Voice actor Cherami Leigh enjoys ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ experience

Cherami Leigh has come a long way since her early acting days. Leigh, who voices the female version of V in “Cyberpunk 2077,” originally had her sights set on a much different goal — “Barney.”

Leigh’s mother was a dance teacher and one of her students was on “Barney”. So, as a young child, Leigh made it her goal to make it to what she considered the big time.

“I had the understanding that people can be on Barney and that’s like a job,” Leigh said. “That was my young child’s life ambition. I put together a little presentation with construction paper and other bits of creativity to convince my parents why I should be given the opportunity to be an actor. I didn’t tell them my quest was to be on Barney.”

Her parents agreed to let her pursue acting, but with great hesitation. They hoped, Leigh said, that she would grow to dislike acting.

“Every time they put me in an acting class, it only made me love it more, so joke’s on them,” she said.

Leigh became consumed by preparing herself for a hypothetical audition at any time.

“Friends would invite me to sleepovers and I was like ‘No, what happens if I get an audition tomorrow? I’ve got to be ready,’” Leigh said.

Leigh requested to take lessons on things ranging from horseback riding to fencing, all in the name of being more prepared for potential auditions. Eventually, her parents found a way to get her to experience some of childhood’s normal activities.

“My mom told me you’ve got to go to a school dance because what happens if you get cast in a movie and there’s a school dance scene? You won’t know what to do,” Leigh said. “I was like, she’s right. At that point, my parents were like, our child is making all of her decisions based on whether she gets a job. I think it’s around then they realized this wasn’t just a hobby.”

Leigh never made it on Barney, but she gained a thriving career. She’s appeared in numerous video games and animes, including “Sword Art Online,” “Violet Evergarden” and “Fairy Tale.” She also voices the female version of V, the lead character in “Cyberpunk.”

“I did the first demo in 2018 and then didn’t hear anything about it,” Leigh said. “In 2019, I got a call about working on the second demo. Both times, I thought, ‘I’ll only get to do the demo, then they’re going to find an A-list real actor to do this.’”

Even after she received word she was officially cast, she refused to let herself feel comfortable.

“It was months for me before I trusted and believed I was actually going to be in the game,” Leigh said. “I was waiting for that, ‘look, we’ve made a terrible decision.’”

It turns out, Leigh’s fear of being replaced lent itself well to what motivates V in Cyberpunk.

“That level of insecurity and concern that everything could fall apart at any moment, that makes sense for V,” Leigh said. “One of the lines from the audition that stood out to me from day one is V says, ‘I really think I can do this, I just need somebody to give me a shot.’ I connected with that as an actor.”

Cyberpunk’s release has not been without controversy because of performance issues based on what system you’re playing the game on. But Leigh said she has received support for her performance and let herself enjoy what has been one of the year’s most anticipated games.

“I was terrified for the week leading up to the game,” Leigh said. “A couple days before, I said, ‘I’ve got to feel some joy.’ This is what I want to do and what I always wanted to experience. This is an incredible thing and I should be proud and feel joy when I walk through Target and the character I voice is on Rock Star cans and on billboards. I think that’s really cool.”

Contact Lukas Eggen at leggen@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Follow @lukaseggen on Twitter.