Actrise

Actrise is a witch from Konami's Castlevania video game series. She appears as a non-playable character in Castlevania 64 and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, both of which were published on the Nintendo 64 in the late nineties.

Character History
Actrise is a woman who's ambition lies in power and beauty (her own naturally). In an attempt to fulfill her wishes, Actrise pledged herself to Dracula's service by slaying 100 children, among which was her own daughter. She became one of Dracula's lieutenants along with Death and Gilles de Rais, and together the three sought the resurrection of their Dark Lord. During Cornell's infiltration of the dark castle, Actrise would only appear once to taunt the man-beast. She would appear again only after Dracula had been defeated by Cornell. She was present in the throne room as Death sacrificed Cornell's wolf form in the ritual to revive their dark lord.

After Dracula was reborn as a child, the three lieutenants conceived a plan to stop the two vampire hunters who had come to investigate the dark happenings around the Castle. In order to stop the hunters, Death and Actrise each took to distracting and impeding their progress through the castle while Gilles assumed the role of Dracula. As a fellow practitioner of magic, Actrise would pursue Carrie. She would offer the girl the opportunity to join her side, which was naturally refused. In a later effort to break the girl's spirit, Actrise had Carrie battle against another Fernandez warrior who had been turned into a vampire. After Carrie had climbed through the Tower of Sorcery and reached the top of Room of Clocks, Actrise confronted Carrie one last time. She shared her story with the girl of how she became an evil sorceress in the service of darkness. Actrise herself showed no remorse for her actions, yet Carrie felt only pity for the "pathetic" woman, which infuriated Actrise. Proclaiming to love nobody but herself, Actrise moved to the center of tower and challenged Carrie herself.

In one last attempt to stop Carrie from reaching Dracula's throne room, she engaged the girl in a battle of magic. She used her dark magic to summon crystal shards in an attempt to impale her opponent. Actrise's vanity and over-confidence in her own power would unfortunately be her downfall. The witch proved to be no match for a descendant of the Belnades Clan, and perished by Carrie's hand. Actrise died never realizing that she was little more than an expendable pawn for Dracula's schemes.

Boss Battle
The Actrise boss battle is exclusive to Carrie's quest. Atop the castle's battlements, in place of Actrise, Reinhardt will fight Death whereas Cornell will fight Ortega.

Actrise's first priority is protecting herself behind a bastion of gems. The smaller crystals are easier to break than larger crystals, and should be destroyed first in the effort to attack her person. (The barrier crystals reappear at a fixed interval.) After receiving damage, Actrise will surround herself with a protective maelstrom of crystal shards. When she finishes summoning her primary shield the shards will traverse the tower's top, demobilizing Carrie (until she takes damage) if she's in their path. Actrise's other attacks - all of which are magic based - include:
 * 1) Summoning crystals that emerge from the ground where the player is standing. (In Castlevania she summons crystals more quickly than Legacy of Darkness.)
 * 2) Shooting two, rather slow, homing bolts.
 * 3) Raining down two arcs of homing bolts onto the player.
 * 4) Ricocheting a homing bolt off of several stationary crystals.

About Actrise

 * Mary Oldrey:
 * Yes, the vampire Oldrey is my husband. There was a man named Gilles de Rais and a woman, Actrise. They made him what he is today.


 * Carrie Fernandez:
 * I have the power to subdue Dracula himself. You had no chance. Dracula knows this. He used you merely to delay me.

By Actrise

 * Quite a show there, lobo.
 * It's all the crystal could contain, but it should be sufficient for the ritual.
 * She has such power it is almost terrifying... only a child, but a true Fernandez.
 * She was a Fernandez too, a warrior who came to fight the dark lord. We took her alive, and made her a vampire. [...] She had great spirit and struggled mightily against the curse. But now she is wholly a vampire, desperate for blood. Ha, what joy! Two cousins fighting to the death!
 * It is a simple matter... sacrifice the lives of 100 children. I slew my own child to attain the prize of eternal life!
 * Oh dear, you make me so sad... looking at me just as my child did... how pitiful! I love no one in this world other than myself!
 * I will gouge out your heart as a gift to my lord!

Trivia

 * Throughout both games, her name is translated as "Actrise" and "Actrice." Although the former is more commonly used, "Actrice" is more appropriate because it is the French word for "actress."
 * Actrise's character art from Castlevania was drawn by Yasuomi Umetsu. Her costume and coiffure are not historically accurate: The dress is an amalgamation of later fashions; she would have worn a bonnet instead of a hat.
 * Actrise's theme is the 18th track on Castlevania: The Original Game Soundtrack (released in Japan and Europe). The slightly dissonant music features a tinkling piano and bells; the sinister, disjointed nature of the composition is indicative of Actrise's simmering madness.
 * When defeated, her face turns demonic in appearance on her death sequence, revealing her true self.