This is the first in a, hopefully, multipart series looking at some of the big-name stars who have lended their acting talents to the industry. In a sense, This is one of the least-publicised areas of the industry. With the exception of people voicing themselves or characters they played in the movie the game is based on, I will show you some of the great people doing great work in a young industry.
First on the list is two people who did work on the Video Game Halo 2. Besides being the best Console FPS ever made, its also a very cinematic game, with beautiful, stylized locations, moving scenes and a storyline that, while unfinished (waiting for Halo 3...) empahsizes the folley that comes with putting far too much faith in religion. Nothing like a religous power trying to activate a bomb with the blast radius of the galaxy to send a message.
Person #1 on the list is someone who emphasizes this perfectly:
Ron Perlman. While he's better known in Hellboy and Blade 2, he's done a lot of games, from the good (True Crimes: Streets of LA) to the bad (Narc), but always putting together a good performance.
In Halo 2, he plays the part of Lord Hood, the leader of Earth's defense force. He doesn't have many lines, but plays the part of the Master Chief's commanding officer very well.
The other person is someone who has done something a bit more... prominient.
One of the underappriciated elements of Halo 2 is the chatter of the soldiers. Occasionally you won't be a lone wolf, you'll have backup in the form of other Marines or, when playing as a Covenanat Elite, Covenant troops. A lot of the chatter is simple "Got 'em!" or "Incoming!" yells, but Bungie had the bright idea to bring in a comedian to throw in some jokes.
That comedian is
David Cross, better known as Tobias Bluth of Arrested Development fame. Some of the better lines:
(in response to a call to fall in) "Yeah, you got it. Will there be snacks?"
"Alright, who pissed them off?"
"And we've got a lovely parting gift for the losers. It's death!"
"Uh... let's see. Our colonies are blown to hell, the Covenant have found earth, and our last best hope is a guy in green metal underoos with serious friendly fire issues. Ah, I'm great!"
"Let's settle in. Anyone see a Starbucks? Oh, there's one over there. Oh, and one across the corner from it. Oh, and then there's one across the corner from there. Oh, there's twelve of 'em!"
Hehehe...
A surprising amount of actors do this because, well, the time commitement is low, the pay is good, and it's easier than live-action acting.
Quality voice acting really is hard to come by, which is why it's important to recognize those who do a good job :).
