Melanie Liburd

Melanie Liburd’s Breakthrough in Voice and Performance Capture

Born in Hertfordshire, England, Melanie Liburd built a steady screen career over more than a decade before landing her defining voice acting role. Her 2023 performance as Saga Anderson in Remedy Entertainment’s Alan Wake 2 marked a turning point, earning her a nomination for Best Performance at The Game Awards 2023 and the Shacknews Best Voice Actor of the Year award for 2023. The role required both full voice work and motion capture, placing her performance at the center of one of the most praised narrative games of that year.

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Most Known Roles of Melanie Liburd

Saga Anderson – Alan Wake 2 (2023, voice and motion capture)

Zoe Baker – This Is Us (TV Series, 2018-2021)

Caridad “Carrie” Milgram – Power Book II: Ghost (TV Series, 2020-2022)

Alexis – Gypsy (TV Series, 2017)

Nyx Harper – Dark Matter (TV Series, 2016-2017)

Christine – Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)

Alan Wake 2 and Saga Anderson

Saga Anderson is one of two playable protagonists in Alan Wake 2, and the role demanded far more than a standard recording session. Liburd performed full performance capture, physically embodying the character in ways that blurred the line between traditional acting and voice work. Critics specifically highlighted how her naturalistic delivery grounded the game’s psychological horror narrative, making the Shacknews and Game Awards recognition a reflection of genuine craft rather than novelty.

Screen Career Leading to Gaming

Liburd’s television work gave her the range needed to handle a complex, lead game role. After her debut in the British action series Strike Back in 2012, she accumulated recurring roles in Dark Matter, Gypsy, and most visibly This Is Us, where she appeared in 21 episodes as Zoe Baker. She was part of the This Is Us cast that won a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2019. Her film work expanded further with Bad Boys: Ride or Die in 2024.