Nolan North: Nathan Drake "Is Me"

[StewShearerOld]

Nolan North: Nathan Drake "Is Me"

Nolan North recently mused on his work as a voice actor and his role as the hero of Naughty Dog's Uncharted games.

Arguably one of the most iconic new franchises to come out of Sony's stable in this past generation are the Uncharted games. Originating in the early days of the PS3, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/27-Uncharted-Drakes-Fortune>Uncharted: Drake's Fortune introduced gamers to the Indiana Jones-esque adventures of Nathan Drake and his band of compatriots. As time went on the series would become a <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/9202-Uncharted-3-Drakes-Deception-Review>benchmark for quality on Sony's console. If you wanted to find the best the system had to offer, you needed to look no further than Naughty Dog's series' of treasure hunting escapades.

The arguable core of the game was the character of Nathan Drake. Stalwart and dedicated but ever laughing in the face of danger, his character, played by actor Nolan North, was as much a draw as the series' acclaimed visuals or set pieces. Speaking recently about his work in videogames, North revealed some of the method behind his portrayal of Nathan Drake. "There is an amazing distinction when you realise that nobody else can play something the way you are, and you would be," said North. "That character is me. That's how in real-life - if Nolan North were this guy who's a treasure hunter with all these circumstances in my life - these things would naturally come out because I'm putting myself in that situation."

Despite his acclaimed work as the Uncharted protagonist, North says he has since tried to avoid taking similar roles to keep from being typecasted. "People didn't know that Uncharted would be this juggernaut that it became. Since the success of that, I've done less and less characters like that. So I don't really worry about being typcast, because I know I can do other voices." This has led him, in turn, to seek out less heroic roles. "It's always more fun to play the bad guy. I want to be in games where people go, 'that was really cool' and then they see the credits and go "oh my god! that was Nolan!' That's what makes me happy. I like when people don't recognize it".

Source: <a href=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-06-27-inside-the-actors-studio-with-nolan-north>Eurogamer


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[hazabaza1]

He's got a good point.
I know Drake isn't as liked as other people but it's the same situation with Snake, 47, or Fisher getting a new voice. It just ain't them, no matter how close they sound.

Also it's very funny to see people say he only plays one type of character because its clear that they only look at Drake and one or two other characters when he's done a lot more.

 

[Goofguy]

That last part is exactly how I felt about his role in The Last of Us. I'd kept hearing about how Nolan North had done an amazing job in that game. I'd gotten to the end credits and said "where in the hell was Nolan in all that?". My jaw dropped when I saw him billed as David, I did not recognize his voice at all.

 

[Incomer]

I think he was The Penguin in Arkham city right? Pretty unrecognisable as well

 

[Cookiegerard]

I think he was The Penguin in Arkham city right? Pretty unrecognisable as well

If I recall correctly, he was the Penquin, and he also played a lot of the random thugs you hear in the city. He might have played others as well though.

 

[StewShearerOld]

That last part is exactly how I felt about his role in The Last of Us. I'd kept hearing about how Nolan North had done an amazing job in that game. I'd gotten to the end credits and said "where in the hell was Nolan in all that?". My jaw dropped when I saw him billed as David, I did not recognize his voice at all.

Same here. That was so shocking to me. The man has some skills.

 

[Infernai]

Also it's very funny to see people say he only plays one type of character because its clear that they only look at Drake and one or two other characters when he's done a lot more.

I've heard the guy as Deadpool and the Penguin, so i know he's got some vocal range.

 

[hazabaza1]

Also it's very funny to see people say he only plays one type of character because its clear that they only look at Drake and one or two other characters when he's done a lot more.

I've heard the guy as Deadpool and the Penguin, so i know he's got some vocal range.

Yeah that was him.
I'd recommend checking out his IMDb [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636046/] page, he's done a hell of a lot of stuff.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Man has a good point, it would be weird somebody else being Nathan Drake.

Although honestly, I wouldn't call the Uncharted games the benchmark for quality. 1 was just passable enough for them to make a sequel, 2 was amazing, I'll give it that, and 3 was somewhere in the middle.

Although there's only one role left that he needs to do as Nathan Drake anyway, and that's the inevitable racing game (called Unkarted) =P

 

[BrotherRool]

It's well known fact that Nolan North actually is every single videogame voice actor ever, even the very few who aren't credited as being Nolan North. The guy is actually a superhero and his power is voice acting (If you want proof, just look at that name, Stan Lee couldn't have made it better)


I heard that when they make the Uncharted games, after everything is done they give the game to Mr North to play and then record him as he's playing it and use that to add some extra barks to the game (So when he's saying sh*!, sh*!, Grenade! that's him saying it as he was playing the game)

EDIT: He was in Portal 2??

 

[PunkRex]

I do feel abit bad for VA's who get type cast, it proberly pays well but it must get damn boring playing the generic white hero. Tara Strong at least gets to play a monster or a pony every now and then.

 

[mechalynx]

EDIT: He was in Portal 2??

Don't know about Portal 2, but he did voice the Space Core in the official Skyrim Portal mod.

OT - yes. Yes he is.

 

[ninjaRiv]

Nolan North is one of the best VAs ever, imo. It's a little confusing when people say he sucks because he's in everything, though... He's in everything because he's talented. But, as mentioned, he gets a lot of shit for sounding the same all the time. Seems like some critics don't do any research.

 

[Strazdas]

Also it's very funny to see people say he only plays one type of character because its clear that they only look at Drake and one or two other characters when he's done a lot more.

I've heard the guy as Deadpool and the Penguin, so i know he's got some vocal range.

Yeah that was him.
I'd recommend checking out his IMDb [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636046/] page, he's done a hell of a lot of stuff.

179 and counting. i think this is the longest acting history i saw on IMDB and im a long time user. wow this guy is amazing.

 

[hazabaza1]

Also it's very funny to see people say he only plays one type of character because its clear that they only look at Drake and one or two other characters when he's done a lot more.

I've heard the guy as Deadpool and the Penguin, so i know he's got some vocal range.

Yeah that was him.
I'd recommend checking out his IMDb [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636046/] page, he's done a hell of a lot of stuff.

179 and counting. i think this is the longest acting history i saw on IMDB and im a long time user. wow this guy is amazing.

You think that's a lot?
Check out Jennifer Hale. [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0354937/?ref_=sr_1]
Though since KoToR and Mass Effect most people seem to be telling her to do an angry voice and nothing else which is a shame.

 

[luvd1]

I have a lot of respect for Nolan, he is a brilliant voice actor. His role as David in the last of us was a master class. At no point do you think David is anything other then David rather then think "that's a bit Shepard." Or "Drake.". That's a sign of a good actor.

 

[Mysten]

You think that's a lot?
Check out Jennifer Hale. [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0354937/?ref_=sr_1]
Though since KoToR and Mass Effect most people seem to be telling her to do an angry voice and nothing else which is a shame.

Let's not play this game again. Frank [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0919798/?ref_=tt_cl_t4] always wins. Always.

 

[hazabaza1]

You think that's a lot?
Check out Jennifer Hale. [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0354937/?ref_=sr_1]
Though since KoToR and Mass Effect most people seem to be telling her to do an angry voice and nothing else which is a shame.

Let's not play this game again. Frank [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0919798/?ref_=tt_cl_t4] always wins. Always.

Holy shit.
First I've heard of this guy. Goddamn that's a lot of roles.

 

[Strazdas]

Also it's very funny to see people say he only plays one type of character because its clear that they only look at Drake and one or two other characters when he's done a lot more.

I've heard the guy as Deadpool and the Penguin, so i know he's got some vocal range.

Yeah that was him.
I'd recommend checking out his IMDb [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636046/] page, he's done a hell of a lot of stuff.

179 and counting. i think this is the longest acting history i saw on IMDB and im a long time user. wow this guy is amazing.

You think that's a lot?
Check out Jennifer Hale. [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0354937/?ref_=sr_1]
Though since KoToR and Mass Effect most people seem to be telling her to do an angry voice and nothing else which is a shame.

some TV shows but nothing as impressive as Nolan though.

Let's not play this game again. Frank [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0919798/?ref_=tt_cl_t4] always wins. Always.

Ok, thats a lot of shows. he must talk more than me!