Baldur’s Gate 3has given us some of the most beloved characters in video game history. Each of them is so well rounded and clearly defined that the community is split on which of them is a clear favourite. Whilethe characters and actors have become extremely popularin the industry, it unfortunately seems Baldur’s Gate 3 hasn’t really boosted their career prospects.
We’d all line up in a heartbeat if we got a chance to meet Neill Newbon, Samantha Béart, Jennifer English, Dave Jones, and the rest, but, according to the actors themselves, casting leads aren’t exactly doing the same. Sure, their names are better known now, but they’ve revealed that the success of the game hasn’t exactly translated to their careers in general.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Cast’s Careers Haven’t Taken Off Like You’d Think
Speaking toAll in the Gameat Heroes Dutch Comic Con, Samantha Béart (Karlach), Theo Solomon (Wyll) and Dave Jones (Halsin) were asked about how Baldur’s Gate 3 changed their careers. While the three were thankful for the amount of fame it got them with fans, the sobering reality is that their careers seem relatively unaffected.
“We had no idea that this game was going to blow up in this kind of way, so travelling and doing these conventions is amazing,” said Solomon. “People flying around the world to meet us and things, it’s amazing, so I’m just very humbled.
“[It’s been] two years in the running, and the lines aren’t getting shorter, which terrifies me,” added Béart. “Because when this first came out, we thought ‘okay, it’s good, it’ll do well’, not ‘it’ll do exceptionally well’.
However, Béart said that while the actors have been successful and are recognised in the video game industry, casting managers from the movie and TV industries still have no idea who they are.
“I think there’s an assumption that we’re all super busy, and sorted, and rich, and none of these things are true,” she explained. “In the UK it’s an interesting one, we work through third-party studios a lot of the time and a lot of the time they don’t really engage in this culture. A lot of the time they go ‘sure, you’re a big shot, of course you are’, and you have to put the award nominations on the table and they go ‘oh, I know what THAT is, so I’ll give you a chance’.
“So there is a disconnect, whereas I think with developers and fans… it’s an odd one, because there’s a whole bit in the middle, the people who record us in the middle, who aren’t maybe so au fait with all of this, how popular [it is]. But the fans and devs very much want us in their work, I think, but it’s NDA’ed up to the eyeballs, this industry, so it’s very hard to get the transparency you get in film and TV. And you don’t see our faces a lot of the time.”
Solomon added, “you do a game which is as big as this and everyone’s like ‘oh, you made it man, you must be getting all the huge jobs’, but no, it’s still the life of an actor, you’re still going up for jobs, you’re still doing jobs here and there, you’re still building. So yes, profile-wise, it’s been incredible for all of us, but you know, actors, we’re in and out of work constantly, that’s the kind of career it is.”
“I know there’s been many winners of performance awards where the phones just haven’t rung for months afterwards,” revealed Solomon. “It can be quite surprising to some people, but us actors, we’re used to rejection and bouts of periods where we’re just not working.”
