Paola Nuñez as Evelyn Marcus
A tenured actor in Mexico, Paola Nuñez is best known to American fans for her role as Rita in Bad Boys For Life. In Resident Evil, she plays Evelyn Marcus, head of Umbrella Corp. and Albert’s boss. She’s pushing him to expedite production of “Joy,” a miracle drug that eliminates depression, anxiety, and has a small chance of turning them into rabid, flesh-eating monstrosities. Fans of the games will recognize her surname, as she’s the daughter of James Marcus, the former lead Umbrella scientist and head of training who pioneered t-Virus research.
“It was fun to play such a complex character. She’s not a villain, per se. She’s a normal person who makes wrong…or let’s say, different choices depending on her circumstances, and she’s trying to take control and find respect in this corporate world as a woman. And then there’s the big shadow of her father on her back,” says Nuñez.
Ella Balinska as Adult Jade Wesker
Star of 2019’s Charlie’s Angels and Square Enix’s upcoming Forspoken, Ella Balinska is no stranger to kicking ass on screen, and she certainly deepens her credentials in Resident Evil. She plays Jade Wesker in 2036, 14 years after a t-Virus breakout in New Raccoon City led to zombies occupying the entire planet. She’s a freedom fighter/scientist railing against Umbrella and searching for a t-Virus cure, all while shooting, slicing, and dicing her way through hordes of zombies and giant zombified monstrosities. She’s got her life partner and daughter to keep her sane, as well as her scrappy band of rebels. But her sister Billie, now a soldier of Umbrella, will stop at nothing to hunt her down.
“It was an absolute delight to bring the game into series format,” Balinska says. “You get the fear, you get the gore, you get the jump scares…everything without holding the controller in your hands. Being chased by giant spiders, caterpillars, and lickers was almost like a direct trajectory from playing the games to being in them.”
Adeline Rudolph as Adult Billie Wesker
Something terrible happened to Billie Wesker between 2022 and 2036. The once shy, loving sister and daughter is now a high-ranking commander for Umbrella, relentlessly in pursuit of Jade and her comrades. Fans will recognize Adeline Rudolph’s piercing glare from Riverdale and Sabrina, and in Resident Evil the actress gets to tap into the darker side of her talents as adult Billie seems to take after the Albert Wesker we knew and loathed from the games.
“The franchise is highly respected by everyone who worked on the show,” Rudolph explains. “Writers, set designers, actors. We’re doing something different in the same world as the games, with new characters and familiar ones. We really love the games, and we want fans to know that.”