Over the past few days, we’ve had a lengthy conversation with Danielle Bisutti, the actress who portrays Freya in the hit PlayStation 4 game God of War. She had a lot to say about her work on the game, so we broke it down into a series of specials so we didn’t miss any detail.
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Today, she talked about director Cory Barlog, and his devotion to the material. “Cory is an epic leader of monumental proportions. His meta-mind is a vast ocean of knowledge, his fatherlike demeanor is kind, open-hearted, grounded, his dedication steadfast, his delivery uber focused and nurturing. He has a gentle yet very direct way about him that’s so refreshing to experience as an actor. I (we, the cast) always felt safe on set to be led in the right direction, to explore, to be validated in our choices and to be guided in a way that felt like a true collaboration on equal footing at all times, even though his understanding of the story, Norse Mythology and the mammoth-sized pantheon of God of War was far greater than my mind could comprehend at the time (or ever).”
She also refreshed Barlog’s history with the franchise. “As you know, Cory has been with the God of War franchise from nearly the genesis and has by leaps and bounds deepened the value of Kratos’ journey in this most groundbreaking PS4 rendition with the addition of Atreus, Freya and Baldur- the cautionary tale of parenting and how that choice changes the course of one’s life dramatically.
“Cory was much like a shepherd guiding his sheep, at times he’d steer the rod firmly changing course of direction, other times he’d offer a more gentle guiding hand adding nuance and insight and then there were times he’d just allow us to roam wild and free in the well-laid-out fertile fields we were all cultivating with our collective creativity. Cory offered his direction with firm resolve because he knew exactly what he wanted but he’s wasn’t so immovable to not allow space for the uncharted magic that happens in the moment when you don’t have every little thing planned. Those happy ‘mistakes’ that become the unforeseen gifts! He planted his kernels of wisdom so effortlessly and loving you’d never feel like you were off the right track which helps bolster the confidence an actor needs to take big risks. And when it came to the telling of this tale, we all took BIG RISKS. Everyone at Sony Santa Monica Studios did.:”
She concluded, “Plus Cory’s just a super cool nerd, with a wicked whip-smart sense of humor and fantastical beard so you just want to be his friend. And that’s what it felt like every time coming back to the Sony Santa Monica Stages all those four years, returning to a room full of friends you could geek out with and get paid to do so.”
In the next part of our interview, we’ll be talking with Danielle about her work with Christopher Judge and Jeremy Davies, along with the rest of the cast. This conversation’s just getting started!
God of War is available now for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro. Don’t miss it.
