Death Stranding’s Tommie Earl Jenkins Talks Acting His Most Emotional Scene

Death Stranding was, in many ways, an accumulation of all of Hideo Kojima’s quirks and obsessions. One such way is Kojima’s fascination with Hollywood talent. It has several well known actors, some of which give pretty strong performances. One performance that may have surprised people, however, was Tommie Earl Jenkins. His role of Die-Hardman takes a turn toward the game’s end, and he has a particularly strong moment with main character Sam. Those who finished the game will no doubt know the scene I’m referencing.

In an interview on the Crashing Game Night podcast, Jenkins said that he knew that moment in the game was something he’d have to nail. It’s also his favorite part of the whole experience. Giving the monologue was enhanced by those around him, seeing it as an accumulation of his own journey in the character’s shoes.

“Without kind of spoiling anything, I think that was a memorable moment, because of what transpired during the process of doing that,” Jenkins said. “And then having the crew around us during that, and how it affected them. Everyone was so emotionally taken on this journey with me, that at the end it was a very somber atmosphere.”

It’s definitely something that takes you by surprise when you play through Death Stranding for the first time, so Jenkins really deserves props. The game is available now on PlayStation 4 and will launch later in the year for PC. Director and creator Hideo Kojima will be hosting a talk on the philosophy of the game’s design at this year’s GDC.