Tears Of The Kingdom’s Zelda Voice Actress Drew Inspiration From Game Of Thrones, Harry Potter

To discover the voice of Princess Zelda, actress Patricia Summersett looked at strong women in other massive fantasy franchises like Game of Thrones and Harry Potter. She then took “a little bit” from a variety of sources to create the tone you hear in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom–as well as previously in Breath of the Wild and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.

Summersett spoke with Axios about her inspirations for Zelda, noting she researched “women who are very strong, heady but also placed in a royal position.” This led to her pulling some Daenerys Targaryen (as played by Emilia Clarke) from Game of Thrones; a tad of Hermione Granger (as played by Emma Watson) from the Harry Potter film franchise; and even a smidge of Mia Farrow from The Last Unicorn, an animated movie she “grew up with.”

Speaking of growing up, Summersett told Axios that she liked Mario and Duck Hunt more than The Legend of Zelda as a kid. But the actress did play Ocarina of Time in high school.

It was only at the beginning of this month that Summersett was able to confirm she was returning to voice Zelda. The game released May 12, and within three days, Tears of the Kingdom sold over 10 million copies–setting a franchise record.

For more on the Switch exclusive, check out GameSpot’s glowing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review. Or, if you’ve ever wondered which Link is the smelliest, Tears of the Kingdom’s director recently weighed in on the topic.