How one of gaming’s most famous actors landed one of the biggest roles in film

How one of gaming’s most famous actors landed one of the biggest roles in film

Heirloom An artfully lit headshot of a man in front of a dark background. His expression is neutral, he has a silver earring in his left ear and his angular chin is covered by a short beard.Heritage

Troy Baker has over 400 acting credits to his name

You might not expect that one of the world’s most famous video game actors would suffer from imposter syndrome.

But, as Troy Baker will tell you, no one is immune.

His best-known role is Joel Miller, the main character of the post-apocalyptic adventure The Last of Us – a game that is regularly praised for its storytelling and performances.

He has also appeared in famous series including BioShock, Uncharted, and Batman: Arkham.

But stepping into the lead role of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was a different matter.

Troy says it was challenging even for him to play the character made famous by Oscar nominee Harrison Ford.

“I turned it down,” he tells BBC Newsbeat, and recalls the time he was first offered the job.

“I was scared. I wondered what this character meant.”

Troy says developer MachineGames’ performance capture team convinced him to change his mind, but there was one more person he had to win over.

Todd Howard, boss of publisher Bethesda, had long dreamed of creating an Indiana Jones game and oversaw the project.

But, Troy says, he “rolled his eyes” when the actor was first introduced.

Howard felt that this would ruin the experience for players who were used to hearing them.

“I never thought that my success would actually work against me,” says Troy.

Instead of being cast in the role, Troy says, he had to audition with dozens of other people.

Eventually it came down to him and another actor. The decision was left up to the test audience and a “blind taste test”, where they had to choose their favorite presentation.

Troy says, “Todd Howard said he picked you every time.”

“And I thought it was a compliment.

“He was like: ‘No, this is a challenge. This is the standard.’

MachineGames video game screenshot of a character who resembles Harrison Ford wearing a brown hat and jacketmachinegames

Indiana Jones takes on Harrison Ford’s look from the first films

The weight of expectation isn’t solely on Troy’s shoulders – anticipation for the first Indiana Jones video game in 15 years is enormous.

Bethesda’s parent company Zenimax was purchased by Microsoft in 2020, before it acquired Activision-Blizzard last year For a record-breaking $69 billion,

The games it got in that deal – including Call of Duty and Warcraft – have been consistently successful, but its gaming division hasn’t had any new in-house hits this year.

They’re hoping Indiana Jones can change that.

Troy says production for the game’s sets was lavish, with crews creating accurate representations of boats, airplanes, and other locations on giant motion-capture stages.

This isn’t unusual for a blockbuster video game in 2024, but it would mean that Great Circle would need good sales to recoup the cost of making it.

The game will initially come to Xbox and PC, and Microsoft recently announced plans to release it on rival platform PlayStation 5.

This angered Xbox fans, who accused the company of going back on its promise to keep the game exclusive has stated that its main goal is to bring its games to as many devices as possible,

A MachineGames screenshot of a jungle scene taken from a first-person perspective shows the player's hand holding the handle of a bullwhip. At the end of it one of two enemy characters dressed in combat gear can be seen attacking the player about 10 feet away. The one who has just been hit is retreating and the pistol can be seen falling from his hand. The other watches nervously as he readies his weapon.machinegames

Crack That Whip: Dr. Jones’ famous accessory appears in the game

Axel Torvenius, creative director of Swedish developer MachineGames, spoke to Newsbeat as work is being done on the final stages before the release of The Great Circle.

He doesn’t go deep into exclusivity details, but says he’s “happy” that the game will be widely available.

Axel says his major concern was to figure out how to use the team’s expertise to create an adventure that felt authentic to its inspiration.

The studio is best known for its work on the rebooted Wolfenstein series.

Like Indiana Jones, the 3D shooter’s protagonist William “BJ” Blazkowicz takes on Nazi enemies, but he does so using an array of increasingly destructive firearms.

Axel says that it would not be suitable at all for the adventurous archaeologist.

He says, “It’s not Indiana Jones, it’s not the brand we’re working with. It’s something else.”

Indiana Jones relies more on stealth than direct confrontation, and the game includes a lot of puzzles.

The game is also played from a first-person perspective, a decision Axel says was made early in the game’s development.

“We’re trying to make you feel like Indiana Jones, like literally get into his shoes and see the world through his eyes,” he says.

“There’s an intimacy you can’t achieve in the third person.”

Christian Prez Headshot of a man taken on a white background. He has dark black hair, cut short and neat, and a well-groomed beard. He is looking directly into the camera lens, highlighting his blue eyes. The light creates shadows on the left side of her face, creating a sense of mystery. Christian priest

Marios Gavrilis has previously provided German voiceovers for English-language games.

For Marios Gavrilis, who played Voss, the villain of The Great Circle, the path to landing the role was a little less rocky.

Like Troy, he has previously worked in video games, primarily re-voiced English characters into German.

This is the first time he has been part of an original cast, and his character’s appearance is based on them.

Marios, who also has a TV credit to his name in Germany, says there is potential for more crossover with video games.

Understanding motion-captured performance – issue Currently at the center of an actors’ strike – He is growing, he told Newsbeat, that not everyone appreciates the work he does.

“We are often referred to as voice actors,” says Marios.

“Really what we are doing is full acting.

“It’s something that people forget, like we’re not the only ones giving voice.

“It’s the entire body, it’s the entire performance that’s being captured.”

MachineGames screenshot shows an evil-looking character lying in the desert talking to Indiana Jones, buried up to his neck in sand. The villain wears glasses, wears nice clothes and has a plaster cast on his nose. In the background of the shot, from ground level and behind Indy's head, the feet of enemy soldiers are visible.machinegames

Mario’s character Voss is a new creation, but he has classic indie villain energy

Early verdicts on The Great Circle’s acting are positive Many critics are praising the Troy version of Indiana Jones

This will come as a relief to the actor, who tells Newsbeat that he spent his first days on set worrying that he would be fired after Todd Howard’s initial skepticism.

But, he says, an email from the boss during the recording helped calm his nerves.

“He said: ‘You’re doing a terrible job,'” says Troy.

“And I was like: ‘You have no idea how much I needed to hear this right now.’

The players’ final decision will come when they gain control of the game, and Troy says he plans to join them.

“As an artist, I’ve kind of already experienced it,” he says.

“But there’s nothing like picking up the controller and now you’re Indiana Jones. So that’s what I’m looking forward to.

“If you get to the end of the game and you think ‘I was Indiana Jones’, then I’ve done my job.”

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