The Director

The Director is a main character in Layers of Fear 2. He directs the Actor throughout the story, giving his thoughts on the movie and the Actor's mental psyche. Prior to the games events, he is said to have been a very reclusive and mysterious man. Some rumors suggest he is even deformed.

Multiple notes shown throughout the game show ideas for his project, and that he knows more about the Actor and their situation than he lets on.

He confesses to the Actor near the end of the game that the movie they are starring in is meant to be his final work. Whether this is because of retirement or an impending demise is unknown.

## Speculation

There is a great deal of speculation on the possible true identity of the Director, but nothing has been confirmed. If he is not just the person he is presented as being, there are some theories as to who he could otherwise be.

* One possibility that he is a deity (similar to the Rat Queen) who is toying with the Actor for his own games. They could possibly be competing with one another as to who the Actor ends up being.
* A second possibility is that he is the Rat Queen in disguise, guiding the Actor to make a final decision on their identity. This idea originates from the Formless ending, where the Rat Queen says "If you do", with a darker undertone to her voice, which some have speculated is the Director's voice underling it. This is uncertain.
* A third possibility is that he is actually James himself, or a Formless Man version of James, trying to fix the situation his younger self has found himself in. This can be supported due to the fact that the Director insists that the Actor chooses the choices that lead to James, and says, "How many times have I tried? To put the pieces back together." His notes and quotes make it clear that the Director knows more about the situation than he should. He knows that the Actor has a "stolen flame" to let go off and has become a vessel for another, and that being an empty shell of a person will just lead to disaster. However, this would not explain how another version of James came to exist as a separate being.

## Quotes

"You will play your part. You will stay awake. Sleep is a poor excuse. And so are you. All preparations have been made. Your little toys await you upstairs. Time waits for no one, actor. Do not waste ours. Act."

"The world's a stage, but the play is badly cast."

"There's always a way. A light in the darkness. There's always a way."

"Do you remember? Before the world told you who you should be, do you remember who you were? Come. I will make you remember."

"We always come with a burden. Figures, faces, voices from the past...wrapped in a heavy, old bag. The first thing to do, is to get rid of it."

"A little spark is all it takes. To set the human soul on fire."

"An act of creation always begins with an act of destruction."

"When chasing dreams, we often find ourselves in a nightmare."

"Tragedy strikes at the heart. Despair consumes the soul. A life crumbles."

"One suffers for another. Another takes their place. The machine goes on."

"Time marches on. Death turns to decay."

"No man is an island, but one can become a vessel. To carry within a flame of another."

"It warms the heart, it feeds the soul. It makes the world so bright. So bright. A stolen flame burns strong, burns quick. A stolen flame...burns out."

"From one flame to another. But never your own."

"Some parts are not to be played. Some parts..."

"Don't do it. Don't do it."

"There are things that should not be. Should not be...broken."

"Forever the dream. Forever the wound. Forever...you."

"This place...it sickens me. With all of its clutter and confusion, it is a monument to your weakness. A portrait of your indecision. The wreckage of what never truly was. It is broken. Hollow. Just like you."

"A broken body can be rebuilt. But some wounds go deeper. So much deeper."

"This was to be my final work. To reclaim what was lost. To let go of the stolen fire. To reignite the true flame. But now, the spark...it is almost gone. It is lost. Hopeless. Just like you."

"An empty shell cannot live forever. It cannot live at all. It can only be."

"How many times have I tried? To put the pieces back together. Just to watch them fall apart. I am done. All of us. We cannot be forever."

"How long can a man burn? Before he turns to ash. How could you know? Of all the wasted years. Of all the pain it took to bring you here. You don't even know who you are!"

"How many times must a man die, before he can truly live? How many times?"

"Look at it. This is what happens when you fail to take control."

"Look at it. Twisted! Formless! Just like you. It crumbles, as it must. When the time comes, will you crumble as well?

"The boy that never speaks. Have you found a voice? Soon...the world will know. It's bound to be...a night to remember. Shame I won't be there to see it."