24: WGE MAG
WGE MAG: 25
recording of him announcing my name as if I was on X Factor. That would’ve made a pretty enviable text message alert tone for my mobile.
Interview:
Adam Howden Voice over actor
dam Howden is creating a name for himself as a voice over actor in video games. You might recognize his voice from such games as Dragon Age and Fable III. Adam recently took some time to answer a few questions for World Gaming Executives.
A
How did you get into the field of voice over work?
I trained as an actor at the Drama Centre London, which was mostly theatre based training. I graduated in 2005. Quite soon after that I got my first TV job, a small part in an SAS drama called “Ultimate Force” starring Ross Kemp. The job itself was over in a flash with just two days of filming. Fortunately for me I got chatting with one of the other actors (Simon Lenagan) and I told him I was really keen to get into voice overs. Very conveniently for me he had
books, I acted quickly and recorded a new reel. She seemed impressed and then decided to give me a go. Very soon after that I was sent over to various studios to voice commercials, corporate videos and eventually games.
“Recently I finished voicing the lead
character in what I hope will be a big game for Ubisoft. I’m not allowed say what it is yet but it’ll definitely look good on the CV.”
just started a voice agency with an agent friend (Leigh Matty) and told me to contact her. I sent her my first attempt at a voice reel. She quickly got back to me saying that she liked my voice but my reel was BAD and I needed to record a new good one. Leigh made no promises to take me on, but heeding her advice and noticing she didn’t have anyone with the same vocal quality as mine on her
You’ve worked on commercials and corporate videos but your career now seems firmly focused on video games. What are you working on at the moment? Recently I finished voicing the lead character in what I hope will be a big game for Ubisoft. I’m not allowed say what it is yet but it’ll definitely look good on the CV. I have also been working on Dragon Age 2 DLC (Dragon Age: Legacy) for BioWare and a game for Nintendo along with fellow voice actor Peter Dickson of X Factor fame.
Generally with games you record your dialogue without the other actors in the booth with you. Sometimes though the sound engineer can play you the other actor’s dialogue if they’ve already recorded it. I have to admit I giggled a lot when I heard Peter Dickson’s voice talking to me. His voice is great and so distinguishable. I wish I got a
Your work as Anders on EA’s Dragon Age series has received critical acclaim, is it a role you have enjoyed? Working for BioWare on the Dragon Age franchise has been a lot of fun and a big learning curve. Dragon Age: Origins was one of the first games I worked on. I played lots of small roles, which is actually harder in some ways than playing one big role because you want to make each character different. So I’ve had to make sure I can actually do all the dialects I say I can on my CV.
My biggest role in the DA games has been Anders in DA2. I’ve even got a Twitter following just because of Anders. I think he’s quite a popular character because he is well written and has an interesting back-story. He’s passionate about his cause as a freedom fighter. He’s a loyal companion and love interest. He speaks his mind. He’s a tortured soul but also has a great sense of humour. He kicks ass and most importantly he loves cats. I’ve had such a positive response from playing Anders. Some people have said some lovely complimentary things about him.
The role of Anders certainly raises some interesting questions on the issue of sexuality in gaming. What’s your take on the great debate?
Star Wars franchise. The Lucas Arts/BioWare team were really professional and treated me well. Understandably though there was a lot of secrecy surrounding the game. I wasn’t entirely sure which Star Wars game I was working on at first. It was very exciting and it is going to be massive. I voiced lots of different characters and got to really have fun doing all kinds of voices I didn’t even know I could do.
“Some
The Dragon Age games are very forward thinking. I think it’s amazing you can play the game as a man or a woman and be gay or straight. Some people told me how brave they thought I was for recording the gay option with the kissing and love scenes. It wasn’t that brave of me really as I was alone in the booth snogging the back of my hand. I’ve played gay characters in the past though and it’s really not an issue for me. I was quite disappointed to read homophobic comments on some of the Dragon Age YouTube videos. Come on people, it’s the 21st century and all that.
people told me how brave they thought I was for recording the gay option with the kissing and love scenes.”
You’ve worked on an impressive number of games. Do you have a favourite character you have worked with? Anders in DA 2 has been a really important character for me to play. He feels like my breakthrough VO role. And the characters I voiced in Fable III had some of the funniest, most bizarre dialogue I’ve done. However, I have a real soft spot for the role of Fenton Paddock, who I played in a PC game called Lost Horizon. It was an unashamed rip-off of Indiana Jones but it was my first leading role in a game. I just pretended I was Roger Moore the whole time I was in the sound booth. My eyebrow was key to my performance and director Phil Evans at SIDE UK (where I record most of the games) never let me drop it.
How would you describe your voice? How would I describe my voice? My voice agent (The Just Voices Agency) describes my voice as bright, young and charming. I would like to add clear and engaging to that list.
You’ve also done some work on one of the most highly anticipated MMOs on the horizon - Star Wars: The Old Republic. How did that differ to working on the more traditional console games? As a VO, working on Star Wars: The Old Republic wasn’t really any different from working on any other game, other than the fact that it feels quite prestigious to be working on the
You’ve worked on some some of the biggest hits in gaming but are is there a video game franchise you wish you had worked on?
I wish I’d been in Red Dead Redemption or LA Noire. The stories and performances are fantastic. I hope Rockstar games come calling soon.
Recently I finished voicing the lead character in what I hope will be a big game for Ubisoft and for me, the voice of Tintin in the upcoming game of the same name. I have also been
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