Bard on and off screen: Joey Batey's lute skills helped him ace ‘The Witcher’ character Jaskier Sandpiper
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Actors often struggle to play the characters of artists, which is why most of them undergo rigorous training sessions before filming, especially when some unique skill is involved. However, the case was a bit different for Joey Batey, who plays the character of a bard in the Netflix fantasy show ‘The Witcher’.
His character being a bard meant that Batey would need to be skilled at playing an instrument and hone his singing ability. As 'The Witcher' has a medieval setting, it was unlikely that the actor would be made to play modern string instruments like a guitar or a ukulele, as they were invented much later in history. Consequentially, Batey was asked to play the lute, which is known to be the original instrument played by the bards who used to travel and narrate stories through songs. So, it must be quite surprising for the viewers to learn that the British actor, in fact, knew how to play the old instrument, which played in favor of the creators of ‘The Witcher’.
Joey Batey’s character of a bard in ‘The Witcher’
Batey plays the character of Jaskier Sandpiper, originally named Dandelion, in the fantasy novel series by the Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. His character is a close friend of the protagonist, Geralt of Rivia.
As fans might already know, the bard performs multiple times in the show, and his melodious tunes also contribute to the soundtrack of the series. However, 'The Witcher' wasn’t the first time Batey picked up the lute, as the actor previously played the instrument for a play based on Hilary Mantel's novels, 'Wolf Hall' and 'Bring Up the Bodies', albeit it was off-screen. Besides, Batey offered his voice to the show and its official soundtrack, featuring the song ‘Toss A Coin To Your Witcher’. And to no one's surprise, the song gained major popularity inside as well as outside the show’s fandom.
Batey’s apprehension about playing the lute
The actor opened up about playing the instrument in 2020 on an episode of Bobby Finger's podcast, ‘I’m Obsessed With This'. Batey confessed that he wasn’t actually all that great at playing the lute and didn’t enjoy playing the instrument because of his lack of skills. Despite his claimed shortcomings, his performance in the show was praised by both fans and critics alike. Alongside playing the lute and singing, Batey earned another set of credits for songwriting in 'The Witcher' Season 2 with the song ‘Burn Butcher Burn’. The actor maintained the storytelling aspect of the bard with his lyrics, as they switched between music-based dialogue delivery and narrative singing.
Joey Batey’s character Jaskier Sandpiper is all set to return for ‘The Witcher’ Season 3, and hopefully, he will be accompanied by his lute and lovely voice. You can catch the latest season on Netflix from June 29.