Five questions with ‘Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate’s’ female killer

Actress Victoria Atkin has made a splash in the video game industry as Evie Frye in “Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate,” the first ever playable female assassin of the franchise. She also made her presence felt at Comic-Con, both hosting a panel about video game music and as a member of an “Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate” panel.

The British actress first gained notice playing transgender teen Jasmine/Jason Costello on the long-running British TV series “Hollyoaks.” She got to meet the prime minister, and helped change and enact laws due to her role on the show.

But she never got to kill anyone stealthily à la “Assassin’s Creed.”

The actress, who grew up in southeast England, played games growing up, but doesn’t consider herself an expert gamer. Her athleticism, and attitude, helped her land the role as Frye who, along with her brother Jacob Frye (played by Paul Amos), are twin assassins who use deadly weapons and cunning to fight a corrupt ruling class in the underworld of Victorian-era London.

We caught up with Atkins to find out a bit about the actress behind the assassin.

Do you remember the first video game you ever played?

I can’t remember the last game I played, but I do remember growing up and playing Wolf 3-D -- you remember that? Wolfenstein. I don’t think my parents knew that me and my cousins were shooting Nazis. That was a game that we used to play when we were very young and we used to be so scared.

How did the role of Evie Frye come to you?

I’m a television and film actress predominantly, so the audition was kind of similar to that. I did a tape from home, although there were instructions to run around the floor and do kicks and jumps and things like that, as well as the normal asides that you’d have for a character. I was told by the casting director that a lot of people followed these instructions and did everything. I looked at those instructions and kind of decided that I was just going to run in, do a kick and a jump, and then stop. So, I rebelled, which is not something that I’d normally do, but apparently the director and everybody loved it because it was the character of Evie from the very start. ‘Oh. She’s not going to do that bit.’

So, I did that, then I had to do another round of auditions because I used the northern accent, which is very much like Ygritte from “Game of Thrones.” Then they decided to change it to London, so I was familiar with that accent as well and they were extremely happy when they heard that one. Then they flew me over to Quebec.

So, no special training?

No. I’m very athletic, and I grew up playing sports of every kind. Soccer, and I was a professional slalom skier for some time, so I’m very active.

How was the actual process of production?

I did the full motion capture as well as the voice acting for Evie. It was fantastic. I was flying around in this combination of sports, martial arts and acting all in one, and it was just, for me, a dream job. There’s no set. There’s no props or costume, or the pros that you do have are these huge things that you just have to imagine what they are. So, it was different. I had heels! And I did the whole motion capture in heels, which I’m very proud of. But yeah, we had dots all over our faces and looked very futuristic, very “Avatar”-like. It was liberating actually. I got to live and play in this imaginary world.

How has your Comic-Con experience been?

Amazing. The fans are just so fantastic for “Assassin’s Creed.” It’s almost been overwhelming at times how well-received Evie Frye has been. And, I would love to do the obstacle course (across the street from the San Diego Convention Center). It’s lovely to see all of the costumes, and it’s a very good vibe in San Diego at the moment.

I’m taking on the guy who plays Evie’s brother Jacob (in the obstacle course), so I’m also practicing to beat him.