Yesterday, we heard that the upcoming Wii title from THQ, Deadly Creatures, was going to feature some Hollywood heavyweights amongst its voice talent. We now have a promotional video featuring one of these actors, Dennis Hopper. Watch as a subdued Dennis gives a little bit of info on his character and a taste of his voice work in the game.
Voice work, particularly when stars are involved, is a tricky thing. I get frustrated sometimes when film and television actors are cast in these roles because there’s a host of dedicated voice actors who make their careers out of their ability to bend their voice to suit a wide variety of different characters. There is an art to conveying emotion without the assistance of your body, and these people are trained in it. So when they use a known name (one not known specifically for voice work, that is), I always feel like that person is only there to shill the game. Rarely do I find that I’ve been proven wrong.
It could just be that I’m bitter that we’re not getting the Dennis Hopper I love, though. It’s not the Dennis Hopper who was obviously coked out of his mind during the shooting of Apocalypse Now. It isn’t the rebellious Hopper of Easy Rider. And it’s a far cry from the lunatic of Blue Velvet. This is grown-up, boring Hopper — and it makes me sad.