{"id":33189,"date":"2023-05-24T16:03:03","date_gmt":"2023-05-24T14:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1835472"},"modified":"2023-05-25T08:02:32","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T06:02:32","slug":"final-fantasy-16-clive-actor-has-loved-everyones-reactions-to-the-name","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/final-fantasy-16-clive-actor-has-loved-everyones-reactions-to-the-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Final Fantasy 16 Clive actor has \u201cloved everyone\u2019s reactions to the name\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Give Clive a chance, guys. <\/p>

By Rob Leane\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 24 May 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

British actor Ben Starr \u2013 who you might recognise from Netflix\u2019s You<\/a>, Sky\u2019s Jamestown<\/a> or any number of other productions \u2013 is playing the lead hero in Final Fantasy 16<\/a>. And the name of this epic champion that players will guide through an action-packed adventure? That would be Clive.<\/p>\n

Sections of the internet had a bit of a laugh when Starr\u2019s character \u2013 full name Clive Rosfield \u2013 was first named in public. Starr, however, already had a pre-existing relationship with the Final Fantasy series, coming to the project with a lot of love and nostalgia for the games that have come before.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a big Final Fantasy fan,\u201d Starr told RadioTimes.com<\/a> at a preview event in London. \u201cI\u2019ve been playing the games since I was 10, I think. And I think Final Fantasy 8 was my first one ever played, and then obviously, I had to go back and play 7 and 9 and 6.\u201d<\/p>\n

The beauty of Final Fantasy is that each game generally features new characters and stories, making the order of play somewhat unimportant.<\/p>\n

Starr remembers those games as \u201cpushing boundaries\u201d and says: \u201cI think there was a time before Final Fantasy 8 for me, and a time afterwards, because I\u2019d never experienced anything like it. You know, I\u2019d been playing good games on the PlayStation. I\u2019d been playing a lot of Anna Kournikova Smash Court Tennis. But there was nothing quite like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Starr has grown up and landed himself a leading role in FF16. His audition story is \u201cremarkable in how unremarkable it is\u201d.<\/p>\n

Late on a Friday afternoon, he went along to read for a role in an unnamed fantasy RPG. He began performing a smaller part, speaking all of three lines before the director asked him to try reading for a different role. At that point, the character that would go on to become Clive Rosfield was actually on paper as Clint Richmond. A name that Starr thought was \u201cvery funny\u201d.<\/p>

Starr recalls: \u201cI just started to read these lines, and they were very emotional. They were just so vivid, and they told this incredible story. And it really struck a chord with me, maybe some of the stuff I\u2019d gone through. And it just kind of fit like a glove. And I didn\u2019t really think anything of it. I didn\u2019t know that it was Final Fantasy at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember walking out think I did an OK job. And then a week later, I get told I got a part in a game. And it wasn\u2019t until they gave me this big script in advance, and it had Final Fantasy 16 written on the front. And I remember screaming into a pillow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rest is history! A big Final Fantasy fan became the man at the heart of its newest entry, the latest boundary-pushing reinvention from Square Enix, and you can read on to hear more about his journey in the role!<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in a name?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\""Ben\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Ben Starr as Clive in Final Fantasy XVI.<\/span><\/figcaption> Square Enix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

As we mentioned earlier, certain sections of the internet found it funny that the main hero in Final Fantasy 16 has a name as mundane as Clive. We couldn\u2019t help but ask, what is Starr\u2019s take on that situation?<\/p>\n

As Starr graciously told us, \u201cMy take on it is: I\u2019ve loved everyone\u2019s reactions to the name. Because it doesn\u2019t, to a lot of people, especially British people, the name Clive doesn\u2019t necessarily feel very heroic. Because we have certain connotations with that name. Like, Clive sounds a bit, you know, Uncle Clive from down the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019ve recently watched the film Air<\/a>, the one about the Nike Air Jordans, and there\u2019s that line in it, which is, \u2018A shoe is a shoe until my son steps in it\u2019. And I think what this game does brilliantly is, \u2018A name is just a name until Clive stepped into it\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I could never imagine him having any other name. He is Clive Rosfield. Out of context, anything can sound ludicrous but I think he really lives up to this name. And I loved his name to begin with. I was like, \u2018Oh, interesting. It\u2019s not Lightning. It\u2019s not Cloud. It\u2019s Clive\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m so excited that I\u2019ve gotten to build this legacy of this character, who people are just going to know as Clive and go, yeah, \u2018He\u2019s an absolute badass protagonist, I can\u2019t wait to go on that journey with him\u2019. So yeah, a name is just a name until Clive steps into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pre-order #FinalFantasyXVI<\/a> today.And everyday\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/KBkD7Ih4sO<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Ben Starr (@The_Ben_Starr) May 19, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>