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Just by virtue of me personally aging and having a better grasp on life, I’ve channeled some of my own experiences over the last 10 years. In Kingdom Come: Deliverance 1 I was just a boy.
I remember seeing you mentioned motion capture and VO for the first game was used to bring Hans to life. Were there any differences there from the first to the second?
Facial performance capture wasn’t used on the first game, but it was on 2. This is a huge advancement because the actors are first-class, so hopefully this will do wonders for the immersion. You can now see subtleties in people’s performances, in a way that you couldn’t before.
How much time passed from you finishing work on the final DLC for the first game, and then starting up your work for the sequel?
I honestly have no idea! Maybe 3 years? It’s hard to keep track of my trips to Prague, there have been so many! But Warhorse started to work on Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 shortly after the release of the Royal Edition in 2019.
With mocap you’re “wading through a lake” but, you’re not. You’re “seeing a vast landscape”, but you’re not.
Are you able to give us a little snippet of what’s in store for Hans going forward?
Nope, sneaky sneaky!
Hans had some of the best character progression, if not the best arc, in the first game. How do you even begin to approach topping that?
This is Warhorse we’re talking about, they can do anything, but in all seriousness, I really believe that gamers have something to look forward to. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 will be bigger and better… even story-wise.
If you could take Hans Capon from Kingdom Come: Deliverance and put him in any other game at all, what game and why?
Just for my own personal amusement, I hope to see a RuneScape Hans Capon someday. Someone make this happen, please.
Got that tattoo you promised for 30k likes yet? If not, when? We gotta see it.
It’s happening, 100%. The design is in development. I’ll keep you updated.
Screw it, I’m inspired by the fan naming his first born Kunesh…
If this post gets 30k likes… (tough but achievable)
I’ll get a tattoo of the house of Leipa coat of arms crest the next time I’m in Prague🛡️
In celebration of #KingdomComeDeliverance2 ⚔️
Let’s see how this… pic.twitter.com/mTNK7m6qR3
— Luke Dale (@LordHansCapon) May 3, 2024
What’s in store for you, away from Hans, in the future?
Keep traveling the world, and keep making films. I don’t have an actor’s agent, so I have no idea if any more acting work will come my way, but who knows, stranger things have happened.
Lastly, is there anything you never seem to be asked in these interviews, or something you just desperately want to let our readers know about?
I’d like to share my gratitude to Warhorse and the fans of the game. Everyone is incredibly kind and they give me plenty of joy and laughs. What more can a nobleman ask for?
