One of the dual protagonists of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the shinobi Naoe, was played by an actor brand new to video games. Masumi Tsunoda, who stylizes her name as MASUMI, had done film and television before taking on the role of Ubisoft’s latest assassin.

She spoke to Game Rant ahead of Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ release about the new experience of acting in a video game, her connection with Naoe, and her hopes for future game roles. The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.

MASUMI’s Game Debut

Though she has experience in film and television, MASUMI hadn’t worked as an actor in games before Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Naoe was also the longest she’d ever spent with a particular character, and experiences like motion capture were totally new to her. The game was both a learning experience and a dream come true.

Q: Were you familiar with Assassin’s Creed before taking the role?

A: No, actually, I was not aware at all because I don’t play video games.

Q: What was it like learning about this franchise through acting in it?

A: I think it was quite overwhelming, maybe, and I also don’t think I really understood what it meant to be an assassin or to be working for a big video game company at first. I was just really excited because the story was about Japan and the Japanese character, and I just wanted to do a great job on it and give it my all. There were so many new things about it too, so I think it was just focusing on my work.

Q: What was the casting process like?

A: The casting process was kind of interesting because I received the audition for a role–I don’t think she was called Naoe, it was a different name. I went for the audition, I connected with the character right away, and I thought I did a pretty good job. I was happy with what I turned in, but I didn’t hear back. I think there was a long time that passed, like six months or something. Then they sent me the same audition, and at the time, I declined it because I was really happy with my first audition. So I said, ‘You know, I’m going to stand by what I turned in first.’ I declined it, and I thought I had no chance at it anymore. After that, maybe three, four months went by, and all of a sudden, I got a call back for it. I was really shocked because I didn’t think I was going to get a call back for it

There were a lot of people on the call back–maybe, I don’t know, eight people watching the audition–and it was really nerve-wracking. It was maybe an hour and a half in total, and then I heard that I got the audition. This was like two years ago now.

Q: So this is your first video game, right? How did that experience compare to working on, for example, Naruto: Climbing Silver?

A: Oh, very different because Naruto was with friends. It was much more casual, just creating something fun with friends, was the vibe. I mean, this one was, first of all, very long. You know, I’ve been playing Naoe for two years now, and I’ve never done anything that long before. I’ve never done voiceover. I have never done mocap. There were so many new things to explore and learn on this job, which was amazing.

Q: What did you have to really adjust to for acting in a video game?

A: I would say, as you probably know, mocap studios are just vast rooms. It didn’t have doors and it didn’t have all these props. Because I come from movies and TV, I think I knew it, but I didn’t really understand it until I started acting in mocap suits. There were a few times when I had to touch someone, but in reality, I couldn’t because there were these cameras in front of us. We have to be spaced out, but then I need to be physically in contact. In my mind, I had to create such big emotions and imagination, so those obstacles didn’t get in the way of my performance. That was challenging, and sometimes I would have to ask, like, ‘I know that there is a door that I have to go through, but is this door heavy? Is it light? How tall is it?’ There are all of these detailed questions I had to ask to really understand because I didn’t actually have a door to play off of. For all those detailed moments, I had to talk with the directors and really collaborate and work together to make it real for all of us. That was a very interesting and challenging aspect.

Forming a Connection with Naoe

Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ associate narrative director Brooke Davies had high praise for MASUMI’s performance as Naoe, but for MASUMI, the character came to her naturally. Part of that is her love of nuanced but strong women characters, but a larger part came down to an immediate connection she felt with the shinobi.

Q: What drew you to Naoe? You said you felt a connection?

A: Yeah, yeah. I think Naoe is a straight shooter. She doesn’t BS, she’s very honest, she’s got this passion for her family, and she knows exactly what she thinks is right. She knows her value, and she knows herself very well. Sometimes that could almost become blinding because she’s just kind of going after the thing that she believes, and until she goes and does it, she doesn’t realize the repercussions of it or the consequences of making that choice. I feel like I resonate in that way very much. Also, I think about the themes that Naoe goes through with revenge and forgiveness are, you know, the two themes that stick out for me through her journey. That was something that I thought about a lot as well. I used to be a singer/songwriter, and I wrote a song called “Sinking Boat,” which is about the whole idea of forgiveness. When I read her script, it really spoke to me a lot, in many different ways.

Q: What inspired your performances?

A: I feel like I understood her right away, honestly, and in that way, I was very lucky. I was very lucky that I was able to connect with her right away through all the brilliant writings in the stories that I was able to read through. I would also say that I wanted Naoe to be very tough, but also vulnerable because that’s of big importance to me. Every time I play a strong female character, she also has to have vulnerability with her as well…I think Naoe is a straight shooter. She doesn’t BS, she’s very honest, she’s got this passion for her family, and she knows exactly what she thinks is right. She knows her value, and she knows herself very well

Q: When we spoke with Ubisoft about your casting, associate narrative director Brooke Davies highlighted your emotional expression, core optimism, and naivete, intermixed with conflict and a push for change. Can you talk a bit about how you see the mindset of Naoe, and how you stepped into her shoes?

A: I want to say that, first of all, I think it was a very challenging setting to be playing it. Because this is the Sengoku Era, war is constantly there, and Naoe is going through tremendous loss, pain, and conflict constantly. It was something that I’ve always obviously learned and heard from my grandparents, who went to war and things like that too. Part of it was talking to my father, who went through the repercussions of war, and hearing about it that way from him. It’s also considering it and really sitting with what it would be like to go through that period of seeing people you love suffer while going through so much loss.

I think it was just a lot of time spent immersing myself and Naoe as an assassin because that’s what gives her the power to become an even better assassin. That’s what I would say. I spent a lot of time on that, which was challenging at times, but also very rewarding.

Working with Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Other Lead Actor

Naoe is just one of the two protagonists in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, a staple of the Ubisoft Quebec entries into the franchise. While the characters started with tension, MASUMI became fast friends with Tongayi Chirisa, the actor behind the first historical figure to be a protagonist in Assassin’s Creed history.

Q: Tongayi Chirisa is playing Yasuke. Did you work directly with him? And if so, what was your dynamic like?

A: Yeah, I got to do cinematics with him, and let’s see the first time…the last callback I had actually was with the scene with Tongayi’s character, although the name was not Yasuke at the time. I created a lot around his character. When I actually met him, after I booked the job, he was exactly how I thought he was going to be–these warm brotherly vibes. We got along right away. I would say my friendship with Tongayi is one of the highlights of this video game because I gained such a gift of a lifetime friend. Yeah, working with him was always a joy. You know, it was so easy. I’m really glad that I was working with him throughout this project.

Q: What did you think of his performance?

A: He’s an amazing actor. He’s very connected to his emotions. He’s always talking about how he can make it better, always joking at the same time, and making the work time very easy because eight hours of cinematic with mocap can get pretty tiring, right? The headgear is kind of heavy, and you have to get used to it. All the scenes that we’re playing are very emotionally heightened. Having worked with him–he’s just so professional, and with so much experience, I felt like I learned a lot from him.

Q: What about the characters’ dynamics with one another? Naoe and Yasuke, what is that like?

A: Our dynamic as characters is interesting because, in the beginning, Yasuke basically invades my hometown of Iga. He is not somebody that I consider a friend, and we have our whole journey that eventually leads to us working together. I really enjoy that story because we have a lot of principles and values, but we start at completely opposite ends. When we come together, it’s just such a beautiful story behind that, which I hope you’ll get to see. The dynamic is really interesting because he’s this big samurai with this armor, and he can never hide anywhere. Naoe’s character is always in the shadows, and she’s very light-footed and very quiet. And that sort of dynamic is interesting coming together. It just kind of bleeds into our characters with the way it was written too. I think it’s so contrasting, but then we also share values that make the story interesting.

Looking to the Future

While Assassin’s Creed Shadows may have been MASUMI’s first foray into acting in video games, she’s hopeful it won’t be her last. As long as she gets to explore the layers of human experience in a vulnerable but bold character, she’s excited to continue working in the medium.

Q: Do you think playing more video game characters is something in your future?

A: I would love to! I felt like I manifested this because I always wanted to be a video game character. When this came to me, it was like a dream come true. I feel like I already have more experience now, obviously, because before I didn’t have any experience. Yeah, I think it would be really fun if I got to play it again.

Q: Do you have any dream roles, either like specific characters that you are aware of, or just a type of character that you would love to play?

A: Yeah, I think I would always like to play a character who is fighting for something, you know, whatever that is. I’m really attracted to a character who has to go through all the internal fights and go through their own shadows in order to conquer something bigger than themselves. That’s something that I’m very attracted to. It doesn’t have to be a super strong assassin or anything like that, but some character that I can play the layers of human emotion. That would be really cool.

Q: Lastly, is there anything else about Assassin’s Creed Shadows, or your experience working on it that you would like to add?

A: I would just like to say that the visuals are gorgeous, but the story is also just as equally or even more brilliant and gorgeous. I feel so honored that I got to play those stories, and I really can’t wait for you to experience that for yourselves.

[END]

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Released

March 20, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language