Lord of the Rings star Billy Boyd replaces one fantasy epic with another as he joins Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO).
Most famous for his portrayal of Pippin in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Boyd has recently appeared in films such as Outlander and is now taking on the role of Elf Brahgas in ESO’s upcoming High Isle expansion.
Brahgas introduces the player to the new card game Tales of Tribute added to ESO, which allows players to face NPCs and real opponents similar to The Witcher’s Gwent or Final Fantasy’s Triple Triad.
Boyd can be seen recording a number of sound lines in a new trailer for High Isle (above), with Burgas introducing himself as a “professional gambler and the rest semi-professional.”
“This character is a gambler, he talks, he loves people,” Boyd said in an interview. “The way he attacks this game, this new card game, this is how he attacks life: everything. He’s just everything with everything.”
He added: “I see life as a team game. I think Brahgs does that too. I think he likes to see other people succeed. He likes to see other people happy.
“I think a night at the pub with Brahgs, a few beers and some tribute stories would be fantastic. I think we’ll have fun together.”
The ESO High Isle expansion will be released on June 6 for the PC and June 21 for the console, allowing players to explore an area yet to be seen in the Tamariel called the Sisters Archipelago.
To learn more about Boyd, he recently joined the other original Hobbits – Elijah Wood, Sean Austin and Dominic Monahan – and IGN for their first interview together in ten years.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He’s talking about the witch all day.