Tristan D. Lalla

Tristan D. Lalla’s Journey from Montreal’s Stages to Video Game Glory

Few paths into game voice acting start with Shakespeare in the park, but Tristan D. Lalla’s did. A Dawson College Professional Theatre graduate born February 3, 1984, in Montreal, Quebec, Lalla spent years touring Canada with Repercussion Theatre before the recording booth entered the picture. Of Trinidadian descent – his grandfather Rudolph Charles co-invented the steel pan – he carries a cultural depth that has shaped some of the most textured characters in modern gaming.

His screen career runs parallel and wide: recurring television roles on Bad Blood, Nurses, Ghosts, and Animal Control sit alongside film appearances in Long Shot, White House Down, Red 2, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, and Beau Is Afraid. On stage, he logged over 50 productions across Canada and served as an Ensemble Member of Canada’s National Arts Centre in 2015-16.

Adewale and the Assassin’s Creed Legacy

The character that defined Lalla’s gaming reputation is Adewale, the enslaved man turned pirate who anchors Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and its standalone DLC Freedom Cry. For Freedom Cry, Lalla delivered a full performance – motion capture and voice combined – earning a Best New Character nomination at the 2014 Canadian Video Game Awards. He has since returned to the Assassin’s Creed universe across 13 titles, including Agate in Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation and Taharqa in Assassin’s Creed Origins, cementing him as one of the franchise’s key recurring voices.

Beyond Assassin’s Creed, his game credits span Far Cry 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Rainbow Six: Siege, Watch Dogs, The Outer Worlds, Far Cry 5, Far Cry 6, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – more than 100 credits in total.

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU and Kalunga

In 2024, Lalla took on Kalunga, the god of death, in Tales of Kenzera: ZAU – a Surgent Studios and EA Originals title produced with Ridley Scott. The role required a commanding gravitas to match a mythological antagonist rooted in Bantu cosmology, a challenge that drew on both his stage training and his long history with morally weighty game characters. The project added another distinctive credit to a body of work that consistently gravitates toward characters with cultural and historical weight.

Stage Awards and the Theatre Foundation

Lalla’s 2018 Montreal English Theatre Award for Outstanding Lead Performance – earned for his portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in The Mountaintop – speaks to the theatrical core that underpins all of his work. He is also a recipient of the Gloria Mitchell-Aleong Award from Black Theatre Workshop. That stage background, built across decades and dozens of productions, gives his game performances a grounded presence that registers clearly even through a controller.