Peter Serafinowicz landed his Elden Ring movie role because Alex Garland spotted him in a waiting room

Actor Peter Serafinowicz has revealed how a chance waiting-room encounter with director Alex Garland — both of them hardcore Dark Souls fans — eventually led to him being cast in the upcoming Elden Ring film. Serafinowicz shared the story during an appearance on Russell Howard's show, where he named Dark Souls as one of his Five Brilliant Things.

Serafinowicz's connection to the FromSoftware universe goes back further than most fans realise. He essentially talked his way into a voice role in Dark Souls 2, contacting the studio directly and pitching himself as a voice actor. FromSoftware cast him as Mild-Mannered Pate, but the role he's most proud of is providing the male character's exertion sounds — the grunts, death noises, and pain cries that have carried through every subsequent game, including Elden Ring. "I always forget, and I pick it up and have a little go and I die — it's like me," he said. "It's a weird way to be immortalized. It's one of my proudest achievements."

The Elden Ring movie connection came through Garland, who is writing and directing the adaptation. The two met years ago in a shared reception area — Serafinowicz was there for an audition, Garland for a meeting — and Garland walked over and introduced himself. Within minutes they were deep in conversation about Dark Souls, swapping enthusiasm about the game's design and difficulty. Serafinowicz describes it as an instant bond: "We became friends based on this little interaction." That friendship, built entirely on a shared obsession with FromSoftware's games, is what eventually put him in the cast. Serafinowicz is best known outside gaming circles as the voice of Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I, Pete in Shaun of the Dead, Garthan Saal in Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Sommelier in John Wick: Chapter 2.

The Elden Ring movie is being developed with Garland at the helm, and casting details beyond Serafinowicz's involvement remain sparse. His reaction to landing the role was characteristically understated: "I just can't believe my luck."