Entertainment

How one of gaming’s best-known actors took on one of film’s biggest roles

Published

4 weeks ago

December 9, 2024

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You might not expect one of the world’s best-known video game actors to suffer from imposter syndrome.
But, as Troy Baker will tell you, no-one’s immune.
His most famous role is Joel Miller, the main character of post-apocalyptic adventure The Last of Us – a game regularly praised for its storytelling and performances.
He’s also appeared in celebrated 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 taking on the character made famous by Oscar nominee Harrison Ford was daunting, even for him.
“I turned it down,” he tells BBC Newsbeat, thinking back to when he was first offered the job.
“I was scared. I felt the weight of what this character meant.”
Troy says the performance capture team at developer MachineGames convinced him to change his mind, but there was one more person he had to win over.
Todd Howard, the boss of publisher Bethesda, had long dreamed of making an Indiana Jones game and oversaw the project.
But, Troy says, he “rolled his eyes” when the actor was first put forward.
Howard felt it would ruin the experience for players so used to hearing him.
“I never thought that my success would actually work against me,” says Troy.
Rather than walk into the role, Troy says, he had to audition with dozens of others.
It eventually came down to him and and one other actor. The decision was left to a test audience and a “blind taste test” where they had to choose the performance they preferred.
“Todd Howard said they picked you every time,” Troy says.
“And I thought that was a compliment.
“He was like: ‘No, it’s a challenge. That’s the standard’.”

Entertainment

‘I wanted to be a dancer – now I’m a WWE star’

Published

3 days ago

January 1, 2025

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She is watched by millions and has won titles in sold out arenas, but WWE wrestler Isla Dawn has one challenge still to overcome – getting her nephews to cheer her on.
“They refuse to watch me,” laughs the wrestler, real name Courtney Stewart.
“They’ll watch anyone on it but me! Auntie Coco is my name with them, and they’ll just skip through my matches and go onto a battle royal or whatever’s next.”
Luckily Isla has had far less trouble connecting with fans at home and abroad, with the Glasgow grappler winning the company’s tag team titles in 2024 on an emotional night in Glasgow.

Entertainment

All the music, TV, film, art and more to get excited about in 2025

Published

3 days ago

January 1, 2025

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Whether you want to know about some of the coming year’s biggest gigs and festivals, or which books, films and TV shows are coming out, there should be something here for everyone.
You can also discover 2025’s key fashion trends, plus which theatre is reimagining Wayne and Coleen Rooney as mythical heroes – and why a giant spider is returning to London.

Entertainment

‘We’re all considering death all the time’: Willem Dafoe on new vampire film

Published

3 days ago

January 1, 2025

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When I meet Willem Dafoe on Zoom to discuss his latest movie Nosferatu, we get on to mortality fast.
The four-time Oscar-nominated actor is talking to me for Radio 4’s Today programme about Robert Eggers’ remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name, which was an unauthorised adapatation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Nosferatu is the tale of a terrifying vampire who is infatuated with a haunted young woman called Ellen, played by Lily-Rose Depp.
The story that unfolds involves a lot of death. Where creatures that feed on human blood are concerned, that’s pretty standard. But Dafoe, who plays a vampire-hunting professor of the occult in the film, tells me in real life too “we’re all somewhere considering death all the time”.
For him, that’s one explanation for the popularity of vampire stories.