Actor, voice actor, director and producer, British Neil Newbon specialized in motion capture and over time played several characters from major games, such as Nikolai and Nemesis in Resident Evil 3, Karl Heisenberg in Resident Evil Village and more recently Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3. Acclaimed by the BGS 2024 audience, and well liked during his brief stay in São Paulo, the actor found time to talk to Terra Game On, check it out:
Game started: First of all, I would like to thank you for having us and giving us this interview. To begin with, how have you been feeling here in Brazil? Is this your first time here?
Neil Newbon: In fact, this is my first visit to Latin America. It's been really interesting, it's a shame I can't explore more as I have to go back to work in Europe so my time here is quite limited. São Paulo is a very interesting and busy city, the people here were very kind and welcoming, I really liked it.
Game started: How did you start your career as an actor and what was the first game you worked on?
Neil Newbon: I started as an actor, with dramatic art, when I went to the National Theatre, with Ed Wilson, who unfortunately passed away a long time ago. Some people who left there, like Tom Hardy, Daniel Craig, became immensely important actors. From there I was noticed by an agent and started working, that's when I realized I needed to train, so I practiced method acting for many years, developed my skills a lot, learned a lot about acting…I still train, in many ways I still consider myself a student.
And around 15 years ago I ran out of options in terms of casting, as I had to compete against celebrities who I couldn't beat in an audition for a film, simply because I wasn't famous and it didn't matter how good I was. I was about to give up acting when I found work in games, around the same month that I was ready to give up acting. The first video game I played was Ghost Recon Future Soldier, from Ubisoft, in 2009 or 2010. And through games I was able to “remove my face”, I can play any type of character and play any character, a new guy, an old guy, a wizard, an elf… it was quite liberating, it allowed me to have fun interpreting the characters.
Game started: And in that sense, what was it like discovering acting via MOCAP? It must be quite different from, say, traditional acting?
Neil Newbon: Hmm, yes and no. I see it as an amalgam between film and theater, so I use techniques from both disciplines, and in fact I find it quite liberating, because things are far and near simultaneously, so it's not really necessary to know where the cameras are going to be, what It means you can be yourself, be the character without worrying about the environment around you, like I said, it's quite liberating, I like it a lot.
Game started: What was it like working for Larian Studios?
Neil Newbon: It was sensational! I think it was one of the best companies I've ever worked with. It's a great company, as they really think about the player first. They actually spent hours and hours working on things that the game “doesn't need” but that they chose to do for the players, I think that's incredible. From start to finish I had a great experience at Larian, it was one of the best companies I've ever worked with, and if I'm lucky enough to be asked to work with them again, I will definitely go. Everyone there has the same culture of affection and support and they managed to deliver a masterpiece.
Game started: Do you remember any funny stories when you worked for Larian, during filming for Astarion?
Neil Newbon: Yes, there were a lot of funny things happening, several stories, but I can't tell them because they are confidential! (laughs) I had a lot of fun there, I made a lot of friends, I also directed, I consulted, I did creature MOCAP, I also acted as a consultant for the studio, I went to Quebec to teach the animators about MOCAP performance, it was all amazing…
Game started: What are your plans regarding new games, film projects, acting…
Neil Newbon: I have some projects that I can't talk about, confidentiality issues. I am participating in 8 projects as an actor, I am also in one as a director, there are projects as a producer, as a consultant, as well as the acting part that is separate. I will also be doing workshops again, which I intend to expand to Canada, as well as the UK, the production company is doing well…so I'm busy as hell! (laughs) Oh and there’s also the Twitch channel!
Game started: So you've been a gamer for a long time?
Neil Newbon: Yes! My first video game was a ZX Spectrum, I used to buy those magazines with programming lists on how to make a game, it was really cool.
Game started: So to finish, would you like to leave a message for the Brazilian gaming community, for your fans?
Neil Newbon: Thank you all very much for your support and interest in my work. Thank you to everyone who likes my characters, I'm grateful that they made them fun and I hope to continue being able to do this for many years to come. I hope people still have plenty of characters to love or hate, depending on their taste (laughs). So I'm grateful to be accepted into so many fan communities. Thank you Brazil!
