Christopher Judge voices Kratos in God Of War (Picture: Sony)

GameCentral speaks to Christopher Judge and Jeremy Davies about voice acting in video games and their experience on God Of War.

Voice acting in gaming has transformed from an afterthought to a commendable art in recent years, with actors like Norman Reedus, Ellen Page, and Mark Hamill all finding recognition in the medium.

For Christopher Judge, however, taking on the voice of Kratos in God Of War was a gamble which arrived at a transitional time for the industry and his own career – coming off his most famous role as Teal’c in Stargate SG-1.

‘I didn’t want to do it,’ Judge told GameCentral at the BAFTA Games Awards. ‘Keep in mind we started five years ago and it had been a voice medium, so they had just begun to start hiring actors to also do the entire motion capture performance. I was really sceptical.




‘What really convinced me was first of all the script. It wasn’t a video game, it was a script. And [creative director] Cory Barlog, that’s what got me fully on board.’

Sunny Suljic, Danielle Bisutti, Christopher Judge, Cory Barlog and Jeremy Davies (Picture: BAFTA/Gabi Torres)

Judge is now reaping the rewards after picking up Outstanding Achievement In Character at the 2019 D.I.C.E. Awards and being nominated for Performer at the BAFTAs, alongside co-stars Jeremy Davies (The Stranger), Danielle Bisutti (Freya), and Sunny Suljic (Atreus).

The reason for his scepticism stems back to how video game roles were perceived, something which he believes is changing in Hollywood circles.

‘There was kind of this… if your career was flagging you’d do a video game voice for some quick money,’ Judge said. ‘And I was in a transitional state in my career, a transitional state as a human being, and it turned out to play a character that’s in transition was perfect.’

Asked if he believes that attitude to video game roles is changing, Judge replied: ‘Absolutely. Especially with games becoming character and story driven.’

‘I liken it to the early days of cable when HBO was new, like go there if you want to do great work, you know? It’s kind of becoming that way in games so it’s an exciting time,’ he added.

One of the most unique experiences was watching his role in the finished game, after struggling to imagine how it would come together in the final product.

‘I’m 55-years-old, I don’t have the manual dexterity and I have a low patience threshold, so I watched my son play it for three days straight,’ Judge said.

‘And it’s weird when you work on something and you’re so close to it, you can’t really fathom the overall vision and I was flabbergasted. I couldn’t believe it. It was the most magnificent thing I’d ever seen.’

The Stranger and Kratos in God Of War (Picture: Sony)

It was Jeremy Davies’ depiction of The Stranger which picked up the BAFTA for Performer, however, and he compared his experience on God Of War more than favourably with his past roles in Saving Private Ryan, Lost, and Justified.

‘It was a beautifully unique experience,’ Jeremy told GameCentral. ‘I liked it in some ways a lot more than film and TV because… well it had everything to do with Cory [Barlog] first of all. He really understands how to create an atmosphere on set where you can be comfortable, which is important.



‘A lot of sets can just be too loud, crazy, and it’s hard to get your fight or flight, your autonomic nervous system, it’s hard not to trigger it, and you really need no stress at all when you’re working. Cory is just peaceful and funny and brilliant, and it was really relaxing.

‘It also helped to be able to do as many takes as you need. It wasn’t so much like film where it’s costing a thousand dollars a minute or whatever and you have to move like a train leaves the station. It’s like playing chess on the train track.’

Impressively, it’s the first video game role Jeremy has ever taken on – and he’s keen on taking on more in the future.

‘Yeah I’d love to,’ Jeremy adds. ‘My history with this is unique in that my cousin Scott Lynch happens to be COO of Valve, he’s one of the founders. So I’ve been aware of playing Half-Life back then and I’m really proud of him.

‘I resisted nepotism. I wanted to get in legitimately with Cory Barlog, so I’d love to do more. I mean, against their better judgement.’

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