Far Cry 6’s Giancarlo Esposito: It’s ‘Important’ Games Reflect Real-World Politics

In an interview with the BBC Sounds Press X to Continue podcast, Giancarlo Esposito spoke about how it’s “important,” for games to reflect real world-politics.

Esposito said in the podcast that he “loved how [Far Cry 6] reflected the mirror of our world politically, personally, and in such a human way”. The Breaking Bad actor was unfamiliar with the world of gaming before his role as Anton Castillo. But he was apparently impressed by the game’s vision. Esposito was drawn to the duality of Castillo’s character, believing even “villains are human beings.”

Credit: Ubisoft

Esposito also thinks that anchoring fictional worlds in real-world issues is important. “If you’re not making a game that doesn’t reflect some of what the world is going through right now, then there’s no real relationship to you,” he said in the interview. The actor seems to have gained a strong appreciation for games through his role as Castillo. He cited the interactive aspect, and the ability to make change in the world as something that’s more compelling as a story device than film or television occasionally. 

The actor also apparently would like to see more of his character in Breaking Bad, Gustavo Fring, in a video game if he had the opportunity. “We don’t know so much about him,” says Esposito. “In Far Cry we learn a lot about Anton [… but] with Gustavo Fring, he’s a bit of an enigma.”

ubisoft and politics

There’s an amount of irony to Esposito discussing politics in games being important. Far Cry 6 is set in the fictional locale of Yara, a non-existent Caribbean island. However, it is very obviously based on Cuba. Except, according to the narrative director, it isn’t. Ubisoft has a long history of denying their games contain any kind of politics. Apparently Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, a game set in literally Washington DC, also isn’t political. We all know better by now than listening to what Ubisoft has to say. Their games are clearly political, and we don’t need Esposito to remind us.

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Featured Image Credit: Ubisoft