Lucie Pohl Interview (Supanova Melbourne and the Gold Coast)
Welcome to Impulse Gamer Lucie and more importantly, Supanova Australia!
I can’t believe that I’m coming to Australia! I’m so excited! Excited is probably an understatement and I’m so excited… I can’t even speak! <Laugh>
Besides attending Supanova, what else are you hoping to see and do while you’re in Australia?
I’m hoping to see some crazy animals! It’s such an amateur thing to say but if I see an actual kangaroo, I’ll literally freak out. I grew up in New York and we have rats and pigeons, that’s about it. <Laugh> I’m hoping to see everything and anything. I know that the [Melbourne International] Comedy Festival is happening while I’m over here, so I’ll see some shows as I love Australian comics.
I’ve met a lot of them in my years during Edinburgh, so I’m excited about that and just exploring the cities. People in Brisbane have also been saying the beaches in the Gold Coast are amazing, so I’m looking forward to that. I’m one of those people that I when I travel, I don’t make crazy plans. I just go with the flow and see what comes my way.
So what are you most looking forward to at Supanova?
Oh my God! The fans! I’m looking forward to meeting the Australian fans and I’ve got so many messages and letters from them over the last couple of years, asking me when I’m coming over so we can meet. So I’m really excited to meet the Australian fans and seeing all the cosplays. Obviously I’m a little partial for the Mercy (Overwatch) cosplay, so very exciting to see what the Australian fans come up with. There are other guests there who will be pretty awesome so I’m excited for the whole thing.
You are also the voice of Mercy from Overwatch. What was it like being the voice of Mercy, one of the most popular characters from this video game franchise?
It’s really great and I really love Mercy and how she is such a positive character. I lot of people have told me that through Mercy they have decided to become a nurse or go into medicine which is quite special. Mercy brings out the compassionate and empathetic side of themselves and as she is so positive, it inspires people to be helpful to others which is what I really love about the character.
In terms of being part of the Overwatch family from Blizzard, it is such a privilege. All of the actors in the game and the characters are amazing. Not only are they cool and an inspiration but they are also an aspiration and have changed gaming. I feel really lucky and grateful to be part of this amazing world with all the people involved.
What are some of your favourite lines Lucie?
“The heroes never die” line is really great. There’s actually a lot of truth behind it because heroes continue to inspire whether they are physically around or not. I think that’s a really great line and I also like the salty line of Mercy “Sometimes I’m not sure why I even bother” and I say that out loud when something doesn’t go my way. <Laugh>
I also love the voice work that we did for the Pink Mercy skin in Overwatch where she say “Helping those in need is its own reward. ”… I think that’s a beautiful and thoughtful message to put out there and personally in my own life which I think is very true. You get a lot from helping others and being selfless so I love it! I also love the lines which shows her kindness and empathy because there’s a lot of violence in video games and the world that we live in so we need these characters to remind us of our humanity and be caring to each other.
Were you surprised that the donations from the donations from the Pink Mercy breast cancer event raised over $12,000,000?
I was surprised on one hand but on the other hand, I wasn’t surprised. I was aware of the popularity of the game but I was dumbfounded and humbled to see how big the fan support was and how many people were involved and wanted to raise money and contribute. I think the goal was like $250,000 and it’s definitely a mind-blowing experience and something that I feel so incredible grateful for to have been a part of. It also made sense that they picked Mercy to be the face for that event and the fact that they raised over $12,000,000 was very cool. You don’t get the chance often in life to be part of something that has a direct impact on people and that was really amazing.
You are also part of the Red Dwarf legacy, how was that?
<Laugh> that was honestly one of my favourite roles (Harmony de Gauthier) that I have ever done and it was so fun! The four guys (Craig Charles Danny John-Jules, Chris Barrie and Robert Llewellyn) are so incredibley generous as actors and colleagues. Doug Naylor is also an amazing writer and he directed the episode as well. It was one of those things where it just fits like a glove. The part just kind of became one and it was a really great experience and I never done a live audience taping before which isn’t done that much anymore as that old school sitcom format of live audience taping. It was really cool to be part of it and even though I’ve done a lot of theatre work, live comedy and films, it was like merging the best of both worlds. Doug (Naylor) wrote such a great episode and created an amazing character who I played. and I would go back again and do it a million times over.
As the cast of Red Dwarf have been around since 1988, what was it like fitting into an established team with such great rapport?
I was kind of nervous at the beginning as I didn’t know what they would be like and as I said earlier, they are so incredibly generous, funny and they are such professionals who really love what they do and care about the outcome. They don’t let their egos get in the way of anything which made my time with them so easy.
However on the day of the taping, I actually had really bad food poisoning the previous night so when I got to set, I kind of just focused on not projectile vomiting on Chris Barrie (Arnold Rimmer) <laugh>. I think that actually helped with my nerves at the end of the day because I was so focused on not being sick that I didn’t have much time to psyche myself out and I was like, say your lines and do what you said during rehearsal (which was fun) and don’t throw up all over the place <laugh>.
They also don’t get a lot of guest stars on Red Dwarf so they are always really excited about a guest coming on and they are just as excited as the fans to see what Doug Naylor comes up with next. They’re really awesome and amazing actors and comics, I really love them and they are great people.
Lastly Lucie, what does the rest of 2019 hold for you?
I have a bunch of Comic-cons coming up all over the world and I’m writing a new show for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival which is in August, working on a show in Germany, writing a film and I’m working on a few characters that I can’t talk about.
I also run this show in New York called Immigrant Jam which is for immigrant comics or with immigrant backgrounds, including helping out at the Immigrant Comic Festival that I curate. There’s so much going on and Mercy is still going strong obviously and of course coming to Australia in April which I’m really excited for.
Lucie Pohl will be at Supanova Melbourne and Gold Coast – check out https://www.supanova.com.au/guests/lucie-pohl/ and https://www.luciepohl.com/
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