Actor, voice actor, director and producer, British Neil Newbon specializes in motion capture and over time has played many characters from major games such as Nikolai and Nemesis in Resident Evil 3, Carl Heisenberg in Resident Evil Village and most recently Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3. BGS 2024 was well received by the audience, and much loved during his brief stay in São Paulo, the actor had time to speak with Terra Camon.
Game On: First of all, I want to thank you for giving us this interview. To begin with, how do you feel in Brazil? Is this your first time here?
Neil Newbone: In fact, it was my first visit to Latin America. It was really interesting and I haven't been able to explore much because I have to go to work in Europe so my time here is very limited. São Paulo is a very interesting and busy city, the people here were very kind and welcoming and I really liked it.
Game On: How did you start your career as an actor and what was the first game you worked on?
Neil Newbone: I started as an actor, with drama, when I went to the National Theater with Ed Wilson, who sadly passed away a long time ago. Tom Hardy, Daniel Craig, and some who left there went on to become very prominent actors. From there I got noticed by an agent and started working, and that's when I realized I needed training, so I practiced method acting for several years, developed a lot of skills, and learned a lot about acting. In many ways I still consider myself a student.
About 15 years ago, I ran out of options in casting because I wasn't famous and I had to compete against celebrities I couldn't beat in an audition for a film, no matter how good it was. I was. I was about to quit acting when I got a job in sports, and I was ready to quit acting in the same month. The first video game I played was Ghost Recon Future Soldier from Ubisoft in 2009 or 2010. And with the games I was able to “remove the face”, I could play any type of character, a new guy, an old guy, a wizard, an elf… It was very liberating, it allowed me to have fun interpreting the characters.
Game On: In that sense, what was it like to spot the cast with MOCAP? Does it have to be completely different from traditional acting?
Neil Newbone: Um, yes and no. I see it as a mix between film and theatre, so I use techniques from both fields, and actually I find it very liberating, because things are distant at the same time, so there's no need to know where the cameras are going to be. , what that means is, you can be yourself, be the character without worrying about the environment around you, and like I said, it's very liberating, and I love it.
Game On: What was it like working at Laurian Studios?
Neil Newbone: It was exciting! I think this is one of the best companies I have worked for. It's a great company because they think about the player first. They spent hours and hours on things that weren't really “necessary” for the game, but they chose to do it for the players, and I think that's amazing. From start to finish I had a great experience at Larian, one of the best companies I have ever worked for and if I am lucky enough to be asked to work with them again, I would definitely go. Everyone there has the same culture of affection and support and they have managed to deliver a masterpiece.
Game On: When you were working for Laurion, do you remember any funny stories from filming Astarion?
Neil Newbone: Yes, there were a lot of funny things, a lot of stories, but I can't tell you because they are confidential! (laughs) I had a lot of fun there, I made a lot of friends, I directed, I consulted, I did creature MOCAP, I acted as a consultant to the studio, I went to Quebec to teach animators about MOCAP and performance, everything was amazing… .
Game On: What are your plans for new games, film projects, acting…
Neil Newbone: I have some projects that I can't talk about, confidentiality issues. I am participating in 8 projects as an actor, director in one, projects as producer, consultant, acting are separate. Will be running workshops again and plan to expand to Canada as well as the UK production company is great…so I'm busy! (laughs) Oh and there's a Twitch channel too!
Game On: So you've been a gamer for a long time?
Neil Newbone: Yes! My first video game was a ZX Spectrum, I bought those magazines with programming lists on how to make a game and it was really cool.
Game On: So to conclude, for the Brazilian gaming community, would you like to send a message for your fans?
Neil Newbone: Thank you all so much for your support and interest in my work. Thanks to everyone who loves my characters, I'm grateful that they make them fun and I hope to continue to do so for many years to come. I believe there are still plenty of characters for people to love or hate depending on their taste (laughs). So I'm grateful to be accepted into so many fan communities. Thanks Brazil!
