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The Witcher's Doug Cockle Reveals How he Almost Lost Iconic Geralt Role

The voice behind Geralt of Rivia gets personal about performance pressure, why filming Alan Wake 2 was “weird," and how he landed a role in Baldur’s Gate 3

London, May 29th 2025 – In the latest episode of the ReadyAimFire Podcast, hosts Kezia Burrows and Tom Stacey sit down with gaming royalty Doug Cockle, the voice of Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher series, to discuss what’s next for Geralt, performance capture mishaps, and the identity crisis actors face.

Listen to the podcast HERE

Watch Doug’s episode HERE

It’s hard to imagine what The Witcher franchise would sound like today without Geralt’s brooding tone; however, Cockle opened up about how his career-defining role was almost brought to an end after CD Projekt Red started work on The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. “Between Witcher 1 and Witcher 2, CD Projekt Red decided to change things up…most of the characters were recast including Geralt…. I called them and said, ‘Hey, I’d like to throw my hat in the ring again.' That call changed my career.” He goes on to describe some of the stress and fear of acting, and the feeling that even with hit roles, you could easily be replaced, but went on to share that after 20 years, Geralt really feels like a “part of him” now.

Watch Devora Wilde talk all things Lae’zel in episode 1 - HERE

During the episode,Cockle goes on to share stories on how fellow actor Neil Newbon (Astarion) helped him land Baldur’s Gate 3, what it was like stripping down for Alan Wake 2, “When I got the casting, my agent said ‘they wanted to know,’ before anything else, ‘if you are okay performing nude’!”, and how Ben Starr, Alex Jordan, Harry McIntyre, Aoife Wilson, Holly Bennett and Cockle formed the Natural Six Dungeons & Dragons group. 

You can watch or listen to new episodes every two weeks. Available on the ReadyAimFire WebsiteSpotifyApple PodcastsAmazonYouTube, and all major platforms. 

Upcoming Episodes & Guests include:

  • Kirsty Gilmore - Director, Baldur’s Gate 3

  • Damien Goodwin - Director, Returnal

  • Luke Dale & Tom McKay - Hans & Henry, Kingdom Come Deliverance II

  • Final Fantasy XVI - Creative Team Roundtable

  • Alien: Isolation - Creative Team Roundtable

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A full press kit, including series artwork, cast photos, behind the scenes shots, and trailers can be found HERE.

About ReadyAimFire

ReadyAimFire is a production studio for the games industry and brands who speak to gamers. They specialise in creating commercials and social content campaigns, with expertise in AAA live action trailers. They are members of UKIE and BAFTA Games.

https://readyaimfire.tv/

Media Contact

Sophie Atkin

SECRET SAUCE on behalf of ReadyAimFire

sophie@thesecretsauce.uk