Melina Juergens is the 26-year-old, German-born, British-educated actress nominated in the category of Best Performance at The Game Awards.
Juergens is the one that brings Ninja Theory’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice to life. Her character, Senua, is a Celtic warrior venturing into Viking territory while experiencing frequent hallucinations and delusions all symptoms of psychosis.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice has given the mental health community a new voice. While it may not be the first video game to tackle the difficult subject of mental health, this one took it to a new level. They even enlisted the help of mental health professionals to be sure to get it as accurate as possible (it is, after all, a game). There are some who are less impressed with the representation of mental illness in Senua’s Sacrifice, most reviews are very positive. Hellblade went so far as to employ a neuroscientist and psychosis expert at the University of Cambridge as an advisor. Hellblade even has a page on their website dedicated to encouraging people to get help if they are suffering from mental illness.
Ninja Theory has received many letters of appreciation from players who are dealing with their own struggle or a loved one’s.
While she is up for this award for her acting prowess, she is also a self-proclaimed “enthusiastic, creative Video Editor and Photographer with a keen interest in developing my skills in cinematography and video editing”, who does some occasional acting and modeling.
The category for Best Performance is awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture. Melina certainly qualifies! We say well done, Melina! We can’t wait to see what you do next!