The Heartwarming Reason Kevin Alejandro Agreed To Play Jayce In Netflix's Arcane
"Arcane" is the new Netflix adult anime series based on the hit multiplayer video game "League of Legends." Since it premiered on November 6, 2021, it's gone on to become Netflix's most-watched TV series worldwide, knocking "Squid Game" out of the top spot (via eSports.com). With results like that, it's safe to say that "Arcane" managed to avoid the pitfalls of many other video game adaptations and captured the spirit that made the original game so popular.
In "Arcane," the story is centered on two sisters, Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell), who are caught on opposite sides in a war between the technologically advanced city of Piltover and the poverty-stricken city of Zaun. Kevin Alejandro plays Jayce Talis, a scientist who's working on harnessing magical energy for the people of Piltover to use. Alejandro's casting was clearly a good choice, as the scenes between Jayce and Viktor (Harry Lloyd) were one of the highlights of the season.
From an acting standpoint, "Arcane" isn't just another job. "League of Legends" currently has about 180 million active players (via PC Gamer), which means the expectations for "Arcane" were sky-high. That's a lot of people to potentially disappoint, but for Alejandro, the decision was actually pretty easy.
Kevin Alejandro's son is an avid League of Legends player
In an interview with Express, "Arcane" creators Christian Linke and Alex Yee told the publication why Alejandro agreed to join the series.
"Kevin Alejandro, our Jayce actor, said that his son was a League player, and was like, 'Dad, you have to do this," Linke said.
According to Linke and Yee, that was apparently the same reason why several other cast members were eager to become part of "Arcane's" past. While some cast members were already "League of Legends" players, others took the job at the urging of a family member.
"I think we had a lot of people who joined the project because their little brother or sister would hear about it," Linke explained.
As reported by Deadline, Alejandro was part of a voiceover cast that included heavy-hitters like Steinfeld ("Hawkeye") and Purnell ("Yellowjackets"), as well as Katie Leung ("Annika"), Jason Spisak ("DC Super Hero Girls"), Toks Olagundoye ("The Rookie"), JB Blanc ("The Owl House"), and Harry Lloyd ("Brave New World").
When a project like "Arcane" is based on a beloved video game, it always helps to have cast members who are enthusiastic fans of the game itself. Based on Linke and Yee's comments, it sounds like they made the right call.