Actors Jennifer English and Ben Starr, best known for voicing Shadowheart in Baldur's Gate 3 and Clive Rosfield in Final Fantasy XVI respectively, teamed up in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which won Game of the Year and saw English take the Best Performance prize. Speaking at a Fan Expo Canada Q&A, the pair discussed how their new characters, Maelle and Verso, differ from their earlier signature roles, offering fans insight into the acting choices behind two of gaming's most acclaimed recent performances.

Maelle is a member of the doomed expedition sent to defeat the Paintress, while Verso is a mysterious, ageless figure the group encounters after crossing paths with Renoir; both become central to the story following Gustav's death. Asked to compare Starr's characters, he described Clive and Verso as opposite extremes: Clive is isolated and struggles to ask for help, while Verso manipulates others for it, with both shaped by family abandonment. Starr also noted a structural contrast, since players experience Final Fantasy XVI directly through Clive's perspective, whereas Verso remains deliberately withholding, and said he would love to see the two characters sit down and talk.