Video game voice star Troy Baker says ‘only humans’ can make art

Millions of gamers around the world may not know Troy Baker’s face but would recognise his voice — perhaps as the heartbroken father Joel in “The Last of Us” or an intrepid Indiana Jones in “The Great Circle”.

That human connection is why the 50-year-old actor is “not afraid of anything replacing artists” even as creative industries are beset by fears of artificial intelligence taking over.

Baker spoke to AFP soon after of the release of a new title, “Screamer”, the latest in a string of 430 games and animations to which he has lent his vocal cords rather than his bearded face and piercing blue eyes, according to IMDb.

Although AI can easily ape an actor’s voice,”we’re talking about art,” Baker said.

“We make art. Art is inherently, intrinsically a human expression, and only humans can make it.”

In “Screamer”, a car racing title released last month for PC and consoles, Baker plays the role of Mister A., the organiser of a tournament whose high-octane clashes are interspersed with animated sequences.

“History has shown us that technology creates more opportunities than it replaces,” Baker said.

Nevertheless, “anytime, in any art form, people are fearful of their jobs,” he acknowledged. “I understand it.”

Baker himself came in for online criticism in early 2022 for associating with a company specialising in NFTs (“non-fungible tokens”, or tradeable digital objects) before quickly backing out.

– ‘I love Joel’ –

Baker fell almost by accident into voice work in the early 2000s as he was trying to get a rock band off the ground.

But it was in 2013 that he broke through with the role of Joel in “The Last Of Us”, the action-adventure game that tells the story of a man and a young girl traversing a post-apocalyptic America.

Baker’s motions were also captured in his performance as the gruff and bereaved father.

Popular the world over, the game’s success spawned a 2020 sequel and an HBO series starting in 2023, in which Baker appeared for a cameo role as a different character.

“I love Joel. I miss him every day,” Baker said, while adding that he “cannot imagine any more of (his) story that’s left to tell” despite rumours of a third game regularly circulating online.

Unlike the “multimillion-dollar sets” common in the movie business, in games “there’s times when I’m given a microphone, a script and a Zoom call,” said Baker, whose other major roles include the brother of the protagonist Nathan Drake in “Uncharted 4” (2016) and the antagonist of two “Death Stranding” games (2019 and 2025).

– ‘Ask questions’ –

Baker struck just the right tone in 2024’s “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle,” in which he played Harrison Ford’s film hero in his prime.

He recalled how at first, he “prepared in a completely wrong way” by attempting to copy one-for-one the movie star’s voice and movements.

“That’s the least Indiana Jones thing I could do,” he later realised, saying he “had to let go” of Ford and do things his own way.

The Hollywood star himself congratulated Baker on his performance at the Game Awards in Los Angeles in 2024, one of the high points of the video game calendar.

But across different projects, “I can’t have a single process,” Baker said. “Every studio is different. Every game should be different.”

His approach these days is to “ask a lot of questions” — as in “Screamer”, where “we spent a lot of time really dialing in each individual character”.

This year Baker is appearing in the film “Iron Lung”, a sci-fi thriller directed by the YouTube star Mark Fischbach, who goes by the moniker Marliplier.

Nevertheless, “I’ve never looked at video games as a stepping stone. This is where I love to be,” he said.

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