Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for The Witcher Season 4.With the much-anticipated return of The Witcher for Season 4, all eyes were on how the Netflix fantasy series would adjust to a casting change-up for one of its biggest roles. Yet Liam Hemsworth taking over from Henry Cavill is far from the only reason to tune in for the fourth season when there are other new faces on the series. One of the biggest additions to the cast this time around is Laurence Fishburne as the mysterious barber-surgeon Regis, who ultimately joins Geralt on his mission to Nilfgaard and later reveals a hidden truth of his own: he’s actually a vampire! Other members of Geralt’s collective are more uncertain about Regis’ motives, but the two strike up a tentative friendship built on gradually strengthening trust — as well as the fact that Regis occasionally uses his special abilities to help out. Ahead of the Season 4 premiere, Collider caught up with several members of The Witcher’s cast, including Fishburne, to delve into some pivotal moments for their characters. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, Fishburne reveals why he was excited to join the show, how Regis’s uniquely designed backstory informs who he is, establishing his onscreen chemistry with both Hemsworth and Joey Batey’s Jaskier, and more. COLLIDER: There’s so much to talk about in regards to your very mysterious role in this show, and that comes even before we learn the truth about his real nature. Was that vampire aspect of Regis part of the appeal for you in taking on this role to begin with? LAURENCE FISHBURNE: Absolutely. Just to be a part of this world where you have monsters and you have swordplay and you have magic and you have mages and you have sorcerers, and you have all kinds of things, kings and queens and princesses. It’s not a world that I’ve been involved in before, so I was excited about it.
Laurence Fishburne Explains How Regis’ Tragic Backstory Informs His ‘Witcher’ Journey

“… he carries this deep regret and this pain of having lost someone he loves in such a horrible way…”

Laurence Fishburne as Regis in The Witcher Season 4Image via Netflix

In the episode where everyone’s sitting around the campfire telling their histories, we get to see Regis’ very tragic and bloody backstory. How did learning that help coalesce who this character was in your mind? FISHBURNE: Everyone in our group gets to tell their origin story and the story of how they’ve come to be a part of this ragtag bunch of misfits. Regis’s story is really very interesting because of the way it’s told. The storytelling is different for everybody, but for Regis, it’s particularly different because it’s animated. So, it has this other quality that is perfect for the fantasy world and fantasy fans. It’s really wonderful because it informs the character so much that he carries this deep regret and this pain of having lost someone he loves in such a horrible way, and that he feels guilty about it. It’s such a great grounding place for him. Regis and Geralt’s relationship really deepens and evolves this season. The two of them clock the truth about each other pretty early on, and, out of mutual respect, agree to keep each other’s secrets. What did you enjoy about exploring those nuances with Liam [Hemsworth]? FISHBURNE: It was very natural for us. I can’t explain why that is, but Liam and I showed up and embraced each other with a great deal of respect, and that led to a great deal of affection for each other. I hesitate to try and explain it because it’s one of those things where they say “there’s chemistry between actors,” and I just feel like that’s part of what’s at work. I think as human beings, we like and respect one another, and it’s just evident in the way that we play these characters. I love the Jaskier/Regis dynamic, especially those moments when you appear out of nowhere behind Joey Batey. How was it getting to spar with him and finding the humor in those scenes? FISHBURNE: Joey’s character, Jaskier, for me as a viewer, was the person that I anchored to. When I watched the first three seasons, it was through Jaskier that I was able to find my way through the entire world. He was the character that I latched onto that helped me, and I think the same was true as an actor. It’s just because Joey’s been there since the very beginning, and as the bard, he has to tell the Witcher’s story repeatedly, and he has to come up with even more and more clever ways to tell it every time he tells it. So, that’s where we met in shooting it. He has some of the best quips in the whole show, so for me, it was like, “Okay, let’s see if I can keep up with this guy.”