No Roundhouse Kicks Like Leon: Why Resident Evil Requiem Star Angela Sant'Albano Says Grace Ashcroft's Story Still Has a Long Way to Go
Fresh off her triumph in London at the 44th Golden Joystick Awards 2026, actress Angela Sant'Albano is already looking ahead to what comes next for survival horror's newest scream queen. Having claimed the Best Lead Performer trophy on the exact same night that Resident Evil Requiem swept four major awards including Ultimate Game of the Year, the performer behind FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft spoke during the London ceremony about her character's future under Capcom.
Anxiety and Vulnerability Over Leon S. Kennedy's Action-Hero Roundhouse Kicks
Since director Koshi Nakanishi's ninth mainline entry launched on February 27, 2026, the contrast between its dual leads has defined the game's pacing. While hardened veteran Leon S. Kennedy brings decades of tactical bioterrorism experience to the fight, Grace Ashcroft,the daughter of investigative reporter Alyssa Ashcroft from Resident Evil Outbreak,is forced to survive an overwhelming nightmare while battling a severe anxiety condition.
Over the course of Resident Evil Requiem, Grace progresses from anxiety-induced paralysis to barely mustering the nerve to hold a firearm with trembling hands. According to Angela Sant'Albano, players should never expect Grace to morph into an unstoppable martial arts powerhouse in future chapters:
"I don't think she'll ever be a Leon character. She's never going to be badass, you know, doing roundhouse kicks. But I do think her courage and her self-esteem will grow the more that she trusts herself and forgives herself for a lot of the things that I think tie her down. So I think there's a long way to go with her."
A Brother-Sister Mentorship With Leon, Maternal Bonds With Emily, and Future Entries
By emphasizing that there is still "a long way to go" for Grace Ashcroft, Sant'Albano has added fuel to community anticipation surrounding her next appearance. While Capcom's immediate calendar includes the upcoming Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake, fans are closely watching Resident Evil Requiem's story DLC exploring Oswell E. Spencer's legacy as well as the eventual tenth mainline installment.
Speaking at the ceremony, Sant'Albano highlighted two specific relationships she hopes to see evolve when Grace returns:
- Her dynamic with Leon S. Kennedy: Sant'Albano noted that she "would really love to see how her relationship with Leon blossoms," describing "a beautiful mentorship, almost brotherly, sisterly relationship brewing" between the two survivors.
- A maternal role with Emily: Having formed a close off-screen bond with Emma Rose, the actress who portrays Emily, Sant'Albano wants to find out what happens next for the pair and watch Grace step into "a more maternal role and see how she carries that forward."
Preserving that human fragility is precisely why audiences rallied behind Grace Ashcroft during the Golden Joystick Awards 2026 voting. By keeping Grace grounded in relatable fear while letting Leon S. Kennedy handle the high-octane combat encounters, Koshi Nakanishi's team struck a balance that honors both eras of the franchise.
My Field Notes
Hearing Angela Sant'Albano draw such a firm line in London between Grace Ashcroft and Leon S. Kennedy immediately took me back to guiding her mother, Alyssa Ashcroft, through the infected streets of Raccoon City in Resident Evil Outbreak on PlayStation 2. What made Alyssa compelling back then was that she was an ordinary investigative journalist relying on grit rather than superhuman reflexes. As I was discussing earlier tonight with Chaya "Chayane" while looking over Requiem's character arcs, Capcom's biggest historical trap has always been turning traumatized survivors into invincible action heroes throwing roundhouse kicks at bioweapons, a power creep that steadily drained the dread out of the series between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 6. Keeping Grace anxious, human, and grounded while letting Leon serve as a seasoned brotherly mentor is the smartest way to ensure her return in the upcoming story expansion or Resident Evil 10 keeps the horror razor-sharp.
Resident Evil Requiem
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Originally from Lyon, France, gaming journalist Bastien "Orion" relocated nearly a decade ago to Quebec City's Saint-Roch district, right in the heart of eastern Canada's development studio hub. Before crossing the Atlantic, he honed his versatile reporting style across classic French gaming web portals and specialist television outlets in the 2000s and 2010s, notably with JeuxVideo.fr and JeuxNews. Equally passionate about AAA blockbusters, North American studio culture, retro preservation, and community modding projects, he anchors Pro-Gamer's transatlantic desk and real-time coverage of US and Japanese industry announcements.
