Steve Downes: The voice of Master Chief talks about being the man behind the mask

What exactly does voice acting give to the character and how important do you think it is in bringing the character to life?

Voice acting brings another dimension to the game. It allows the story to develop more fully. It’s not all that different than when silent movies went to talkies. If the game has a story to tell, Like Halo, then good writing and voice acting are essential.

How were you cast you as Master Chief?

Marty O’Donnell [composer at Bungie] cast me in a small role for a PC game called Septerra Core. I guess he liked my work, because a year or so later, Marty was with Bungie and was casting voice roles for Halo. He called me in to read for Master Chief.

Could you define your impression of Master Chief prior to voicing him? How did you view his personality as was written in the script?

I did not even see a picture of Master Chief when I read the script for Halo: Combat Evolved. Marty described the game and the character. He said the Chief would not have a lot of lines, but what he had should be very powerful. I approached him as an understated, somewhat reluctant hero, who is bound by duty to fulfil his mission, but did not necessarily take joy in killing. He knew it had to be done, and he just happened to be very good at it.

How did your own view of Master Chief compare to that of the design team?

I think we were on the same page. I liked the way he was drawn [written] and I think they liked my initial approach to the character. From there it was fine-tuning.

When coming up with the voice for Master Chief, were you often in discussion with the directors/designers?

I think Marty had a specific idea of what he wanted Master Chief to sound like, and he was familiar with my work, so it was a good match from the beginning. Once everyone was satisfied with his sound for the first game, it was smooth sailing.

As an actor, how do you personally go about finding the right voice and emotions for your character?

I really try to get inside the character and find out what drives him. I was flying pretty blind with the Chief on Halo, but I had a better idea who he was and how he related to the other characters, especially Cortana, by Halo 2. Since you can’t see Master Chief, it gives me a little more freedom in terms of attitude.

Could you give a brief overview of exactly what happens in the sound studio?

The actors worked alone. I never actually read with any of the other actors. I worked with Marty, who was in the studio with me, and sometimes some of the writers would be patched in. They would set up each scene and then we’d just start laying down tracks until they got the one they wanted. Sometimes I’ll be called back for pick-up lines, or script changes, and then there’s what I call the ‘death session’, which is entirely devoted to Master Chief screaming in response to the various ways he gets killed or wounded when you shooters out there don’t do your job!
 
How important do you feel the development and improvement of voice work will be to gaming’s strive to simulate reality and find new ways to entertain?

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