Orville Peck has given Street Fighter a camp rating, and he wants everyone to know it is a compliment.

The singer, who plays Vega in the new live-action adaptation of Capcom’s video game franchise, tells Gayety that the film lands at “a healthy seven out of 10 with enough room for heart and authenticity.”

But before settling on that number, Peck makes a case for the approach itself.

“Camp is the knowing, intelligent and witty acceptance of something’s sort of absurdness,” he says.

Speaking with Gayety’s Caitlynn McDaniel, Peck credits director Kitao Sakurai with balancing Street Fighter’s excess with a serious take on its world. The point, he explains, was to commit to what fans already love about the games.

The Costumes Play a Key Role

Peck says Sakurai leaned into the material without making the characters feel like objects of ridicule. That included resisting the urge to give their recognizable looks an unnecessary makeover.

“We’re not going to try and change their costumes and make them look cool or whatever that people would think,” Peck says.

For a franchise built around fighters with elaborate looks, signature moves, and very big personalities, that commitment matters. Peck describes an adaptation invested in its own world, even when that world gets ridiculous.

Set in 1993, Street Fighter follows estranged fighters Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) as Chun-Li recruits them for the World Warrior Tournament. A deadly conspiracy raises the stakes beyond the competition. Callina Liang plays Chun-Li, while the ensemble also includes David Dastmalchian as M. Bison and Jason Momoa as Blanka.

Peck plays Vega, the masked Spanish fighter whose obsession with beauty comes with a three-pronged claw and a particularly high opinion of himself. A franchise fixture since Street Fighter II, the character protects his face with a mask and considers himself the height of perfection.

In other words, he is unlikely to take constructive criticism well.

Vega Needed More Than a Punch

Peck found a practical way to bring that personality into the action: his ballet and flamenco background.

After learning the basic fight choreography, he added the flourishes that made the movements feel like Vega’s. For this fighter, efficiency is only part of the assignment.

“So it’s never just a swipe,” Peck says. “It always has to then be a spin, and he’s just extra as hell.”

The role marks Peck’s feature film acting debut, but his performance background stretches well beyond his country music career. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, worked in classical theater and London’s West End, and did voice work for television, film, and animation. In 2025, he made his Broadway debut as the Emcee in Cabaret, opposite Eva Noblezada as Sally Bowles.

Vega was also familiar territory in a different way: Peck played as the character when he was a kid. While the shared love of masks might be the most obvious connection, the fighter’s expressive movement made the casting feel especially right to him.

Peck says he performed his fighting apart from the acrobatics, which he credits to his stunt performer with Cirque du Soleil experience. He quickly clarifies that the professional does the flips.

Improv and Zesty One-Liners

Vega’s attitude gave Peck just as much to work with as the choreography.

“He’s so unimpressed and so superior that interactions with the other cast are just so funny in different ways,” he explains.

That was especially true opposite Liang. The two became close friends on set, giving them room to play with Vega’s immediate disdain for Chun-Li and trade sharp, queer quips.

One moment became a particular cast favorite. As Peck recalls it, Vega flips onto the floor and tells Chun-Li, “I heard the bitch.”

The singer recalls trying alternative lines, but kept coming back to that one (and we can see why). The sheer lack of reason for being so rude is what makes it work for the character, and for audiences, too.

For Peck, those exchanges and elaborate fight flourishes are all part of the same performance. Vega believes he deserves everyone’s attention, whether he is throwing an insult or a punch. Giving him a little room to be absurd helped bring him to life.

Street Fighter is now playing in theaters. Watch Gayety’s full interview with Orville Peck for more on playing Vega, his premiere nerves, and the character’s ideal fight soundtrack.