WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Last of Us and Bioshock: Infinite.
It is considered to be one of the most powerful scenes in video game history, Last of Us protagonist Joel holding his daughter in his arms as she died.
It was also one of the most difficult and challenging scenes Troy Baker has ever done.
He thought he delivered a “BAFTA worthy performance” the first time, but his first attempts failed to capture the point of it.
“That scene works not because of me, but in spite of me,” Baker said.
Before the pivotal scene, Baker went outside and wallowed in a tragic memory, which he still refuses to disclose.
“I [was] tap dancing through this mine field of this horrific memory that I was not prepared to deal with,” he said.
“I go in to shoot the scene, and it’s just bubbling up to the surface.
“I just break, the levy breaks – I’m weeping uncontrollably.”
Much to his angst, he had to re-shoot the scene over and over and once more a month after he thought he had it.
The director, Neil Druckmann, told him what he had was a broken man but what he needed was a man struggling to save his daughter before realising she was gone.
“We don’t immediately go broken,” Baker said. “I’m grateful to him for leading me through that process.”
2013 was a big year for the voice actor, having starred not only in Last of Us but also as the male lead Booker DeWitt in Bioshock: Infinite.
Before those roles, he said he spent a lot of time on what he called the “other side of the table” – asking for autographs and telling other voice actors what their performance meant to him.
Those roles have reversed and no doubt at this year’s Sydney Supanova, he’ll be receiving a lot more praise than he’ll be giving.
“What I love hearing most isn’t someone saying ‘you did good’ but hearing about a project that I’ve been involved with and hearing the impact that has had on somebody,” he said.
“Definitely since the Last of Us and Bioshock, those conversations across the table have changed.”
He said those conversations made him realised that people are “craving substance and not spectacle” in their games.
Baker has over a hundred roles to his name, not unusual for an established voice actor, but he finds himself more able to flex his acting muscles.
With the increasing success (if not acclaim) of narrative driven games, particularly as it becomes a more important component in blockbuster titles, the 40-year-old said he has more complicated roles available to him.
“I would say its more the credit of the developers when they choose to offer me a role that is so complex,” he said.
“Of course I’m always drawn to complex characters and I always want to make sure that I’m doing those characters the service that I can.
“If a character isn’t stretching me than either A: I haven’t looked deep enough into that character, or B: I haven’t looked deep enough into that character.
“Even if it doesn’t exist at first glance on the page, it’s my repsonsibility as an actor to find the depth in the character.
“So I do want to find complicated characters to play, and I do enjoy the opportunity when I do so.”
Troy Baker will be one of the featured guests at Sydney Supanova. More event information supanova.com.au/show-information/sydney.
