Jon Curry is one of the most prolific actors in the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dragon Age series, having voiced Zevran in Dragon Age: Origins before returning to play the male Inquisitor in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Despite this - and despite his love of BioWare🗹 as a 🍷company - he has almost zero experience with the games themselves.
"I've only seen pieces of scenes," Curry tells me. "Obviously if we're still recording and they have some of the artwork finished or some or it's very close to being finished, they'll show me. I got to see some sketches of Zev. And on Inquisition, I did a post-game interview thing with [Iron Bull actor] Freddie Prinze Jr. That's basically the extent of my knowledge about the finished product."
This shouldn't be chalked up to Curry not caring, however. It's clear, from the way he talks about his time with the game, that he loved the experience and studied the lore bible during recording, but he admits he has since mixed up pieces of knowledge with The Elder Scrolls and several other fantasy properties he's performed in. He has owned Dragon Age: Origins on Steam since it went on sale a year ago, but has still not found the time to play. Make no mistake, though - Zevran was more than just a job for Curry.
"When I went in for the sessions, I was struck first of all by Zevran having this complete swagger, and I had never done a character like that," Curry says. "He will sleep with anyone and anything to further his means, and I thought that was, at least at that time, revolutionary for a character like that. Over the years, I've had a lot of fans reach out and talk about that. Some have said that the game literally saved their lives. They were in horrible dark moments, and it was the primary release and form of escapism for them. I was so struck by that. I mean, I've been doing film and TV for 30 years, but I never had someone react to a character like Zevran before."
Having worked on both Origins and Inquisition, Curry has a substantial insight into how BioWare works, and is keen to highlight the work the studio does to prepare and coach the actors through their scripts. He worked with the same director on both games, and mentions her influence on his performance, particularly as Zevran, several times. "Ginny McSwain has been around for years and years as an animation and game director," Curry says. "[Origins] was the first time I'd ever worked with her. She will pull things out of you that you didn't know were there, and encourage you to go places with the characterization of your role that as an actor, you perhaps didn't see coming. I think that's a thing BioWare identifies. They're just not going to throw in some copywriter who's never directed before, they're going to identify top notch, at the peak of their craft, voice directing talent to run these sessions. And I think that's critical. I mean, it's no different than having a top notch director on an episodic television show or working with James Cameron. Like, you have to have that level of director."
And Curry worked with McSwain a lot. He estimates that he did around ten four-hour sessions to record Zevran in Origins, and around double that for the Inquisitor in Inquisition. Despite the gruelling experience though, Curry says the sessions never felt like work. "There was never a moment of drudgery in those four-hour sessions," he explains. "For me, it was always a great excuse to come in and be an actor. To play around and sometimes improvise, and sometimes be moved by the material. And that's extremely rare, in my humble estimation."
Having been given such a wide open space to play with around the characters, Curry has no regrets about the roles - except one. "I would have loved to have done full performance capture for both of those roles," he admits. "I wasn't given that option. Obviously, during Dragon Age: Origins, the performance capture element wasn't nearly as complex as it was in [Inquisition]. But if I'm not mistaken, most of the mocap was being done in England at the time, so I didn't get the offer. I would always prefer [motion capture] as an actor, even though I would be physically too old for Zevran if we were really casting it, but that's not the point. It's the essence of the performance capture, right? With your face and your body. I wish that in my game experience that I had more opportunity to do full performance capture, because sometimes I will see scenes after we've recorded and the physicality of the performance is completely wrong for the intention of the scene. My preference would always be full performance capture so I can incorporate my own movements, because you're creating the role, right? I think it would be interesting to see a motion captured Zevran or Inquisitor."
Curry uses his regular voice for the Inquisitor, although he consciously puts on Zevran's iconic accent for the Antivan Crow. He’s a reflective man, speaking slowly and deliberately throughout - especially when considering whether he would even be in the running for a Zevran role in 2021. "The original spec on Zevran when I first read it was Latin rooted in a Latin-slash-Mediterranean feel," Curry says. "And I don't know if they literally used Antonio Banderas as a reference, but I certainly went in that direction. Which begs a very interesting question for now for our current times - would I have ever even been considered for that role [today]?"
Anyone hoping Zevran might be making a return in the fourth game might be a little disappointed, however. I asked Curry if he was back for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dragon Age 4, expecting the best likely response to be 'no comment' and a knowing wink. Instead, he tells me deadpan, "Well, I died a horrible death in the first one, so no." Since he's yet to begin his playthrough, I apologise for the spoilers and explain to Curry that while Zevran can die, most players manage to keep him alive, and that everyone is hoping he returns for the fourth game. Either Curry is an extremely good actor - it is literally his job, after all - or he had no idea Zevran returning was an option. "Oh,” he says. “When's it coming out?"
Maybe he'll call BioWare up and hash out a plan for Dragon Age 5, yeah?