Summary
With all the video game movie adaptations that now exist, probably one of the largest numbers among them is the Resident Evil series. The Resident Evil universe is in this
funny place where its beloved charismatic zombie-killing characters have seen plenty of screentime in games as well as film and television, the latter ultimately becoming its own thing.
Whether you’re a fan of the films or not, animated or live-action, there’s no denying their entertainment value with over-the-top action sequences and getting to see your favorite characters with all new designs, story direction, and acting. Here are all the actors that have stepped into a Resident Evil character’s shoes.
2007
Resident Evil: Afterlife, Retribution, and The Final Chapter
2010, 2012, 2016
2021
Netflix’s Resident Evil
2022
Albert Wesker would make his live-action movie debut portrayed by Jason O’Mara in Resident Evil: Extinction, the third film of Paul W.S. Anderson’s adaptations. He had a brief part in an Umbrella conference call scene getting updates on Project Alice and was then replaced by actor Shawn Roberts for the rest of the three films in the series.
Roberts' Wesker put the villain’s badass superhuman abilities on full display, looking like Homelander but fighting and dodging bullets like Neo from The Matrix. Albert Wesker’s character more in line with the original 1996 video game’s S.T.A.R.S. storyline came in 2021 from Game of Thrones, Black Sails, and The Umbrella Academy actor Tom Hopper.
In 2022, Netflix released a first-ever live-action TV series for Resident Evil, which focused on Albert Wesker’s family, particularly the lives of his twin daughters Jade and Billie. Here Wesker is a clone played by the late prolific actor Lance Reddick, also well-known for the role of Charon in the John Wick movies and shows like Bosch, Fringe, and The Wire.
2012
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Interestingly enough, 2012 was the year that Ada Wong first appeared in not one but two Resident Evil movies across two different mediums by two different actors, as well as a new video game! For the fifth installment of Paul W.S. Anderson’s RE movie series, Retribution, actress Li Bingbing was added as Ada Wong, who here has her grappling hook gun and red butterfly dress precisely as in 2005’s Resident Evil 4 video game.
Ada would appear in the CG animated film Damnation, voiced by none other than Courtenay Taylor, who reprised her role from the Resident Evil 6 video game released just weeks apart. 2021’s Welcome to Raccoon City also featured a costume-accurate Resident Evil 2 Ada in a post-credits scene with actress Lily Gao in the role, who would then go onto voice the character in 2023’s Resident Evil 4 Remake.
2010
Resident Evil: Vendetta and Death Island
2017, 2023
The formula for the Milla Jovovich-led Resident Evil movies was that each new film introduced more and more main characters from the games. Resident Evil: Afterlife reunited Execution’s Claire Redfield with her brother Chris, and they got to engage in a cool set-piece fight with Wesker. Prison Break and CW Arrowverse star Wentworth Miller got to be the first version of Chris Redfield in cinema.
Redfield’s first appearance in an animated movie was 2017’s Vendetta alongside Leon S. Kennedy and then returned for the next animated outing, Death Island, in 2023. In both films, Chris was voiced by actor Kevin Dorman. Robbie Amell, cousin of Heels and Green Arrow star Stephen Amell, and who both co-star together in Netflix’s Code 8, played Chris Redfield in Welcome to Raccoon City in more traditional S.T.A.R.S. task force attire.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Afterlife, and Retribution
2004, 2010, 2012
Resident Evil: Death Island
2023
Jill Valentine is the OG main character next to Chris, appearing alongside her fellow S.T.A.R.S. memberas a playable protagonist, but she strangely appears in the least amount of films. Sienna Guillory’s portrayal in Resident Evil: Apocalypse and the sequels is the best live-action performance and costuming for the character, giving you Jill’s storyline from the original game and Resident Evil 5’s Wesker mind-controlled Jill.
After the Paul W.S. Anderson movies, Killjoys and Ant-Man and the Wasp actress Hannah John-Kamen would pick up the mantle of Jill Valentine for Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, playing a unique take on the role with a personality that’s different from how Jill is in the games.
Then, in 2023, Jill would finally make her debut in Resident Evil: Death Island, uniting with Chris, Leon, Rebecca, and Claire for an Anvengers-style showdown on Alcatraz, and it would be done by the same voice actress from Resident Evil 3 Remake, Nicole Tompkins.
Resident Evil: Extinction, Afterlife, and The Final Chapter
2007, 2010, 2016
2008
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness and Death Island
2021, 2023
In a reversal of the video games, Claire Redfield would appear first in a live-action Resident Evil movie before her brother Chris. Ali Larter absolutely smashed the role in each film she was in and started lookingmore and more like her video game counterpartas they went along. There was a gap, though, following 2010’s Afterlife, as she didn’t return as Claire until The Final Chapter.
In the animated CG movies, including the Netflix miniseries, Claire Redfield has only been voiced by her main actors from the games. Alyson Court from 1998’s Resident Evil 2 and Code: Veronica voices Claire in Degeneration, featuring an airport location. Stephanie Panisello, the actress for Claire in the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2, reprises the role in Infinite Darkness and Death Island.
And, of course, it wouldn’t be an attempt at adapting the first two games in Welcome to Raccoon City without the presence of Claire Redfield. She’s back in live-action with her red leather jacket and new actress Kaya Scodelario, also the star of The Maze Runner, Crawl, and Netflix’s The Gentlemen. 2021’s live-action Claire was the most accurate regarding her dynamic with Leon and proved another memorable performance.
Resident Evil: Damnation, Vendetta, and Death Island
2012, 2017, 2023
Leon Kennedy is probably Resident Evil’s biggest star because of his excellent himbo personality, corny jokes, and action-hero vibes (since that’s what the games turned into after Resident Evil 4). The live-action movies, however, haven’t shown him as much love.
Victorious and Orphan Black: Echoes star Avan Jogia in Welcome to Raccoon City took the ‘himbo-ness’ too far to the point where Leon seemed incompetent. Johann Urb’s performance in Retribution also didn’t capture the character as effectively, but, hey, they got the RE4 attire going for him.
The animated movie versions are where it’s at for Leon S. Kennedy, especially for action set pieces. The first outing, Resident Evil: Degeneration in 2008, saw original RE4 voice actor Paul Mercier reprising the role.
Resident Evil 2 and 4 Remake voice actor, Nick Apostolides, would star alongside Stephanie Panisello’s Claire Redfield once again in Netflix’s Infinite Darkness episodes. Chief Creative Officer and DM of Critical Roleand master of many voices in games and anime, Matthew Mercer, would play Leon in all the other animated movies.
Resident Evil, Apocalypse, Extinction, Afterlife, Retribution, and The Final Chapter
2002, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2016
Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Extinction, and Retribution
2004, 2007, 2012
2004
Resident Evil: Degeneration, Damnation, Vendetta, and Death Island
2008, 2012, 2012, 2023
2016
Although an original character created for her husband’s series of Resident Evil films, Milla Jovovich’s clone protagonist Alice absolutely deserves to land here, as she’s an iconic Resident Evil main character in her own right.
S.T.A.R.S. member Barry Burton received his live-action debut in Retribution alongside Ada and Leon and was played by TV’s The Strain, Dark Angel, and Lost actor Kevin Durand. Meanwhile, the least significant S.T.A.R.S. teammate, Richard Aiken, made a surprise debut in Welcome to Raccoon City with actor Chad Rook, best known for shows like Siren, Timeless, and Joe Pickett.
Rebecca Chambers and Ingrid Hunnigan have only made appearances in the animated movies, Erin Cahill voicing the former and Salli Saffioti the latter (the same voice actress from Resident Evil 4 and 6).Jill’s sidekick in Resident Evil 3, Carlos Oliveira was front and center in the plot of Apocalypse and Extinction and then returned as a clone in 2012’s Retribution, all versions played by Oded Fehr.
While Resident Evil: Apocalypse featured the main antagonist of the third game, Nemesis, with chillingly accurate creature prosthetics, 2021’s Welcome to Raccoon City went with William Birkinas the faithful villain from the games. Birkin was played by Arrowverse and Band of Brothers actor Neal McDonough, whose virus transformation creature effects were also well-executed.
