Robert Wu on Voice-Over Work for Video Games

Words By Cindy Maram

You can learn more about Robert Wu and listen to his voice-over work at: www.robertwu.com

Dig In Magazine: How did you get into the niche of doing voice-over work for video games?

Robert Wu: By accident. I didn’t even know the ‘niche’ existed. My commercial agent called me in for Rise to Honor, which was really weird because it should have went through a voice-over agent, which I didn’t have at the time.

DIM: Are more actors branching out and doing work in the video gaming industry since it is a hot, up and coming field?

RW: I honestly couldn’t say. I know my voice-over agent brings me in for tons of video game projects regularly. And if you look at the trades, lots of established name actors are signing up to do these games now in conjunction with their feature film releases. Everyone’s trying to keep up with technology and use it for their benefit, and video games are definitely the hot thing right now.

DIM: What type of training or qualifications does a person need to do voice-over or character action work in the video gaming industry?

RW: It varies. Some people get in by referral with no training at all, and some take voice over classes. What the everyman really needs to get into video game voice work is a voice-over reel and a voice-over agent to submit your reel for projects.

DIM: I recall you did the voice over work for the Jet Li video game, Rise to Honor (2003), as well as played opposite Hugh Jackman in the new Marvel Comics/Activision video game "X Men Origins: Wolverine", which was just released this Summer 2009. Did you do the action for these games as well? (If so, did you have to do physical training for the games?)

RW: No, that’s motion capture. A completely different ball of wax. If you figure out how to get into that, give me a call:)

DIM: Did you work with Jet Li or Hugh Jackman directly?

RW: No, we taped on separate days. That’s the beauty of voice-over. It sounds like we’re kicking the crap out of each other, but in reality, we’re just beating the air and yelling at ourselves. Very primal.

DIM: Do you own a gaming system like an Xbox or Playstation and play video games on your own?

RW: No, but my brother has a Wii that he is trying to pawn off on me, now that he bought a PS3. I act in mainly the action games, but I love to play the sport games. Madden and NCAA. Go Sooners!

DIM: What spawned your interest in the gaming industry? I think it would be any young gamers’ dream to act as a character in a game.

RW: It’s an incredible amount of fun. But it’s work too. We never get our scripts til we get into the session that day. And we could be playing three, four different characters. Different ages, types. You have to do a lot of the background and history work and imagination work on the spot. And there is a LOT of yelling. With multiple day sessions, the producers separate the days out far enough for the actor to get their voice back to go again.

DIM: So, when you are doing voice over work on video games are you recording in a studio with other characters or solo? Is the game generally already completed in terms of the motion and animation before you record? How does it work?

RW: I’ve done both. With other actors and solo. The degree of completion of the game at the time of voice recording varies from project to project. Sometimes, they’ll have a beta version of the game itself to show us, sometimes they’ll just have the live motion capture video for us to match our voices to the actions, and sometimes they won’t have squat.

DIM: Both Rise to Honor and X-Men have a lot of fighting in it, is it hard to create sounds that imitate fighting if you are recording in a studio or are you actually doing physical movement while doing the voices?

RW: You’re doing minimal physical movement unless you want to chalk up a serious repair bill. It’s a very small space you have to play in. The good voice booth directors give you a lot to play off of. Like she’ll say, “ok, now I take a hot poker and stab you in your eye.” And I have to react and respond, a.k.a. scream.

DIM: I have a few last questions. Any upcoming video game projects that you can give us a hint on?

RW: Sorry, I’ve gotten in trouble for this in the past. The video game industry wraps are just as tight if not tighter than the film industry wraps. I did just go online and found out that one of the projects I worked on was released a few months back. It’s called Ready 2 Rumble: Revolution. It’s a fighting game for Wii. I play Dragon Chew, kind of a Bruce Lee martial artist parody. You can select my character when you play and hear all my corny lines.