HomeMain MenuPress ReleasesJason Isaacs Revealed as Baldur’s Gate 3 Antagonist

Jason Isaacs Revealed as Baldur’s Gate 3 Antagonist

New trailer reveals antagonist Lord Enver Gortash, played by acclaimed actor Jason Isaacs, alongside J.K. Simmons’ General Ketheric Thorm

DUBLIN June 8, 2023 — Today’s Summer Game Fest showcase saw the reveal of a second antagonist for Larian Studios’ highly anticipated upcoming RPG, Baldur’s Gate 3. Lord Enver Gortash, commander of a mechanical army of Steel Watchers and a Lord in the city of Baldur’s Gate, will be played by award-winning actor Jason Isaacs, best known for roles such as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series and Captain Hook in 2003’s Peter Pan.

After the recent disappearance of Duke Ravengard, the city of Baldur’s Gate has turned to Lord Enver Gortash, the up-and-coming designer of the Steel Watchers – magical clockwork warriors created to defend the city. As the newly minted protector of Baldur’s Gate, Gortash stands as one of the most powerful figures within its walls.

As players arrive to the titular city of Baldur’s Gate, they’ll find themselves in the middle of a perilous power struggle, with many factions and powers vying for political control of this complex organism of a city. Isaacs’ acting chops help bring an additional layer of depth to the characters players will meet in Baldur’s Gate – a place where it’s already difficult to distinguish friend from foe – as a major antagonist to be contended with as you venture into the morally gray alleys and docklands of the game’s sprawling city.

“It was a thrill to join the Baldur’s Gate universe, but I fear that the magnificent Lord Enver Gortash is being mischaracterized as a villain,” said Jason Issacs. “In a brutal world of betrayals and butchery, he’s learned to lie better and backstab first. The joy in voicing him – apart from the obvious pleasure in getting to look so glorious – was that the creative team and I got to play loose enough to find ways that he could enjoy the ride and make the players hate him more!”

Isaacs has brought decades of experience in acting the villain into the recording booth, tweaking lines between takes and adding additional depth and flavor to the character of Gortash. Larian teased the reveal on Monday with this clip of J.K. Simmons’ General Ketheric Thorm addressing Gortash (Twitter).

Baldur’s Gate 3 is set to release on PC and PlayStation 5 on Aug. 31, 2023.

About Larian Studios

Larian Studios is an independent RPG developer founded in 1996 in Ghent, Belgium. Over 400 people work between worldwide studios in Ghent, Quebec, Dublin, Guildford, Malaysia and Barcelona. Larian is best known for the Divinity universe, which they introduced to the world with Divine Divinity in 2002.

In 2014, Larian launched Divinity: Original Sin, a classic CRPG that won over 150 awards and nominations. The company released its critically acclaimed sequel Divinity: Original Sin 2 on Sept. 14, 2017, followed by the Definitive Edition in August 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to a 93 Metacritic rating. The Nintendo Switch version released in September 2019 featuring cross-save progression between Nintendo Switch and Steam. Divinity: Original Sin 2 won a BAFTA for Best Multiplayer Game. In October 2020, Larian Studios released the early access version of Baldur’s Gate 3.