Quotes

[on developing his interest for acting] The best defense I could use against [being picked on as a child] was to do imitations. Imitations of teachers and other people. I don't think that's a particularly original story but one I think you hear quite a lot from voice actors.

[on growing up French in England] I was musical as a kid. I was a singer. And kind of a foreign kid in a foreign land. I was born in France but grew up in England and in England in the 70's it wasn't good if you were different. And you know, I looked a little different. Sounded a little different.

[on being a struggling actor in England] I was absolutely starving and made no money for years and years and years actually. Even when you're working in professional theatre and I worked in some great theaters, including The National Theatre, it's still hard to make money.

I've been very lucky in my career. I've worked in film, television, theater, and done everything from audio books to cartoons to commercials to video games. Video game voice acting is one of the hardest things I've ever done. The sheer range of stuff that you need to come up with to do it, the amount of physicality you have to put into it in a very short space of time is extremely exhausting.

[on voice acting in games] Variety is always the spice of life, and it's good to have a good range. And also, if I'm giving ten kicks to the stomach, I'm going to try to give a different sound each time because that gives them [the production staff] a lot more opportunities and makes the character sound less two-dimensional.

[on physical acting in the recording booth] You've got to kind of place yourself in that physical situation while still being able to address the microphone. That's what's most difficult about it.

[on working on games doing additional voices] I've worked on games where there is very little dialogue at all and it's all kind of grunts and exerts. Four hours of getting kicked in the face can be a very sobering and exhaustive exercise.

[on creating a character] You got to mentally put yourself in the position of this animated character to give an authentic read. I mean, it's a read really like any line is a read. You have to be as truthful and as authentic as if you were playing a character.

[on working in children's games] You don't really die in LEGO, you just kind of sigh in an exasperated way. Something gentler, less offensive, because it's for the kids.

[on voice techniques for Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor] The truth is that if you slash someone through the neck with a sword, they probably don't make much of a noise because the first thing that's going to be cut off is their vocal cords. But that's not going to read well, so you have to give a sort of guttural, squelchy noise for someone getting their head chopped off.

[on voice directing in games] The relationship between a director and an actor in a video game is very different because the director of a video game really is the only person who knows everything that's going on in that game. Remember, these actors are often walking in blind, not really knowing what project they're working on, sometimes not even knowing what character they are playing.

[on producing voicing efforts in games] I think for newer actors coming into the booth, it's a very alien thing to ask them to do. In fact, the more I talk to you, the more I realize what a completely bizarre thing it is to do for a living.

[on the spirit of Apex Legends being of acceptance] It sounds like a cliché, but it's true. Everyone involved in this game from devs to cast to the community at large is what makes it so very special.

No one is prepared for a strike, particularly when it could be of an unknown length, but the determination is definitely there. It's a question of our future. This isn't just a threat to actors, this is a threat to anyone. We know automation and AI is a massive threat.

[on AI replacing voice performers] I've done over 300 games in my career, probably over 500 characters so, I'm very heavily involved in the industry. This is the biggest existential threat I think we've ever faced as actors.