Cyberpunk 2077 Songbird Interview

October 24, 2023 at 3:11am
By Jason Stettner

Interview with Minji Chang, Actress for (Songbird) in Cyberpunk 2077

For call based interviews we try to present the conversation replies as close to verbatim as possible, for context.

A staple I do in all interviews in order to start things off is to ask that you elaborate a bit about your work, and this particular role for those not familiar with it?

Minji: I'm Minji Chang, I'm the voice of Songbird in Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty and I'm an actor. I am a filmmaker and I've been doing this for a number of years but interspersed with a lot of different backgrounds.

I was studying medicine; I was fully prepared to become a public health worker and you know go down that path, but somehow I ended up here in the entertainment industry. I'm super happy about that, it's a childhood dream come true so technically I'd say I started acting when I was five years old in you know community plays and doing musicals and what not.

This whole world of voice over and being a professional actor is not something that's been a thing until the last eleven years but really kind of taking off more so in the last several years and this is my very first video game role. My voiceover work that I've been doing has been primarily commercial so that's been a crazy ride and in terms of the character Songbird she's an enigma.

She's a very interesting character in the expansion of Cyberpunk 2077 and yeah she's definitely a person for a lot of people of mystery until we kind of get to that part of her story, depending on what you choose of course.

In Cyberpunk 2077, you provide the performance for Songbird. Could you tell us a bit about the character and the situation she finds herself in?

Minji: Songbird is an extremely talented Netrunner. One of the best in the whole world and she is the right hand of President Rosalind Myers.

I'm very careful of learning about this world and also not spoiling anything but she enters the expansion component of Phantom Liberty and has some information that she shares with V in terms of the future of what can or cannot be done to save her and or him.

Whoever and yeah they go on a journey together again depending on what you choose to figure out how to survive and how to be cured of certain things or potentially not be cured and that's all I'll say.

You’re fresh to the world of Cyberpunk 2077. What was it like stepping into an established world and being the catalyst for its large expansion “Phantom Liberty”

Minji: Stepping into Cyberpunk was a huge surprise. It's helpful to know that when I auditioned for it, even when I took the role I didn't know what the project was and so it was very much a blank canvas. I was blind in the audition, I was blind when I said yes to Songbird and again I didn't know if any of these words were the actual character.

I didn't know if this was and everything was like very secretive so I definitely didn't know what the project was so when I took the role and not being of the gaming world. I didn't understand the gravity of what I was stepping into even with Cyberpunk. I had heard about it because I think I had heard the residual impact of the you know the calamity that was around the first version and how upset the gaming world was about how that turned out. Then also it's redemption and so I had heard of the word.

I was familiar with it, but I did not know how big it was. I did not know that it was the Keanu Reeves game. They just they told me it was Cyberpunk and it kind of went over my head and I got right into questions about scheduling and things like that. Once I understood and I got to you know Google and take a look at what I was you know endeavouring it was a really big shock and I was really intimidated.

I was nervous, I think I felt better about it when I went into it blind because I didn't know how big of a deal it was and then took it very seriously that I need to do this character justice. I want to provide a good performance so that I can contribute to this incredible world building that CDPR does for this game and clearly something incredible that the fans have really, you know attached to and really cared about beyond just you know playing a game.

It's a world and it's the universe's characters that are very beloved, very evocative and like making people have deep emotional feelings and so I was really honored, but also definitely overwhelmed.

With that; when going to take on the role of Songbird, were you given any initial direction in regards to the character? Just in terms of an example of prep work to get into the mind set of this particular performance?

Minji: I think from the get go, even with the call back. So I had the audition and a call back, so in the call back I was able to meet our Director Pierce O’Toole who I cannot say enough good things about him. I just think he was such a supportive and helpful director and resource for me to understand what I was playing.

So even in the call back in order for me to give the proper call back and play my character well he was giving me lots of pointers on her personality and again without knowing what world I'm in and what the agenda is or the objective, but just give me personality traits of how gritty she was.

She's a survivalist, giving me things like that so that I could kind of integrate my interpretation into what Songbird was going to end up being. So yeah I did have guidance, tremendous guidance from the director and me having to take a lot of different data points.

I went on YouTube myself and I was just watching clips from the original Cyberpunk just to get a vibe check and to understand the tone and the kind of music and the punk rock and you know all of that to basically educate myself of this is world that she exists in and then getting information from the director about who this new character is that they're building and what kind of you know challenges she's going to face and what she's trying to do.

Your character’s path is very dynamic in this expansion. What were your thoughts on seeing the differing path options and then performing various ways that your character would end up? Feel free to tackle this from a spoiler free perspective, or diving into spoilers but just giving the audience a warning ahead if the latter.

Minji:
The spoiler-free version:
Getting to experience, as an actor that's more familiar with the narrative non video game world where it's a very set course and there is one storyline and you know what the beginning, middle and end is. Having the mental emotional preparation to just approach it from a very singular standpoint is in of itself really fun and you can kind of like really sink your teeth into it but then there's certain.

I guess I didn't realize until now there's like the con side of it is you don't get to explore the other paths and in this it was completely different where the choices are not endless, but they're varied and that was extremely fun for me as an actor to basically like flex different muscles and to be really creative and curious and to be able to explore those other outcomes based on if you choose this or choose that.

The reaction and the challenges and the obstacles that come out of that and the connections and the depth that comes out of this was super fun. So that's the spoiler-free version of doing all the different variations of the game I guess.

The spoiler filled version:
So you have been warned, getting to know Songbird's back story and to understand why she makes the choices that she did and the betrayals and the lying and the guilt that she feels and that's not an every ending right. Like some and one it's just complete and utter chaos and everything's just kind of burned to the ground but in the other ones there's really kind of getting to the soul of who she is and that's what I care a lot about as a person.

As an actor I think humans and human beings and even apparently human beings that are turned into to you know machinery. The soul and the essence of what makes a person have lived experiences and what we learn and the pain that we experience and the threats that we have and then what it does to damage or empower us to make other decisions.

That's stuff that I just love learning about, that thinking about that and then hopefully putting that into characters that I play so when we get to really tragic endings and she's getting to express her remorse and she's able to say sorry or to express her regret or to show her fear or to you know like all those different shades of herself. It was really hard to play because you know in playing her I am heartbroken.

I'm going through those emotions hopefully as accurately as possible to convey what state Songbird is in so it was a really difficult thing but also what I loved the most about playing her is being able to encounter all these different facets of her and to see her go completely nuts and be the most evil version.

But also so like not even evil of her own volition, it's like what's happening because of all the technology and that's touching on really deep philosophical things that I am really interested in. So it was wild and it was really cool.

Yeah, I love that there were deep layers behind your character because at first you're very mysterious and then as time goes on and it depends a little bit on people's interactions with you too there's always something in the backdrop of your character that's kind of like going on throughout the story and then eventually it hits you and you're like oh wow.

It's just like did you kind of feel that more as you got to reading those parts or was it sort of you know you were just almost prepared for the eventualities I just kind of wondering when it really hit you that like your character is really playing V essentially?

Minji: I'd say this is the behind the scenes I guess of being the voice actor in a video game in my complete newness. I'm trying to still adjust to the fact that I’m at any given session, we're in a completely different situation and I'm trying to all the time piece together like where are we and where are we going next and it's a very piecemeal process.

So that was also what was fun is like okay we're in this moment now V and you gotta like we're gonna address this character and this is what's going on so to like hop in and hop out was a challenge but that's what I think to me there was a little bit of a delay. I guess in like really truly gathering what's at stake and like what my actions and my character are contributing to it.

Right, so full acknowledgement it wasn't immediate because I didn't even like catch on because I'm just trying to kind of get into all these different modes all the time but when it sank in you know I was given that that general arc at the beginning so I did have some awareness and I just think that so brilliant of what CD Projekt Red had in mind at every given moment.

That at every line they know where we're coming from and where we're going and so in the direction that I was given I was able t feed into that mystery and to know somewhere in the back of my mind like this is all these are partial truths like you can lie by omission right? Hugely, so having somewhat awareness but still it took me some time to like fully get into it and understand how horrible I was it was good.

What’s it like to see your voice attached to a game character?

Minji: It's one of the coolest things ever, like I'll be so honest I am not a gamer and I played like Mario and Tetris and Duck Hunt. Okay that's also aging me so whatever, do with that what you will but I was you know a child of the 90’s and that's kind of the extent of my gaming experience.

Since then it's not been in my wheelhouse so to know I've have many friends and people in my life that are very devout and like passionate gamers. So knowing that I was entering that world I was like oh crap this could be really cool or like I could get annihilated because if I do a bad performance or whatever the case is like it could be really bad.

So watching my character again be so well received even with all of the you know the layers of Songbird and how much she messes with different players. Just that appreciation and seeing her in real time and again having recorded all of this by myself and not with in real time with any of the other actors.

To hear it so seamlessly woven together and hear us interacting so beautifully it was just such it was such a treat. I've been like, I was sick for the first two weeks after the release of Cyberpunk but in my you know, I was like on my deathbed but still watching on Twitch because I was like this is so cool.

A common question I like to ask about this game in particular, is what are your thoughts on the genre of Cyberpunk in general?

Minji: I think from what I've experienced so far, I haven't played the game yet again I told you I was on my deathbed for like two weeks and yeah I would love to give it a go even though I'm really intimidated by it. I think it looks incredibly cool; just again not my wheelhouse, not my usual aesthetic but now that I'm getting to experience it. I'm so intrigued, I think that there's such kind of like a rebel.

Rebellious vibe, a very like anti-authority vibe and there's definitely parts of me that are very much like that so even though I haven't initially been super invested in it. I'm definitely interested now, I think there's it's a very like cultural reflection of a lot of sentiment around the world clearly because this is a very global fan base of just questioning things and you know the exploring the dark side. This is not like at all I was telling.

I had an interview with another outlet where I was expressing my comfort movies is like Pride and Prejudice which is like so not Cyberpunk right. It's like the polar opposite but like exploring that the darker side of self which I love doing as an actor is really fascinating. I think there's a lot to embrace and to understand even if it's like I wouldn't want to necessarily lean too much into my dark side. I'm very aware of it, I'm familiar with it.

I've lived it but I think it's a world where you can learn a lot about humanity and these themes of how we coexist poor. A lot of times right and I think those are always really culturally relevant so I think it's cool that even like in a fantasy immersion of like a game in this made-up world you can still find a lot of relevant themes and very true human you know ideas and experiences to like apply to real life I think that's a really cool connection that can be created.


While being specific to this expansion, your character does leave a defining mark on the journey of the player’s “V”. Were there any memorable moments from the voice work or lines that really stood out to you? Whether that’s something said, or even behind the scenes.

Minji: I can't remember specific lines I can say behind the scenes. So at each session when I'm level setting when I'm getting back into character and testing the mic and making sure that you know everything's good to start our session. I would say the lines, I know you don't know me but you know that whole segment of I can save your life and that was the line that we would do at the top of every single one of my sessions and I'm reconnected, I'm back in Songbird mode.

Because again this has interspersed over many months and I'm doing all kinds of other work and doing my commercial stuff where I'm like peppy and selling products and then all of a sudden I have to get back into Cyberpunk world. It was a very grounding so that that line will always have a special place in my heart.

It'll always kind of just like put me back into Song Bird mode and at the beginning I was getting lines fed to me through Pierce our director. He was the one reading to me because everyone was kind of at ground zero and we're all kind of starting to record our stuff and then over time we were starting to hear each other so I didn't get to hear Cherami, Gavin. No one, it was all like at the beginning just Pierce and I said before Pierce I'll say it again you're a great line feeder.

You say like I'm not a voice actor, I disagree. I think you could do great right but when I first started hearing V's, both V's voices it really kind of brought even more out of me because they bring such a you know a depth and a gravity to the character and when I heard later on I realized you know they're hearing me now because they're we're talking back and forth to each other in their sessions.

When Cherami said to Pierce that I made her cry or that I broke her heart I couldn't kind of talk for minute. I was like, I did what cause I've been hearing her and I was like she's so good, she is setting a bar like she's V right and she's this beloved character actor and so good at it and I looked her up and I saw her credentials. I was like oh my god, like I have to be on my A-game to hear that she had that kind of emotional response to Songbird.

I was floored, it was just like the compliment of a lifetime to hear that and then also to like realize that Solomon Reed. They just kept referring to him as Solomon Reed multiple sessions in, to find out that oh yeah by the way Idris Elba is playing this guy. I was like what, like they just dropped it so casually so those are moments I will never forget because it was just such a surprise. Such a joy and you're just really in there trying to do the best you can but I think also the line where spoiler is coming up so spoiler if you don't want it to spoil.

When Songbird asked, asking V to kill her and she's like I don't want to be a shadow of myself. I don't want to, I don't remember the exact lines but the essence is like who even will I be and I don't even know like I'm just going to be an object you know and it's like the mercy kill right and that broke my heart.

To like be in that mode of the character and even when I heard the playback again because you kind of black out when you record but I went on YouTube and I watched all these clips of my role just to curiosity. I like how'd this turn out and that the delivery of the line with the visual, with the sound design of like you know her suspended and like hearing all of the echo of the metal and everything.

Oh my god it was, just that was crazy to like relive that and to see the impact after all of this stuff that's happened for her to be at that point. Those are lines that will like really like stick with me for a long time.


There’s a certain level of getting “V” to work with you. How would you personally sell Songbird to someone making a decision of whether or not this should be a character they should work alongside while playing?

Minji: That's a tough question Jason, I know what I know and then I can't just. If I am advocating for Songbird I think her being an, I don't know if ally but like being useful and being trustworthy is like is how smart she is.

She's incredibly capable, you can't find anybody that I mean the fact that she's interacting with V is an example of her capability right and not anybody can do that. So I would probably leverage that her tenacity and her intelligence make her somebody that you'd want on your team that's like what I would use to advocate for her.

Lastly I would like to leave a spot for you to say something or go over anything I might have missed during the interview?

Minji: I'm putting this out in the universe a lot. I want to meet my co-stars, that's all. I would love, I just want to. I didn't get to record with them so that's like my wish. I had the best time ever, it was the surprise I'm telling you when I took it. I didn't know if I was going to have two lines.

I thought I was a minimal character in this new expansion of this game that I didn't know and at every point finding out how significant she was. The depth and the layers that she has, the care that went into the world building and seeing the players reacting to all of this and seeing what a journey everyone's being taken on has been so much fun.

I am so grateful for it, I am excited to see where it goes because there's still so many people who are still in the thick or just beginning to play it right. Everyone has their different journey so I feel like we've gotten that first wave of like the really passionate Cyberpunk players that have gotten through it and it's I feel terrible too because there's so many spoilers out there like really in the first 24 hours.

I feel like everything was just like there but I do hope that everybody has an incredible journey. It's going to be a lot, it's going to be like an upheaval depending on what you choose and for me I just appreciate art that makes people think and feel you know it could be good. It could be bad and that's really based on everybody else's choices and their reactions to it but just grateful that I've been so warmly welcomed by the gaming community and yeah we'll see what else happens.

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