Voice acting in games and cartoons

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Charlemagne · #1 Post by **Charlemagne** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 12:34 am

I've always thought voice actors get a raw deal. Most people know their voices but not their names or anything else about them. Anyway, I was looking at the credits for QFG IV today and was surprised to discover what an all-star cast it is. Sierra managed to get some of the best actors in the business, and most have done lots of cartoons and games:

John Rhys-Davies (Narrator):
probably most famous for playing Gimli in the LOTR movies
also played Professor Arturo in Sliders

Jennifer Hale (Katrina):
has voiced too many characters to name
Black Cat in the latest Spider-Man series
Mazzy the halfling paladin in Baldur's Gate II
Bastila in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
lots of kids cartoons and games

Gregg Berger (Dmitri the Burgomeister):
Grimlock, Long Haul, Torq III, Skyfire and Outback in Transformers
Jecht in Final Fantasy X
Cornfed in Duckman (Duckman's straight-laced sidekick)
lots of Star Wars games

Jeff Bennett (Ad Avis, Bonehead, Dr. Cranium and Igor):
Baloney in Animaniacs
Drizzt in Baldur's Gate

Cam Clarke (The Domovoi, Nikolai and Gypsy Davy):
Max Sterling in Robotech
Leonardo and Rocksteady in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (if your memory goes back that far

)
Drizzt in Baldur's Gate II
many voices in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
lots of other games and cartoons

Jim Cummings (Hans and Boris the Gate Guard):
Leatherhead in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Tasmanian Devil in Taz-Mania
Darkwing Duck in Darkwing Duck
The Narrator in Animaniacs
Sergeant Frick among others in Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
Minsc in Baldur's Gate I/II
too many others to name

Bill Farmer (The Leshy and one of the "stoopid" Goon Guards):
the current voice of Goofy
King Gryph in King's Quest VIII: Mask of Eternity

Joan Gerber (Magda):
lots of classic cartoon series and movies from the 60s to the 80s

Jess Harnell (Franz):
great Rodney Dangerfield impression
Wakko Warner in Animaniacs
Dr. Finkelstein in Kingdom Hearts

Mitzi McCall (Bella):
for the real old-timers on this board, she was a regular on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In in the late 60s

Diane Pershing (Erana and the Rusalka):
Poison Ivy in Batman: The Animated Series
Safana in Baldur's Gate

Neil Ross (Ivan and Erasmus):
great Jack Nicholson voice
Bonecrusher, Crosshairs, Hook, Point Blank, Sixshot, Slag, Springer, Monzo and Tornedron in Transformers
Keith, Jeff, Pidge and Chip in Voltron
lots of characters in G.I. Joe
The Narrator in Leisure Suit Larry 6/7
Eldoth in Baldur's Gate
too much more to list

By comparison, the cast for QFG V isn't nearly as impressive. I guess Sierra felt they had shelled out enough for the game's development that they didn't want to pay for the big-name voice actors again. But now I'm curious, who are some of your favourite voice actors or the characters they play? Personally, I think that Jim Cummings has done some of the funniest voices I've ever heard. Just look at Darkwing Duck and Minsc from the Baldur's Gate series.

Angelus3K · #2 Post by **Angelus3K** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 8:48 am

Cam Clarke is also known for being the voice of the new He-Man cartoon series and was the voice of Freddy in Freddy Pharkas! He was also the voice of Liquid Snake in Metal Gear Solid games.

Alias · #3 Post by **Alias** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 10:19 am

Garry Owens has voiced over 800 cartoon/game characters in his life if I am correct.

Amayirot Akago · #4 Post by **Amayirot Akago** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 1:56 pm

Rog wrote:Garry Owens has voiced over 800 cartoon/game characters in his life if I am correct.

Most notably the narrator in SQ4 & 6

Alias · #5 Post by **Alias** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 5:47 pm

I know.

Kurdt · #6 Post by **Kurdt** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:13 am

You want crazy, get a load of this: Billy West, who played Emilio Baza in Gabriel Knight 3, was the voice of Stimpy from "Ren & Stimpy," is the current voice of Bugs Bunny; Elmer Fudd; Woody Woodpecker; Fry, the Professor, and Dr. Zoidberg from "Futurama;" Porky Pig, and even did Shaggy from "Scooby-Doo" for a while, and that's just a small bit of what he does. Voice actors are all over the place.

TakariFreak · #7 Post by **TakariFreak** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 4:24 am

Jeff Bennett has a TON of credits in his name too. In Garoyles, he voiced, what, at least a half dozen REGULAR characters.

Charlemagne · #8 Post by **Charlemagne** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:45 pm

Yes yes yes, it's all very nice to list other voice acting credits for the QFG4 cast, but no one has answered my question. Who are your favourite actors or characters?

For me, Jim Cummings and Jennifer Hale have done some of the most memorable voices I can think of. I particularly like Cummings's "goofball"-type voices like Darkwing Duck, the desk sergeant in the first Gabriel Knight game, and the hilarious one-liners from Minsc in Baldur's Gate ("Go for the eyes Boo! Go for the eyes! Raaaagh!!" "You point, I punch!" "Full plate and packing steel!").

While I haven't seen many of the animated characters Jennifer Hale voices (I've yet to see an episode of Powerpuff Girls), I still think that her voice has a wonderful quality well suited to "heroic" games, whether it's a smooth vampiric voice with subtly erotic overtones or that of an emotionally conflicted Jedi.

adeyke · #9 Post by **adeyke** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 9:32 pm

Who are your favourite actors or characters?

I think my favourite voice actor would be 林原めぐみ, though there are quite a few other good ones.

Meerbat · #10 Post by **Meerbat** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 9:34 pm

I had a similar post some time ago... It is very interesting how many actors are specialized only in voice-overs and never get a chance on the screen, except for short insignificant ER cameos or roles in Steven Seagal movies...
Another very talented example is Rob Paulson, who has done some voices in Escape from Monkey Island and pretty much participates in almost every cartoon on Cartoon Network, his most famous ones being Yakko Warner and Pinky.

Pidgeot · #11 Post by **Pidgeot** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 9:48 pm

adeyke wrote:I think my favourite voice actor would be 林原めぐみ, though there are quite a few other good ones.

Agreed indeed.

For those who can't read Japanese, that reads Megumi Hayashibara - known for various Anime roles such as Haruka from Love Hina, Musashi from POKÃ©MON, Rei from Evangelion, and about a thousand other roles.

She's also a great singer, and I currently have one of her songs (Sakura Saku, the Love Hina opening theme) on repeat (along with Kirari Takaramono, the Love Hina Again opening theme - this one is sung by Yui Horie, who plays Naru).

(Above links go to Wikipedia.)

Angelus3K · #12 Post by **Angelus3K** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 9:55 pm

Plus we cant forget Tony Plana! He was great in such films as the 3 Amigos and did an excellent job with Manny in Grim Fandango!

Cumboy · #13 Post by **Cumboy** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 5:50 am

You should be shot in the face for leaving out Russi Taylor, the voice of 'Tanya Markarov' who also plays 'Martin Prince' in 'The Simpsons'!

Hang your head in shame....

The Epicurean · #14 Post by **The Epicurean** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 9:26 pm

I'm also quite an avid follower of voice actors. I find myself constantly astounded by the range of these people, especially those "chameleon" actors like Jim Cummings and Jeff Bennett.

As to favourite voice actor, I don't really have a definite favourite, as I generally admire the work of all the great voice actors. Although I'm always quite pleased when Tony Jay graces a game with his highly distinctive and powerful voice.

As an interesting aside, Fallout was another game with a remarkably strong cast. It included quite a few people recognized for good film and television work, such as Tony Shaloub, CCH Pounder, Ron Perlman and Brad Garrett, as well as v/a greats like Jim Cummings, Jeff Bennett, Kath Soucie, Cree Summer, David Warner and Tony Jay.

Charlemagne · #15 Post by **Charlemagne** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 10:36 pm

I have Fallout but never bothered to look at the cast, although I do remember recognising Tony Shalhoub. But David Warner? Irenicus from Baldur's Gate 2? I'm surprised I missed him.

Quest For Glory Fan · #16 Post by **Quest For Glory Fan** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 1:07 am

for those of you who don't know fallout well heres a review I wrote a few years back.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin ... 65542.html I only ever beat the game once but played it so freaking much that it should count. Also I gave the game 8 out of 10 which was the lowest score on the website. I'm a big fan of voice overs my favourites are Jennifer Hale (Power Puff girls is shamefully a show I've seen twice) I thought it was interesting because MGS is the series that got me into voice acting. Hale did Dr. Naomi hunter in the first game who is a smart british woman of an elderly status. It sounded pretty good and it was the first time I heard her. Then she does this 20 year old girl with hydrophobia in the second game and you can't even tell. I can barely remeber what Katrina sounded like because I heard the game only once when I was very little (4 maybe?) and now I'm wondering was it her again in QFGV? When MGS1 was remade for Gamecube the took away Naomis English accent and I was like what? how can they do that!? I then noticed lots of people can do that and lost all confidence in my own voice |I . I know Spikey and myself atleast have heard Sheena in Tales of Symphonia for Gamecube and again she has a comletly new voice. How many can she dish out?

My second favorite has got to be Cam Clarke just because it's fun to ask people if they remember which ninja turtle he played. Also although he doesn't have a wide variety of voices (albeit he is good at some changes) that dark voice is just absolutly needed. It's not quite a Max Payne voice of darkness but not a voice you'd hear on Blues Clues. Apart from being in 2 of the metal gear titles like Hale Clarke can also be credited with Tales of Symphonia as the backstabbing bastard who switches sides more than the Italians did in WWII.

My third favorite has gotta be John Rys Davies simply because I found out he was the voice of Aladdins father Cassim in Aladdin and the King Of Thieves which is my all time favourite movie.also was he in the third Indiana Jones movie becuase there is a man who looks similar in there but I can't remeber his name.

Anyways I like voice actors and people with knowledge on VA's are very hard to find in your community.

Charlemagne · #17 Post by **Charlemagne** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 1:40 am

Quest For Glory Fan wrote:My second favorite has got to be Cam Clarke just because it's fun to ask people if they remember which ninja turtle he played.

Leonardo. He also did the voice of Rocksteady.

Interesting story: when I was in public school, I had an American friend living with his mother here in Canada who knew Cam Clarke through his father, a surgeon from Fresno, California.

Klytos · #18 Post by **Klytos** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 1:53 am

The Guy who plays Zap Brannagan in Futurama. Legend.

Quest For Glory Fan · #19 Post by **Quest For Glory Fan** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 2:32 am

only one person in my high school ever got that question right. I was aware that he was also rock steady but TMNT was 2 years before my time so I have no idea who that is

The Epicurean · #20 Post by **The Epicurean** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:12 am

Klytos wrote:The Guy who plays Zap Brannagan in Futurama. Legend.

I might be wrong, but it is probably Billy West. He, along with a handful of other regular actors, did about every voice on every episode of the show.

And to Charlemagne, David Warner played Morpheus, leader of the Children of the Cathedral. You can find him on the top floor of the chathedral, but it is possible to complete the game without talking to him. The only way you can really talk to him at length is if you have a disguise and are playing the game "diplomat" style.

Quest For Glory Fan · #21 Post by **Quest For Glory Fan** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:57 pm

phil lamar is also a very talented VA if anyone wants to try and pick out all the things he did

Angelus3K · #22 Post by **Angelus3K** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 7:07 pm

IMDB is your friend

Broomie · #23 Post by **Broomie** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 7:15 pm

Cumboy wrote:You should be shot in the face for leaving out Russi Taylor, the voice of 'Tanya Markarov' who also plays 'Martin Prince' in 'The Simpsons'!

Hang your head in shame....

And you should be shot in the face for having such a disgusting name.