Voices

[QTR]

This may seem a bit odd, but when reading, whether it's a book or a comic, I like to assign voices/accents to certain characters. It helps me picture the flow of dialogue. For instance, when reading The Name of the Wind, I picture the Caeldish characters, and Master Kilvin in particular, as sounding distinctly Russian. Master Elodin, on the other hand, has a voice like a youthful Jeff Goldblum.

So I was wondering, what do the main cast sound like to you guys? Elan has a child's voice in my head for obvious reasons, but I can't put my finger on Roy or V. Any thoughts?

[St Fan]

V certainly has a confusing voice, with a pitch right between male and female that make it hard to identify.

[Peelee]

I have a consistent theory that any movie ever could be remade with Sean Connery in any role, and it would be just as good, if not better. My friends helped prove this by quoting entire scenes, with every character - including Leia - in Connery's voice. It held true.

In short, for me, every character in the OotS is voiced by Sean Connery.

[Rakoa]

I believe it was agreed upon in another thread that Xykon had a very Southern accent.

[Jubal_Barca]

I have a sort of Russell Crowe gruff voice for Roy, though a bit jollier. V has a deep but soft-spoken voice for me, and Blackwing gets my voice. Durkon has an Irish/Scots mix, Elan a childish young man, Haley a fairly soft/high female voice. (English accents where not otherwise stated).

[rgrekejin]

I have a consistent theory that any movie ever could be remade with Sean Connery in any role, and it would be just as good, if not better. My friends helped prove this by quoting entire scenes, with every character - including Leia - in Connery's voice. It held true.

In short, for me, every character in the OotS is voiced by Sean Connery.

...my friends and I did this exact same thing with Aladdin. Sean Connnery is an even better Genie than Robin Williams. And he really puts a very different spin on "A Whole New World".

[Zmeoaice]

Roy has a relatively low voice, although not too low. Durkon has a deep somewhat gruff voice. Belkar has a shrieky voice, and Elan has a high pitched voice.

To me Xykon has a nassly voice, like the Joker from TDK, with a little echo.

[Rig]

I believe it was agreed upon in another thread that Xykon had a very Southern accent.

I will burn you all with prejudice.

[skim172]

Heh, I do the exact same thing. I always read dialogue with their voices in mind. For Xykon, I associate him with a very sardonic, spiteful, dry almost-monotone. I don't give a Southern accent, though - more of a rural Midwestern accent, with a strong emphasis on a rhotic R.

Belkar sounds very similar, actually, except with a General American accent and without the monotone.

Redcloak - General American accent with a resonant tenor voice. Very pleasant-sounding. I figure he's pretty much the most leaderly of the cast and so he's probably the best speaker. Roy may be the natural leader, but Redcloak has had to recruit and inspire at least three different armies in pursuit of an ill-defined cause - has to have some sort of charisma.

Vaarsuvius - an incredibly stereotyped Hollywood version of a posh English accent. I can't help it, years of fantasy tropes have conditioned it into me - it's how elves talk in my head. I've tried giving them some other accent - even a more realistic English accent - just doesn't fit.

Similar case with Durkon (God rest his vampire soul) - the stereotypical Scottish accent that you hear in movies that don't really resemble Scottish accents at all and kinda sounds like a movie pirate, but again, it's ... it's just how dwarves talk. I've tried reading Durkon's lines with a real Scottish accent - it just doesn't sound right.

Being American-born, and having lived up and down the US East Coast, I kinda hear most of the characters with a General American accent with an eastern bias. A little unimaginative, maybe ...

[Lvl45DM!]

We had a similar topic not long ago.

I strongly and passionately believe Belkar is Aussie

[Dr.Epic]

V obviously sounds like a "less evil" version of Frieza from Dragon Ball Z. Tell me I'm wrong.

[Tragak]

I can't hear Xykon as anybody but Andrew Scott: James Moriarty from Season 2 of Sherlock.
... and the last 5 minutes of Season 1. "Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother, you're Stayin' A - wait a minute..." :smallbiggrin:

[eilandesq]

[list not chosen with practicality in mind]

Roy: Denzel Washington (who can do comic and dead serious)
Durkon: Robbie Coltrane
V: Jaye Davidson (for experience with playing androgynous and insanely arrogant characters)
Belkar: Michael Rosenbaum
Haley: Sarah Michelle Gellar
Elan: Owen Wilson

Xykon: Gary Oldman
Redcloak: Alan Rickman
The Monster In The Dark: a child actor with a friendly voice

Nale: Owen Wilson
Thog: Ron Perlman (he did Killer Croc's voice for "The Batman" animated series, so he should be fine)
Sabine: Catherine Zeta-Jones

Tarquin: Owen Wilson
Malack: Jeremy Irons

Miko: Maggie Q


That'll do to start things off.

[Finagle]

Go and read the Oracle's comics in Jackie Mason's voice. It's remarkably consistent.

[deworde]

Belkar: Vinnie Jones

Tarquin: Richard E Grant

Elan: Zack Braff
Haley:Jeri Ryan

Xykon: Mark Hamill run through a load of post-prod


Grandpa Greenhilt: Morgan Freedman

[ZLordZ]

Because they are stick figures and the first 120 strips were mostly "pre-Cerebus", all of the voices in the oots party tend to have a cartoony feel to me as the initial impression was comical. Sometimes it's about the voice and sometimes it's about the attitude.


Go and read the Oracle's comics in Jackie Mason's voice. It's remarkably consistent.

This is gold! The voice may not fit a kobold but the delivery is dead on!


I have a consistent theory that any movie ever could be remade with Sean Connery in any role, and it would be just as good, if not better. My friends helped prove this by quoting entire scenes, with every character - including Leia - in Connery's voice. It held true.

In short, for me, every character in the OotS is voiced by Sean Connery.

Awesomeness! The least cartoony voice has always been Durkon as he is the most serious of the group. I've always envisioned his voice similar to John Rhys-Davies playing Gimli, just a bit deeper. A Sean Connery Durkon would be superb.

Belkar is tricky, he's like a disgruntled Charlie Brown with a non-Peanuts voice. The attitude is Joe Pesci in Goodfellas but the voice to me is lower pitched. A smidgeon of Aussie as was previously suggested may help. hmm, Geoffrey Rush?

eilandesq's suggestions were overall quite good. I've always seen Elan as somewhat youthful/silly and at times having a smidgeon of surfer dude. Owen Wilson as the Nale/Elan work well, but can he do Tarquin the Tyrant?

[sparky9042]

I believe it was agreed upon in another thread that Xykon had a very Southern accent.

It was. Specifically, here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274157) And by no means shall it ever be allowed to change. :smallbiggrin:

[Dissection]

I always imagined Vaarsuvius as having a genderless kind of voice that could definitely be either male or female. Which is kind of weird, because for quite a while I just thought Vaarsuvius was male, and didn't even realize there was a debate about his/her gender

[BrotherMirtillo]

Dude... so many names... I've got an inkling that a lot of the above posts will sound brilliant after I find clips of those people.

For a while, I've been curious about Elan and Nale. Part of me thinks, "they're twins, they should sound similar," but I've got no foggiest clue how to swing that. (Attention any musically-minded people -- what notes do you hear for Elan's songs? I can't write catchy music to save my life.)

I always gave Xykon the Darth Vader voice, but with less breath and more force. "WHO JUST STOLE MY KILLS??" wouldn't work if you're pausing to breathe. The Southern accent's intriguing. I heard an audio-book for Preston & Child's "Book of the Dead" where the antagonist (minus his disguise) comes from New Orleans. He gave more than one monologue to helpless victims about exquisite flavors of pain and blood and death. Posh yet fatal -- *shudder*.

I fell into a habit of giving Redcloak an imitation of Squidward Tentacles just because he's so often frustrated with his lot in life. For him trying to discuss pre-Azure-City tactics with bored Xykon, it worked. For everything after that battle, I had to deflate the nasal tones to salvage his dignity.

I never put a name to most of the others. Best guesses: O-Chul gets the deep fatherly tones of James Coburn (Waternoose from "Monsters Inc"), Vaarsuvius's most recent rival gets HAL from "2001: A Space Odyssey", and Malack gets a raspy tone in the Gollum direction.

Most of all, Monster in the Darkness gets Guilmon from "Digimon Tamers." I've never had to adjust that one.

[Finagle]

Xykon with a Southern accent? No way, not even when he was alive. It doesn't fit at all. It's already been said - in-canon - that he sounds like James Earl Jones. "Sounds just like him, doesn't it?"

[Kislath]

Yes, it has, and much to my annoyance. Try as I might, I just can't put James Earl Jones' voice with Xykon. I always "hear" him as an evil John Cleese.

Redcloak? Alan Rickman, hands-down.

O'chul? Mako.

V? V sounds like me when I try to imitate Velma from Scooby-Doo.

MitD? That guy who plays Harold Finch on Person of Interest.

Malack? Roddy McDowell

[Xacal]

It was. Specifically, here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274157) And by no means shall it ever be allowed to change. :smallbiggrin:

Y'know, I think that the voice of the Governor from the Walking Dead TV show could almost fit the bill for Xykon. Kind of on the deeper side, tinged with a Georgian accent. A stronger accent might fit more, but, eh, the actor's actually British to begin with.

[ZLordZ]

Lord Shojo = James Hong.

Every time I read Shojo's lines I can only think of James Hong's voice, plus his antics as well.

(btw let's not get into another: but Shojo is an X Asian name(or word) while Hong is a Y Asian name. Azure City is an Asian flavored setting. Miko said it best: "what is this Japan you speak of".)

[Raineh Daze]

Malack: Jeremy Irons.

Is this because of how expressive Malack's eyebrows are? :smalltongue:

Johnny Depp as Julio Scoundrel, despite all the Star Wars references. I think it's the coat. :smallconfused:

[Alan_Pehnereas]

For me, V has a British accent, and MitD has the voice of Alphonse Elric from Full Metal Alchemist (voice suggestion from a friend).

[Longest Skies]

[list not chosen with practicality in mind]

Roy: Denzel Washington (who can do comic and dead serious)
Durkon: Robbie Coltrane
V: Jaye Davidson (for experience with playing androgynous and insanely arrogant characters)
Belkar: Michael Rosenbaum
Haley: Sarah Michelle Gellar
Elan: Owen Wilson

Xykon: Gary Oldman
Redcloak: Alan Rickman
The Monster In The Dark: a child actor with a friendly voice

Nale: Owen Wilson
Thog: Ron Perlman (he did Killer Croc's voice for "The Batman" animated series, so he should be fine)
Sabine: Catherine Zeta-Jones

Tarquin: Owen Wilson
Malack: Jeremy Irons

Miko: Maggie Q


That'll do to start things off.

Man you have a thing for Owen Wilson... Now this is just me... But someone has to be voiced by Samuel L. Jackson... By no means complete but still.
Note some are unchanged, but that just means he made good picks.

Roy:Samuel L. Jackson
Durkon: John Rhys-Davies
V: Honestly I dont know V's voice mentally just is...
Belkar: Robert Downey Jr. (For epic sarcasm levels)
Haley: Scarlet Johansen
Elan: Oddly Enough Zach Effron (cause everyone hates his songs so it fits for me :P)
Blackwing: Bruce Willis (for badassery and fun)

Xykon: Gary Oldman
Redcloak: Alan Rickman
The Monster In The Dark: a child actor with a friendly voice

Nale: Orlando Bloom
Thog: Ron Perlman (Sounds about right)
Sabine: Halle Berry

Tarquin: Jeremy Irons (I am sorry Tarquin sounding like Scar is to badass)
Malack: Christian Bale (With a slightly more hissing Batman-esque voice...)

Miko: Lucy Liu

[Procyonpi]

Roy:Samuel L. Jackson
Durkon: John Rhys-Davies
V: Honestly I dont know V's voice mentally just is...
Belkar: Robert Downey Jr. (For epic sarcasm levels)
Haley: Scarlet Johansen


Did you, by any chance, watch the Avengers recently?

[Longest Skies]

Did you, by any chance, watch the Avengers recently?

Ironically no. I just have a crush on Scarlett Johansen. I enjoy Samuel L. Jackson's work. And I think Robert Downey Jr. is a good enough actor to capture Belkar especially with the recent character development.

Also I want to call an Audible instead of Christain Bale, I think Michael Caine is who I really meant for Malack.

[Olinser]

I have always read Belkar with the voice of Eric Cartman.

Lord Shojo is Morgan Freeman (especially when he's going through his Scribble Snarl speech).

Xykon is James Earl Jones - no question.

Durkon is the guy that played Gimli in Lord of the Rings (can't remember the name).

Redcloak is Alan Rickman.

Elan is Elijah Wood.

V is Jim Parsons (Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory)

Haley is Kaley Cuoco (Penny from Big Bang Theory)

Roy is Nathan Fillion

Tarquin is Alec Baldwin

[ZarDaranth]

Here's some of what I picture when I read the strip:

Roy: (Foreman from House)
Eugene: Samuel L. Jackson
Horace: Morgan Freeman

Tarquin: Martin Sheen
Nale: Charlie Sheen
Elan: Emilio Estevez (but with a derpy tone)

Redcloak: Liam Neeson
Xykon: Mark Hamill (Joker in the animated Batman Series)
MitD: Millhouse from The Simpson

O'Chul: (Actor who played Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid)
Shojo: Ian Maclellan
Miko: Lucy Liu

[PhallicWarrior]

I've been reading this comic aloud to my little sister for pretty much its entire run, and I've got a very distinct idea of what each character sounds like as a result.

:roy: - Very deep, a lower pitch than any other mortal character. No accent.
:belkar: - For some reason, slightly higher pitched, with a strong texan accent.
:durkon: - stereotypical dwarf!scottish accent, pitched up slightly because he's supposed to be young for a dwarf.
:elan: - higher pitched and dopey, but not unpleasantly so. (And less so after his Dashing Swordsman arc.) My model here was Caboose from Red vs. Blue.
:haley: - I'm a guy with a fairly deep voice. There's only so much I can do. Still, I did my best to channel Carrie Fisher as Leia. Snarky, willful, but still very much a girl at heart.
:vaarsuvius: - pitched between Elan's voice and Haley's voice, with a BBC Posh british accent. As close to androgynous as I can get it.

:xykon: - Intentionally over-the-top pseudo-british/unplaceable accent. Like Robin Williams doing an Ian McKellan impression, is how I've heard it described.
:redcloak: - Strangely, nothing other than my normal, mostly-unaccented speaking voice ever seemed to fit. What does that say about him and me, I wonder?
:mitd: - absurdly childlike and goofy. Higher pitched than any male character except Elan. Again, Caboose was an influence, although it has since become something entirely unique. (To the point that I can't really explain what it sounds like anymore.)

[rodneyAnonymous]

Man you have a thing for Owen Wilson...

No I think he just meant the same actor should voice Elan, Nale, and Tarquin.

[Dr.Epic]

No I think he just meant the same actor should voice Elan, Nale, and Tarquin.

Ha. Ha. NO!:smallannoyed:

[rodneyAnonymous]

Makes sense for identical twins.

[Dr.Epic]

Makes sense for identical twins.

Makes sense to give identical twins the same voice actor. Making it Owen Wilson, NO!:smallannoyed:

[Akari Itagami]

:roy: - Dwayne Johnson aka. The Rock!

[meto30]

Roy: (Foreman from House)
Eugene: Samuel L. Jackson
Horace: Morgan Freeman

Tarquin: Martin Sheen
Nale: Charlie Sheen
Elan: Emilio Estevez (but with a derpy tone)

Ah, it seems we are in near perfect conconrdance! I also thought of Omar Epps when reading Roy. I also thought Samuel Jackson, but yes I do think Jackson fits Eugene better.

[ZarDaranth]

Yeah, I also thought Samuel L. Jackson for Roy, but then I realized he was way too old to be voicing a 29 year old. Omar Epps (Thanks! I was totally blanking on the name) was a perfect choice just due to the amount of facepalming done by Foreman over the years on House. And if anyone was going to be a father to those two, it would have to be Morgan Freeman.

And as for the Sheen/Estevez family, I thought immediately of Martin Sheen for Tarquin because of Sheen's work as The Illusive Man in the Mass Effect series. Horribly self-serving, master manipulator, and doesn't like being tied down to a single side in a conflict. Nale as Charlie really doesn't need much explanation: mental breakdowns, rolling with sex fiends, convoluted planning processes. And as for Emilio.... he's already a little derpy, career-wise, to begin with, but add in some more Elan derpy. :)

[hamishspence]

O'Chul: (Actor who played Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid)


That would be Pat Morita.

[Kakuro]

Personally I've always seen Roy as being voiced by Phil Lamaar and Xkyon being voiced by Ron Pearlman doing his Lich/Slade voice, though much more humorous and excited at times.

The others are harder to pin down, though I've always pictured Haley as being voiced by Terra Strong, Sabine by Cree Summers, Elan by the guy who voiced Cosmo, on the Fairy Odd-parents, except slightly less goofy and more focused (ironic, I know).

[CletusMusashi]

Roy looks and sounds like J. August Richards.
If J. August Richards were voicing Charlie Brown in a Peanuts reboot.

Belkar is Jason Alexander. "I am a sexy shoeless god of war, Jerry!"

Xykon is supposed to sound like Darth Vader, but I just can't make it stick.
Every line he has ever uttered screams Jack Nicholson.

Redcloak sounds like Malcolm MacDowell.

Elan and Nale are both voiced by Neil Patrick Harris.
Elan normally talks and sings like Billy Buddy.
Nale can talk in the same voice, but when alone with the linear guild, he deliberately talks more like Dr. Horrible sings.
Also, Nale's speaking style, even when not doing the EVIL tones, tends to be less Billy and more Barney.

Every. Single. Thing... that... TARQUIN! Has ever said... SCREAMS:
William Shatner.

Malack sounds lke Christopher Lee.

Thog sounds like Mr. T.
"THOG WANNA PLAY WITH THE PUPPY SOME MORE!"

Therkla sounds like Eliza Dushku.

Julio Scoundrel totally flunctuates inmy "inner ear" between Bruce Campbell and John Astin.

And for some odd reason, now that I actually stop and think about it, the speaking voice I heard for Tsukiko sounded exactly like Madonna's. That one, to me, is probably the strangest choice on this list...

[Dr.Epic]

I'm tempted to do a lip sync animation of V with some of Frieza's dialogue now to see how nature it is and to help validate my point. Anyone know any good lines of Frieza's that would sound good/hilarious coming out of V's mouth?

[Tragak]

Who's the first one who said "MitD - Patrick Warburton," because I can't un-hear that anymore :smallbiggrin:

P.S. J August Richards was the guy from Angel right?

[ZLordZ]

Malack sounds lke Christopher Lee.


Yes!

NERGAL WILL EAT YOUR SOUL!

My aid is mine to give -or to withdraw- as I see fit.

[Dr.Epic]

Steve Blum as everyone
Billy West as everyone else
John DiMaggio as Belkar

[Necris Omega]

Hmmm...

Xykon would be either... I hear Tim Curry or Michael McConnohie. Honestly, I can't think of any other actor with so much experience voicing a Lich, so...

Tarquin? Jonathan Frakes. I see Tarquin as something of a Medieval David Xanatos, so...

Malack? Gary Oldman. What can I say, I liked him as Dracula, and I think he has the range to play both intellectual AND hideously genocidal.

Nale? Jim Carey.

Redclaock? Anthony Hopkins. He can be so brutally calculating and malicious I think Hannibal Lecture's a great choice for this one.

Sabine? Eric Hammer. (See "Dr. Girlfriend").

Thog? Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Roy? Hugh Jackman. I really hear Roy as a sort of ultimate archetypal hero, and for me, Jackman fills that voice well.

Durkon? Sean Connery. Perfect blend of accent and cantankerousness.

V? Terra Strong. I've always been of the belief that V's female, so I hear her in a Teen Titans Raven-esque tone.

Elan? Billy West works here I think. Happy go lucky yet somehow charming.

Belkar? I think Wesley Snipes. To me, no character has ever had so much fun causing so much mayhem as Simon Phoenix, yet, Snipes can also do the dead seriousness needed to pull off the last strip.

Haley? ... I haven't decided yet.