Kratos Voice Actor Claims Perception of Games is Changing for the Better
Christopher Judge is the voice actor of Kratos in SIE’s newly-released God of War. In a recent interview with BBC’s Newsbeat, he claimed that the perception of games in the acting community is changing. Importantly, those perceptions are changing for the better.
Speaking about acting for video games, Judge stated that games “used to be where you went when your career was over in front of the camera.” However, according to Judge, that perception of the industry is changing rapidly; “Reading the script for the first time, I thought it was for a big A-List film,” he told interviewers, “… Now every actor I know is searching for a lead role in a game.”
When Judge first received the script, he says that he had “no clue,”that it was for a game and not a film. Given God of War’s strong emotional themes and emphasis on character relationships, it’s easy to see why. Of course, not every game has that deep and powerful of a story. However, stories of that sort are becoming increasingly common. Games like Last of Us, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, and now God of War, among many others; these titles are increasingly broaching topics that would have been rare to see in games during the 2000s or earlier.
Judge says that he didn’t realize that he was auditioning for a game straightaway. When he did; “The material was so good though I didn’t care, and after a further call back I was told it was for a game but I was fine with it because it didn’t seem to be written like that.”
The increasing use of strong storytelling is certainly a key factor in changing perceptions. The sales success of major games is another. However, it has also helped a great deal for well-known actors to star in major video games. Judge describes hearing about Kevin Spacey’s role in Call of Duty as one such instance. As more stars become willing to lend their talents to games, and studios increasingly push for scripts of higher caliber, no doubt perceptions will continue to change in the coming years.
“There are wonderful tales to be told in this medium,” says Judge, “and it truly is just another form to exercise your craft.”