Kiefer Sutherland to Voice Snake in Next ‘Metal Gear Solid’ Game
Kiefer Sutherland has a new role to growl through.
The thesp will voice the main character of Snake in Konami’s latest installment of its “Metal Gear Solid” videogame franchise.
Sutherland will replace screenwriter David Hayter, who has long voiced the character, in “Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain.”
Konami made the announcement during a pre-E3 presentation of its upcoming videogames, during which it said the character, a legendary infiltrator and saboteur, would require a deeper voice than before, and turned to Sutherland.
With the new game, “the themes are a little different from previous games in the series,” said Konami-topper Hideo Kojima during the conference. “We’re taking on some very heavy subjects, such as race and revenge. This makes the tone much darker. As a result, I wanted Snake to have a more subdued performance expressed through subtle facial movements and tone of voice, rather than words.”
Sutherland will also perform the motion and facial capture for the new game.
“Metal Gear Solid V” takes place in 1984, when Snake is 49 years old. “Therefore, we needed someone who could genuinely convey the facial and vocal qualities of a man in his late 40s,” Kojima said. “It’s different from anything we’ve done before.”
Hayter, whose script credits include “X-Men,” “X2″ and “Watchmen,” has been voicing the character since 1998. He also does voice work for other games, including “Star Wars: The Old Republic.”
Producer Avi Arad, who is developing a film version of the “Metal Gear Solid” games, introduced Kojima to Sutherland.
SEE ALSO: Arad Prods. In Heavy ‘Metal Gear’ Deal
“It’s an honor to be able to play this character,” Sutherland said. “This character has an unbelievable legacy. There’s a real personal quality to the character that I’ve connected to. I’m not a gamer, and I even knew about this game. I was certainly keenly aware of the legacy of these games, the unbelievable success of these games.”
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