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Quick-Fire Community Questions:

Kim Beacham

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For this round of Quick-Fire Community Questions, we invited cosplayer and Assassin's Creed United Kingdom admin Kim Beacham.

Col: How long roughly would you say you have been a fan of the franchise?

Kim: I was a little late to playing the games I must admit. I had AC 1 when it came out of launch thanks to a family member buying it for me, but it wasn’t until roughly 2010 I actually started playing the game myself, after hearing about the hype of AC2 so I started right at the beginning to catch up

Col: How did you get into cosplay?

Kim: From a very young age until my mid-twenties, I was lucky enough to grow up in medieval re-enactment so being dressed up at weekends and events was pretty normal for me. When I then stopped doing re-enactments and started going to comic con events, it was amazing to see people dressed up at all of these events. Whether it be a gaming character someone loved, or a tv show they enjoyed, it was so amazing to see other people enjoy dressing up as much as I did. After attending my first comic con which was Wales Comic Con 2015 to meet Matt Ryan (Edward Kenway), I then went home and searched online for my first cosplay which was an Edward Kenway cosplay. Over the years I have added pieces and accessories and upgraded it too and modified when needed. I also have two other AC pieces made by two very talented friends of mine. My Cleopatra cosplay was made by my friend Marie Claude or as others will know her recently changed name to Dans l’armoire d’ elise on Instagram. Marie blows my mind with her talent and her passion for AC Unity and Elise De La Serre especially. The time and effort she put into the Cleopatra is just insane and when people ask me about the cosplay I always tell them about her and her extraordinary work.

I also have a very unique cosplay as well which is 2 cosplays in one which I call my Frye Twin Mash up cosplay. This cosplay came about when I was making some mini online posters for the voice actors of AC Syndicate and using half and half of their own faces with their characters of the game and had a crazy thought, would that work as a cosplay? Eventually through my re- enactment connections, I found someone willing to take part in such a crazy idea of half a Jacob Frye cosplay and half of an Evie Frye cosplay in one. My dear friend Catherine Rowe took on the project and soon enough we had the ideas to make a go of it. All together I think it was about 6 to 7 months project because we wanted to get the right materials and also make sure it worked symmetrically as well. I hadn’t known anyone that had done such a commission or cosplay like this before and I was so excited throughout the whole process of it all from seeing the first sketch until the final piece that was put into the cosplay. The belts and buckle parts of the cosplay were put together by the wonderful duo and also extremely talented Wrightbeat Cosplay who made it all half and half like I needed it, and it worked so well. If you’ve seen the work Wrightbeat cosplay online you’ll know how fantastic they are at what they do.

Back to Database

Col: Hi Kim, thank you for joining us today. Please could you tell us a bit about yourself and your time within the Assassin's Creed Community.

Kim: Hi there. My name is Kim Beacham and within the AC Community I help with running the Assassins Creed United Kingdom Twitter and Facebook pages with other Community members, and then when I can, I like to keep the AC Community up to date on where and when voice actors within the AC series are appearing at events worldwide.

Col: What was the first AC game you played, and which one is your favourite?

Kim: I always like to start a series in any game right at the beginning, so AC1 was my very first game I started out on. My favourite AC game in the series is AC Black Flag. I loved the story of Edward Kenway and could relate to him in a way of when you want to go one path in life, another path may come along and take you another direction. Im also a huge pirate nut when it comes to history of pirates, and the way they lived and who doesn’t love a good pirate shanty every now and then.

Kim's Cosplay Projects

Col: Are you working on any new cosplay projects?

Kim: Atm AC related I am looking at doing Kassandra’s first outfit from AC Odyssey. I just love how simple it is, and also marks the beginning of the game which I really enjoy. I like to do AC cosplays that not normally would be done or looked into. Im always adding bits to my Kenway as well which im going to do this year as well.

Col: Do you ever wear your costumes at events, and what is the general response to them?

Kim: I mostly wear my cosplays at comic cons when voice actors from the games are appearing. My Frye Twin cosplay I first wore at Dutch Comic Con in 2017 as Victoria Atkin and Paul Amos were attending and their reactions were just the best! I didn’t tell many people that this cosplay was taking place and I wanted it especially done for an event when both of them were attending. When people see that cosplay, depending on what side of me they see, it totally surprises them when I turn full on and they see I’m both characters and people’s reactions are pretty great. My Edward Kenway is always a fun one to do at events as most people know what Kenway looks like, weather you are a big or small fan of the games. I’ve also worn him to pirate events around the UK and the Netherlands and people always respond so well, its good fun. The Cleopatra cosplay I have worn at a couple of cons and events and people love looking at the head piece and beading in detail as it is fantastic work by Marie. I think the best response to that cosplay was when I met Abubakar Salim who played Bayek of Siwa from AC Origins. He was just so kind and full of compliments and I told him all about who made it and the details of it too which he seemed quite impressed by. I’m always so touched when people say they like my cosplays and ask questions about them, whether it be a fellow comic con attendee or a voice actor that im meeting.

Col: How many Assassin's Creed Voice Actors have you met, and which one would you like to bring back to work on another game?

Kim: So far I’ve met 13 voice actors from within the AC series which range from lead characters to side characters as well. I definitely still have a list I would love to meet over the next few years at events either here in the UK or abroad. I would love to see Alix Wilton Regan come back and see more of Aya’s story after Origins and where she ends up. Aya was the start of something huge for the Brotherhood in my eyes and would love to know more on what she got up to next.

Col: In regards to event management, how much work have you put in behind the scenes to make things happen?

Kim: I’ve been very lucky over the years with comic cons I have attended, to be able to meet the most fantastic voice actors and make amazing friends within the AC community. If and when I can, I love to help organise AC Cosplay meet ups and also get the voice actors involved as well. It’s a lot of fun and everyone always has a great time. I like to take photos of the meet ups and then share with everyone after. The reactions when voice actors show up to the meet ups are always the best and that’s why I do it. To make it fun for all involved and experience something they may not been a part of before

Col: What would be your dream AC Community goal for a comic con convention?

Kim: I would love a mass gathering of AC VA’s at one event in the UK or abroad at some point in the next few years. It would be an amazing thing to happen and I hope I can help make that happen somehow.

Col: What kind of events would you like to see more of in the future?

Kim: I attend all sorts of comic cons and events either here in the UK or abroad and I love the diversity that these events bring. Myself I would love to see more events get involved in not just the main stars of franchises and series of things, but also the people the behind the scenes . From directors, to motion capture directors and writers, the musicians that make the soundtracks to games and tv. It would be amazing to meet the behind the scenes related people and how things come together to the results we all see and enjoy.

Col: Do you have a favourite Assassin's Creed community moment/ story you would like to share?

Kim: I have had so many fantastic moments in my time of being part of the AC Community so far, I think it’s hard to choose just one. Big highlights of course would be meeting all the amazing voice actors over the years so far. All have just been so wonderful to me and an honour to meet either the once or a few times at cons and events and had amazing social media presence with as well.

The cosplay meets I’ve done are always a lot of fun when I get to do them and a few that stick out are ones I’ve done at Wales Comic Con over the last few years with Abubakar Salim, Victoria Atkin and Paul Amos. Watching people’s faces realise that we have special guests join us, is such a fun thing to watch and makes me so happy and its great to see everyone involved. Another fun cosplay meet up was also with Patricia Summersett at MCM Birmingham in 2019. It wasn’t actually a meet up I organised but another Community member was running, but when the lovely Patricia heard about it, then I helped with her come along as well with the others I knew, making the meet up happen.

Attending the Assassins Creed Symphony in London in October of 2019 was for me another mind blowing event. Not only did I get to share it with some fantastic friends near and dear to me but also got to spend a day out in London before the show, visiting areas from the AC Syndicate game and that was thanks to the folks at Assassins Creed UK page who invited me along with them. Later on that day, all of us involved, went for a meal with Michael Antonakos who played Alexios in AC Odyssey which was a really nice time to also get to know other members of the Community I hadn’t met before properly. Later on we then went to a AC meet up organised by members of the Mentors Guild for those also going to the Symphony and took Michael along as the special guest which was a lot of fun and also meeting even more AC Community members I had wanted to meet for a long time. The Symphony itself was just a fantastic and beautiful show and would happily see it again if the chance comes up.

31/1/20 By Colum Blackett Edited by Ashlea Buckley

Col: Where and when would you like to see the next game set?

Kim: Being the medieval re- enactor that I am at heart, I would love a time setting of 14th Century in England maybe in the south west as London has been done by AC Syndicate. Or a really fun one would be a twist on the tale of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. That would be something really interesting and fun I think.

Col: Do you collect Assassin's Creed merchandise. If so, do you have a favourite item?

Kim: I have a lot of AC merch over the years and some of it also signed and rare as well. I think my favourite bits are my Kenway stand which is signed by Matt Ryan who played Edward Kenway. I always like to do my favourite quotes on things if i can and then he added his own little line as well which makes it even more special we well. I’ve had Matt sign a good amount of Black Flag merch over the years and he’s always so amazed by some of the stuff I bring along to cons and also gifted him.

I have a lot of AC Syndicate merch signed as well and I would say my favourite items within that selection would be the Rook flag that I have signed by Victoria Atkin, Paul Amos and Kris Holden Ried and then then also one of the game sleeves signed by Victoria and Mark Rowley where they have a fun conversation during one of the missions in AC Syndicate.

I have so many favourite pieces it is hard to narrow it down to a particular piece and nowadays atm I’ve had to stop buying so much merch as I’ve ran out of room!

Col: Are there any plans for Assassin's Creed United Kingdom this year?

Kim: I'm hoping for more AC Cosplay/Community meet ups at comic cons and events to happen this year and to make more people aware of the goings on of the group and what we are up to. It’s so great to see more people get involved in the group and events we do.