Troy Baker’s performance as Far Cry 4 antagonist Pagan Min is among that game’s most memorable elements, right there alongside trampling an enemy base on the back of an elephant. But Baker’s audition to get that role sounds as if it might have been even more interesting than anything Min does in the game.
During a recent Q&A panel at Indy PopCon 2015, Baker recounted his experience of trying out for the role, elaborating on what he told GameSpot last year. While there was a script he was meant to follow, Baker said, “That went bye-bye very quickly.” In particular, he went off the rails when an assistant walked into the audition room partway through the scene.
“And I just remember, I was talking like this [begins speaking like Min], and all of a sudden she walks in and I said, ‘I’m sorry, who is this? Who is this walking into this room right now. No no no, don’t leave, sit down.’ And she’s looking at me like, ‘I don’t know what…’
Back in Min’s voice, Baker continued, “Have a seat, please. Make yourself comfortable. Would you like some coffee that she brought in? It looks very delicious. Now here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to murder her right in front of you.”
While the assistant looked bewildered, Baker recalled, “Meanwhile, the team’s going, ‘This is it! This has got to be the one!'” He followed all of this up with a more specific threat, saying as Min, “I’m going to peel your face off and put it on my own. It’ll be the most glorious makeover I’ve ever had!”
Baker remarked on how much he appreciated having that much freedom to explore the character, but he noted that he only received it because he had “built some level of trust through other performances that made them go, ‘Let him go.’ If they had never heard of me, if I’d never done anything before and I did that, maybe it works, but otherwise they’re like, ‘We wrote a script. We’d like for you to do that if you don’t mind.'”
Baker is one of the most prolific voice actors in the games industry; his credits include BioShock Infinite‘s Booker DeWitt, The Last of Us‘ Joel, and Infamous: Second Son‘s Delsin Rowe, among many, many others. You’ll be hearing more from him in the coming year or so, as he voices characters in both Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and Uncharted 4.
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