When you have a protagonist as charming, athletic, and smug in the face of danger as Leon Kennedy, you shouldn't be surprised that fans gravitate towards them in a particular way. The voice actor behind the hero in Resident Evil Requiem is all too aware of the effect the former RPD officer has on fans, and to be frank, he loves it.
"I mean, that's what you get when you portray a highly, highly sexualized and good-looking character. I could have got a role as an ogre or something, but he's a handsome, charming guy," Nick Apostolides, Leon's performer on Requiem, told TheGamer.
"It's hard not to like him. And so the internet put him in these thirst trap memes," he explains. "I think it's funny as hell, personally." He might be underselling the following the iconic hero of Resident Evil 4 has accrued over the years.
Leon's one of the internet's boyfriends, and when it comes to Resident Evil, he's a forerunner in any popularity contest. That's no disrespect to Jill Valentine or Chris and Claire Redfield or Ada Wong, but it's hard to compete with boyish good looks, a well-kept fringe, and propensity for sarcastic quips when faced with any kind of Umbrella Corp-related mutant.
Since leading one half of Resident Evil 2, Leon's gone from being a rookie police officer with the worst luck imaginable, to consistently putting the boot into whatever zombies the T-virus is producing these days with pizazz. As in 2 and 6, Kennedy shares the spotlight for Requiem, this time helping out FBI agent Grace Ashcroft, the two having contrasting storylines that you complete separately.
Anywhere you find people discussing their thirst for video game protagonists, his name is sure to pop up. Apostolides admits that he's "seen some that make me laugh out loud," which tells us two things: he's finding them, and he's lapping them up. If you happen to be the kind of deviant who posts such things, just keep those points in mind.
