Final Fantasy XVI is set to be one of the most ambitious games in the entire franchise, with a star-studded cast. The brand new world, expansive new gameplay mechanics, and the deep and dark story are what sets it apart from prior entries in the series. However, with such an expansive story comes expansive characters.
There are several main characters that you will get to know throughout your journey in Valisthea. And thanks to the official website, there is an official summary of the different main characters as well as who will be portraying them. Here’s an overview of all of the main characters in Final Fantasy XVI, as well as who will be playing them and what the cast was known for prior to XVI.
Clive Rosfield – Ben Starr
Clive Rosfield is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XVI. He’s the character that the player will take control of throughout the entire game through both the past and present eras. Clive Rosfield is described as the following:
“The firstborn son of the Archduke of Rosaria. Though all expected him to inherit the Phoenix’s flames and awaken as its Dominant, destiny instead chose his younger brother Joshua to bear this burden. In search of a role of his own, Clive dedicated himself to mastering the blade. His practice pays off when, at just fifteen years of age, he wins the ducal tournament and is dubbed the First Shield of Rosaria—tasked to guard the Phoenix and blessed with the ability to wield a part of his fire. Alas, Clive’s promising career is to end in tragedy at the hands of a mysterious dark Eikon, Ifrit, setting him on a dangerous road to revenge.”
He’s portrayed by 35-year-old actor Ben Starr. He is well known for his roles in the 2017 show Jamestown and a brief appearance in the popular Netflix show You. Not much is known about Starr’s past, but in an interview with Kinda Funny Games, he mentioned that Final Fantasy XVI helped him cope with the loss of his Father. It’s another added detail that will undoubtedly make Clive one of the most memorable new characters in the franchise.
Joshua Rosfield – Logan Hannan
Joshua Rosfield is another key player in the story of Final Fantasy XVI. If you have seen any of the trailers for this game, then you know that this Joshua is a temporary fixture in the first few hours of the game. However, it seems that he will act as the sort of driving force for the entire plot. Joshua is described as follows:
“The second son of the Archduke of Rosaria and Clive’s younger brother by five years. Joshua awoke as the Dominant of the Phoenix soon after his birth. Despite his noble upbringing, Joshua treats all his father’s subjects with warmth and affection—none more so than Clive, whom he deeply admires. Joshua often laments that it was he, the frail and bookish younger son, who was granted command of the firebird’s flames, and not his stronger, braver brother. While Clive will gladly throw himself into any danger, Joshua quails at the sight of a carrot on his dinner plate. But carrots become the least of his concern when he, too, is swept up into the tragic events that change Clive’s life forever.”
He is played by young actor Logan Hannan. Hannan is known for his roles in other video games, namely Hugo in the Plague Tale series. He also played a key role in the Ghibli movie, Earwig and the Witch as the character Custard.
Jill Warrick – Sussanah Fielding and Charlotte McBurney
Jill Warrick is initially introduced in the first two hours of Final Fantasy XVI. However, unlike Joshua, she plays a role in both the past and present eras. She takes on the role of one of the major Eikons in the game, specifically Shiva. The biography elaborates further:
“Born in the fallen Northern Territories, Jill was taken from her homeland at a tender age to become a ward of Rosaria. The Archduke insisted that she be raised alongside his sons, and she became as much a part of the Rosfield household as Clive and Joshua. Alas, fate was not finished with her yet—it saw the three torn apart, and the bone-chilling power of the Eikon Shiva awaken within her.”
In the past era, Jill is voiced by Charlotte McBurney. Like Logan Hannan, she is also known for her role in the Plague Tale series. Specifically as the character Amicia. Sussanah Fielding, on the other hand, voices the present version of Jill Warrick. Fielding is known for a variety of roles. Examples include games like Forza Horizon and Sackboy: A Big Adventure, as well as roles in This Time with Alan Partridge and Death on the Nile.
Cidolfus Telamon – Ralph Ineson
Cidolfus is a key character in the present era of the story and one of the party characters that can accompany Clive on his journey. He is described as the following:
“Known to his friends as “Cid,” this soldier turned outlaw strives to build a place where persecuted Bearers and exploited Dominants can die on their own terms. A man of science, he also conducts research into how one might live in the deadlands—as he and his band of fellow heretics must. Cid is also a Dominant—the power of the Eikon Ramuh having awoken within him shortly after he landed on Valisthean shores. No doubt it was this power that saw him rise through the ranks of the Royal Waloeder Army—where it would seem he crossed paths with a certain Benedikta Harman…”
Ralph Ineson is a prolific actor known for several roles. From The Green Knight to Chornobyl to even Game of Thrones. This isn’t his first foray into gaming roles either, as just recently, he started in Diablo IV. With his background, Ineson makes for a fantastic addition to the Final Fantasy XVI voice cast.
Benedikta Harman – Nina Yndis (Cast of Final Fantasy XVI)
Based on early gameplay demos, Benedikta Harman will be one of the antagonists in the story. According to the biography, “Having emerged from the storm of youth coldhearted and ruthless, Benedikta Harman—Dominant of the Eikon Garuda, Warden of the Wind—turned her talent for swordplay and subterfuge into a command of Waloed’s elite intelligencers. It is on a mission to find the elusive second Eikon of Fire that she crosses paths with a like-minded Clive and is forced to face her past.”
Nina Yndis is known primarily for her roles in other video games. In particular, she played Edna in Bravely Default II, Birna in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and Uimet in Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers.
Hugo Kupka – Alex Lanipekun
Hugo Kupka is another antagonist in Final Fantasy XVI. According to his bio, “Permanent Economic Adviser Hugo Kupka’s meteoric rise to prominence was sudden, if not unexpected. Once a nameless foot soldier in the Republican Army, his awakening as Dominant of the Eikon Titan thrust him to the forefront of Dhalmekian politics. It was here he used his newfound position as the most powerful man in the republic to exert influence over both the nation’s armies and its policy-making—amassing a personal fortune in the process. Yet while it is said that a man who has everything wants for nothing, Benedikta Harman will teach him money and power are far from all the world has to offer.”
His voice actor, Alex Lanipekun, is also known for his roles in other video games. He’s well-known for playing characters in the Horizon series, Mass Effect Andromeda, and Control.
Dion Lesage – Stewart Clarke
Not a lot is known about Dion Lesage and the role he’ll play in the story. All we do know is the little information that can be gleaned from the bio: “Crown prince of the Holy Empire of Sanbreque and leader of its noblest and most feared order of knights—the dragoons. Dion is loved and respected by both his people and his troops, not least for the many times he has turned the tide of battle in their favor. Indeed, songs of the heroism of the warrior prince and his Eikon Bahamut, King of Dragons, are never far from the lips and lutes of Sanbrequois bards. But all is not well in the empire, and the gathering shadows may yet be enough to quell Bahamut’s light…”
Stewart Clarke is a lesser-known actor. His biggest credits are a role in Horizon: Forbidden West as Ethan Reed and a few additional roles in Crossfire X and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
Barnabus Tharmr – David Menkin
Barnabas Tharmr is another mysterious character within the story of Final Fantasy XVI. We do know that we’ll be fighting him through one of the Eikon battles, as Barnabas is also the Eikon Odin. In the bio, he’s described as follows:
“Arriving on the shores of Ash as a landless and titleless wanderer, it was Barnabas’s skill with a blade that won him a kingdom. And though the local beastmen were to rise in revolt against his rule, Barnabas called on the power of his Eikon, Odin, to quell their rebellions nigh single-handedly, bringing the entirety of the eastern continent under the Waloeder banner. Now he has an army and navy that rival any in Valisthea at his disposal, yet still the king is drawn to where the fighting is thickest—riding into battle atop his spectral steed and sundering foes with his fabled black blade, or merely observing the unfolding chaos from the sidelines, a grisly gleam of fascination ever in his eyes.
David Menkin is a Norway-born actor known for a few roles in both video games and movies. He played Luke Skywalker in Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, the Hammer of God in the hit TV show The Sandman, and Dag in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Additionally, Menkin provided the voice of Malos in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. He is a fantastic part of the Final Fantasy XVI cast.
More Final Fantasy XVI Cast to Be Revealed at Launch
This covers the main voice cast for Final Fantasy XVI! More supporting actors in minor roles will be revealed when the game launches on June 22, 2023.
Check out all of Final Weapon’s Final Fantasy XVI coverage in our Compendium, available right here!
