The Elder Scrolls Online Voice Cast Revealed

[+Brodo Swaggins]

We are pleased to announce that a renowned group of actors will be lending their voices to The Elder Scrolls Online. John Cleese, Michael Gambon, Kate Beckinsale, Malcolm McDowell, Lynda Carter, Bill Nighy, and Alfred Molina – and many more – take on the roles of just some of the interesting characters you’ll meet while exploring Tamriel.

Get all the details on the star-studded voice cast – and the characters they play – in the press release below. And if you’re hoping to meet these characters before the game officially launches for PC/Mac on April 4^th, sign up for beta today!

BETHESDA SOFTWORKS ANNOUNCES STAR-STUDDED VOICE OVER CAST FOR THE ELDER SCROLLS® ONLINE

Latest Game in Award-Winning Franchise Brings Together All-Star Cast

January 23, 2014 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax® Media company, today announced the members of the renowned cast lending their voices to The Elder Scrolls® Online, the highly-anticipated game arriving April 4, 2014 on PC and Mac and June 2014 for the PlayStation®4 system and Xbox One®, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. The Elder Scrolls® Online ensemble includes Academy Award nominee John Cleese (“A Fish Called Wanda,” “Monty Python and the Holy Grail“), Golden Globe winner Bill Nighy (“Pirates of the Caribbean”), Kate Beckinsale (“The Aviator,” “Pearl Harbor”), Alfred Molina (“Spider-Man 2″) and Golden Globe nominees Michael Gambon (“Harry Potter”), and Malcolm McDowell (“A Clockwork Orange”). In addition, Lynda Carter (“Wonder Womanâ€) returns to the Elder Scrolls series to reprise her role from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

The Elder Scrolls Online is the latest chapter of the award-winning franchise and will bring the legendary experience online for the first time. Players can choose their own style of play as they embark upon an epic adventure across all of Tamriel, playing alone on heroic quests as in previous Elder Scrolls games, exploring the huge, rich world with a few friends, or joining with hundreds of others in massive PvP battles to save the Empire.

“This extraordinary group of actors helps bring the distinctive characters in The Elder Scrolls Online to life,” said Matt Firor, game director of The Elder Scrolls Online. “In The Elder Scrolls tradition, we sought world class talent to add a deep and enriching component to the immersive world the series offers players.”

John Cleese plays Cadwell, the cheerful and endearingly mad lost soul who is not afraid of anyone, even a Daedric Prince. Joining the cast as High King Emeric, Bill Nighy portrays a merchant prince whose luck and determination won him the throne. Kate Beckinsale takes on the role of Queen Ayrenn, the leader of the Aldmeri Dominion and Queen of the High Elves who is far more comfortable with a blade than her crown.

In addition, Alfred Molina takes on the role of Abnur Tharn, a wily old wizard and politician who is the head of the Empire’s Elder Council, and the de facto power behind the Ruby Throne. Lynda Carter plays Azura, the Daedric Princess of Dusk and Dawn from Skyrim who is a popular part of Elder Scrolls lore.  Michael Gambon voices The Prophet, a mysterious blind man who guides the player through their journey to retrieve their soul; and Malcolm McDowell plays the key figure Molag Bal, an evil Daedric god from another plane who schemes to enslave the mortal souls of Tamriel.

The Elder Scrolls Online cast also includes:

• [*]

Peter Stormare (“Fargoâ€) plays Jorunn the Skald King, an unexpected monarch who led his people into an unlikely alliance. [*]Jim Ward (“WALL·E,” “Despicable Me 2″) voices Mannimarco, a renegade High Elf wizard exiled from the realm for raising the dead and the world’s most powerful necromancer. [*]Jennifer Hale appears in the role of Lyris Titanborn, a Nord half-giant, who, along with the Prophet, aids the player on their journey.. [*]Kevin Michael Richardson rounds out the cast as Sai Sahan a noble martial artist and master swordsman.

The Elder Scrolls Online has been named one of the industry’s most anticipated titles for 2014 and marks a historic point for the franchise with its multiplayer online play after nearly 20 years of developing these best-selling, award-winning fantasy role-playing games for single player only. The previous chapter in this franchise was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim® which was released in November 2011 and enjoyed worldwide critical and commercial success. As the sequel to the 2002 Role-Playing Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind®, and the 2006 Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion®, Skyrim earned hundreds of ‘Game of the Year’ awards and sold over 20 million copies.

The Elder Scrolls Online is being developed for the PlayStation4 system, Xbox One, PC, and Mac by ZeniMax Online Studios. The studio is headed by industry veteran Matt Firor who has more than 20 years of online game development experience. Working with Matt is a team of highly regarded professionals who have created some of the best known online games ever released.

The Elder Scrolls Online has been rated M for Mature by the ESRB.

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[Musclemagic]

Really..... THIS is what they decided to spend extra money on? They couldn't have found people with good voices who weren't stars who would charge extra? :S

[dreamerorc]

Really..... THIS is what they decided to spend extra money on? They couldn't have found people with good voices who weren't stars who would charge extra? :S

 

we should really not judge on that decision without seeing the whole picture the way a veteran like Matt does. Although I shared your initial response at first, I immediately after realized that:

 

1. These kind of things really are what immerse people deeply in the game. With a mediocre acted voice it's just such a letdown and X years later when you revisit that mmo these are the things that can turn you really off like: "oh, a what missed chance....". So this is your one and only chance to do it right. I realized this clearly when yesterday I revisited the by now 6 year old game Age of Conan. Some of the voice acting there just...doesn't fit the situation or the animation if you know what I mean

 

2. Matt's been in this business for 20 years and the Bethesda team has proven time and again that they are able to deliver such content and immersion. I bet if we would know each decision they made during the making of Skyrim or Oblivion e.g we would have surely questioned numerous of their choices back then. Yet, look at the results of the (great) decisions they made back then

 

3. From a business point of view these are important opportunities not to let go. They add the hype which is to culminate on launch day. Funny thing is that -since that culmination will cause a massive amount of people to try the game- it can backfire for them just as much as it can help them. If launch is a success it will skyrocket them. If it fails this is where they shoot themselves in the foot.

 

so I guess Matt isn't afraid of taking a risk and playing high stakes and based on his proven experience who are we to say he doesn't know what he's doing...