Best Characters Voiced by Neil Newbon

Fans everywhere fell for the pale-skinned elf Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3 due in no small part to the performance of actor and motion capture artist Neil Newbon. Painted as a breakout star of the game, Newbon has been a working actor and even a voice actor for video games for quite some time. This includes big projects such as performing motion capture for the film Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV.

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But what makes his characters memorable? Part of the strategies that make great actors great is finding connections to the characters they play even if they aren't that similar. Tethering one's self to a trait allows one to bring authenticity and sincerity to a performance -- something Newbon displays in every role no matter the scope or moral alignment.

10 Beyond A Steel Sky - Alonso

Proto-Astarion Or Just Your Average Bureaucrat?

• Revolution Software released the game in 2020 and it is set ten years after the original game
• Newbon's role isn't as meaty here as other roles, pushing it lower on the list of performances

This game, released in 2020, is a follow-up to a 1994 title called Beneath a Steel Sky and takes place in a distant-future Earth that has mega-cities despite disasters such as nuclear war. The game plays like a Telltale game with features like 3D exploration, immersive dialogue, lots of puzzles, and great writing. Newbon's character, Mentor Alonso, appears to have a bit of an antagonistic relationship with the player character "Graham Grundy."

He is sent to identify what might be "troubling" the supposed Grundy, but he certainly reads more like an inquisitor than a counselor. The dystopian, Big Brother-esque world of the game makes it clear that Alonso's intentions are not to the benefit of the player character. Fans of Newbon's BG3 performance might see a touch of Astarion in this character's performance.

9 Planet Of The Apes: Last Frontier - Bryn

An Overlooked Performance Due To External Factors

On the left, we see Newbon in motion capture for the role as seen on his website.

• The Imaginati Studios released the game in 2017
• Newbon would go on to perform for the VR game Crisis on the Planet of the Apes in 2018

This might be a game many people played, but Neil still voices the character of Bryn in it, and it's a performance worth revisiting. Not only does Newbon deliver a performance in English, but also uses grunts and non-word-based sounds. The role marked one of his first big projects where he did motion capture and voice acting for a character. Taken from a pure performance perspective, Newbon's voice manipulation for the role of Bryn is clear and impressive. The guttural, breathy nature of his performance differs greatly from his most recent turn as Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3.

Unfortunately, the game was not well-received due to elements such as a lack of player interactivity, ineffectual choices, its short length, and a somewhat myopic presentation of the ape culture.

8 Detroit: Become Human - Elijah Kamski

Like A Sparkler: Powerful, But Short-Lived

• A 2018 release from Quantic Dream
• The star-studded cast included well-known actors, as well as voice actors like Newbon

The photorealistic game Detroit: Become Human acts as a meditation on what it means to be human (much like Blade Runner and many other works). Newbon portrays Elijah Kamski, the creator of androids and former CEO of Cyberlife -- a company he founded at age sixteen. He even lent his real face to the character who proves to be an antagonist in the game. Kamski is a narcissistic genius who holds contradicting views on androids, deviancy, and humanity's place in the philosophy of machine freedom.

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The unique thing about this character is that Newbon voices him with an American accent, but also that, while still charismatic like so many of Newbon's characters are, Kamski is just a walking, talking thought experiment. He has no real skin in the game despite constantly pestering people about "who they are" and "what side they're on." The performance is not one to miss. However, in comparison to some of Newbon's other characters, it doesn't have the same level of nuance. Kamski also doesn't have nearly the same amount of screen time in comparison, which pushes this performance below others.

7 Deliver Us Mars - Isaac Johanson

Ted Faro Would Be So Proud

• The game released in 2023 by Dutch studio KeokeN Interactive
• Set as a sequel story to another game, players see Isaac's character more fleshed out and revealed to be one significantly bad guy

Fans of the Horizon series will understand that joke, but let's clue in the rest of the class. Deliver Us Mars, an action-adventure title from 2023, details how Earth was abandoned due to ecological disaster and is a sequel to Deliver Us the Moon. Isaac Johanson, voiced by Neil Newbon, is the man at the center of the story who may or may not be responsible for Earth's destruction. The irredeemable character waxes and wanes about feeling guilt over his action -- something that can ring false if an actor isn't as invested as Newbon.

For some players, this limited nuance made the character frustrating, while others found a character so spineless and selfish to be almost too realistic. One cannot sympathize with Isaac, but that doesn't make him a two-dimensional character and Newbon's performance certainly adds dimension. For Newbon himself, as seen in a ScreenRant interview with the actor, he feels more of a connection to the character because they are both single fathers to daughters.

6 We Happy Few: Lightbearer - Nick Lightbearer

Party Or Die

• Compulsion Games fully released the game in 2018 after two years of Early Access on PC
• The DLC follows the rock idol Nick Lightbearer on a drug-fueled adventure mirroring the works of Dante

The world of We Happy Few draws inspiration from absurdist dystopian media like Brave New World, Brazil, and others. The hallucinogenic drugs that keep the masses controllable in the police state come to the forefront in the Lightbearer DLC, but not as tools to dull the senses. Nick (a.k.a. Norbert Pickles), in contrast, is so addicted to these drugs that he has to take them in large amounts. However, that doesn't stop drug trips and lots of Alice in Wonderland adjacent hallucinations. It features lots of literary easter eggs such as his agent being named Virgil, a character named Morrie Memento, and more.

There isn't much voice manipulation needed for Newbon as his normal voice has such swagger and character. But the zany, 60s Brit rockstar persona crumbles and comes back together in the span of a few lines -- the nature of the game world itself due to "the bad thing" and the aforementioned drugs. The cocktail of mania, sincerity, hedonism, and fear makes it difficult to know what's real and what's exaggerated or downright fake. Though some fans have dubbed other characters "Astarion 1.0" or "Fishtarion," this character bears the most resemblance to Astarion from a character perspective.

5 Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Zeon

More Than Just Hair Wings & Eyeliner

• The game released in 2022 by Monolith Soft
• Acts as a conclusion to the three-game narrative set in a world with long-warring kingdoms in which Zeon (and everyone else) is caught

Newbon so often voices villains or morally gray characters that it's refreshing to see him as Zeon in Xenoblade Chronicles 3. The youthful character is already in command of an entire colony and Newbon's performance reflects both his idealized leadership style and the weight of responsibility. The character Eunie sums up the character best with the line "...you're not the kind of guy who makes fun of people when they're trying their hardest. You help people in need." This represents two ways a person can go as a leader: the softer, more supportive way or the harder and seemingly negative way. Zeon's character begins to embrace his softness throughout the story.

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After all, he just seems like he wants to settle down with a nice garden. That softer side of Zeon does make an appearance when he makes leadership decisions. He prioritizes preventing unnecessary loss of life and the well-being of his troops. Throughout the story, Zeon also becomes more flexible in how he views "good" and "evil." Newbon's performance brings romance to the character in a Studio Ghibli way while maintaining an air of weaponized capability.

4 Resident Evil 3 - Nicholai Ginovaef

Also Known As Nikolai Zinoviev, Silver Wolf, & Sergeant

• The remake debuted in 2020 from Capcom and Nicholai (as voiced by Newbon) also appears in Resident Evil Resistance
• Stands out in Newbon's catalog as a less emotional yet still evocative performance

Resident Evil games always have some kind of zombie or monster as the "main villain" of the game, but there are always humans who portray monstrous qualities, too. Nicholai is one such character as, in the remake, he is a spy trying to sabotage the protagonists and murdering whomever and whatever he has to in that process. He represents one of Newbon's only high-profile performances in a Russian accent. In the game, he is always antagonizing Jill Valentine and making traditional "bad guy" decisions like shooting someone before confirming whether or not they were infected.

Despite the character feeling like a trope, Newbon's performance rings true to the character -- a former Russian Spetsnaz and mercenary. The bottom line is money, time, and completing the mission; this kind of ruthless pragmatism boils in the tight-jawed voice lines. Unlike Heisenberg or Astarion, Nicholai's emotional spectrum never really goes above a 5\10. He always has to feel in control or not reveal too much to others with his emotions. Using this as a rule allows Newbon to make bigger impacts when he breaks it to show what Nicholai truly fears: death. He's a greedy coward at heart despite his bluster, which comes across in Newbon's performance.

3 Warframe - Fibonacci

A Potential Ally Or An Albrecht Supplicant?

• The character debuted in Warframe: Whispers in the Walls chapter in 2023
• The "fish with the big brain" represents perhaps the older-sounding character Newbon has voiced so far

"Fishtarion" as some fans call him appeared as the leader of the Cavia (one of many factions in the game) -- a group of failed experiments from Albrecht Entrati. The character doesn't have much lore yet, but there's plenty of room to grow as Warframe is always adding new story bits. As for Newbon's performance, the character is different from Astarion despite his continued sassing of the player.

Fib is far more comedic, for one thing, and has more of an upper-crust, older British gentleman vibe than Astarion's mischievous tone. The same breathiness that Newbon brought to other roles is present here, as well, further aiding that posh, "I know more than you" vibe. It's unclear if Fib knows what the character's true motives are and the humor Newbon brings to the role deflects any attempts to discern them.

2 Resident Evil: Village - Karl Heisenberg

Metal Bender & Miranda Manipulator

• Capcom released the game in 2021 and the DLC Winters' Expansion in 2022
• He's the only one of the four lieutenants not fully brainwashed by Miranda and plans on a rebellion

Being kidnapped and experimented on to be controlled by someone is a serious character background. On top of that, Heisenberg is an engineering genius and heir to his family's factory -- a motivating factor in why Miranda found him useful, perhaps. But bringing all of that into a character voice is how Newbon truly personified Heisenberg and it's a wonderful performance that adds nuance to a character who could feel one-note otherwise. It's another rare occasion when Newbon does an American-style accent.

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The gruffness and cruelty to Heisenberg are betrayed by more vulnerable line deliveries in moments of conflict. It shows the inner child and personal goals Heisenberg sidelined because of Mother Miranda. When he speaks to Ethan alone, his voice has less aggressive posturing in it. There's a real "more flies with honey" vibe until a confrontation where Ethan rejects Heisenberg's plan for revenge against Miranda. And yet, there is no real malice in Heisenberg's voice until after he mutates and even then, he tells Ethan "Don't come back" instead of killing him outright. Newbon again brings nuance to someone who could easily just have been a two-dimensional bad guy.

1 Baldur's Gate 3 - Astarion

Not God's Favorite Princess, But The Internet's Most Beloved Brat

Neil Newbon performing motion capture for BG3 as posted on his X account.

• The game fully launched in 2023 by Larian Studios
• This performance earned Newbon many deserved awards and nominations as many players resonated with Astarion's story and Newbon's voice-acting choices

Though the hype around the game has simmered a bit, the character of Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3 has left a lasting impression on video game storytelling. Newbon's performance and support of the character have both cemented his status as a true artist in the form. From the questionable morals of Ascended Astarion to the quiet vulnerability of a romanced Astarion, Newbon showed such a range as the character full of nuance and humanity. He also showcased his mocap prowess throughout the game, as fans can see in action in the image on the left above from Newbon's X account.

To date, Astarion might be Neil's best character performance in a video game. But who knows -- he is supposed to be voicing Barry the Boat in the Fallout: London mod soon. Newbon's talent is sure to continue to grow even if fans have seen the last of that sassy little vampire.

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