The voices behind Fragments of HimFebruary 5, 2016
In last week’s blog, Elwin announced that I would be introducing myself this week, so here I am. My name is Bas de Jonge and for the upcoming 5 months I’ll be interning as a marketeer at Sassybot. Rebellious as I am, though, I won’t just introduce myself in this blogpost; instead, I will introduce you to the very talented voice actors that have brought the story of Fragments of Him to life.
For the casting of the voice actors, we teamed up with PitStop Productions. They helped throughout this entire process: setting up our casting, gathering all the auditions, and eventually recording all the voices. The casting process resulted in over 250 auditions, which were eventually narrowed down to a list of four actors, namely Jay Britton as Will, Joan Blackham as Mary, James Alper as Harry, and Katie Lyons as Sarah.
Jay Britton
Joan Blackham
James Alper
Katie Lyons
Jay Britton is a professional voice actor. You might have heard Jay in video games, on television in animated series’, or one of the many commercials. He’s a talented actor with a broad range of accents and voices, which made him the perfect choice for Will. Jay’s voice brings a lightness of tone, uncertainty, and optimism to Will at a turning point in his life.
Will’s grandmother Mary has been voiced by Joan Blackham. I personally think she has the perfect voice for Mary, and so did Mata Haggis, he says: “Mary is a complex character to portray. She is both staunch in her own opinions but also coming from a place of love. From the auditions, Joan stood out by pouring all of that complexity into a beautifully subtle performance of simple lines. There were many wonderful voices for the part, but Joan stood out immediately. She has a long history of television and film performances, and this experience shines through in her delivery.”
James Alper is the voice actor behind Harry. James has performed in theatre, film, and television shows, as well as video games. According to Mata, “James Alper has a very rich and resonant voice – the kind of voice that makes you want to smile when you hear it. James brought out emotions in the script that I had not realised were there, but immediately his reading added a new and powerful layer to the scenes.”
Sarah is voiced by actress Katie Lyons. She has previously acted in games such as The Secret World, Dreamfall Chapters, and Dirty Bomb. Besides voice acting in video games, Katie is perhaps best known for her performances in British television series Green Wing, among other appearances on television and in films. She has an incredible warmth and charm in her voice, perfectly matching Sarah’s own journey in Fragments of Him.
After the casting process, PitStop Productions have also been creating the music and many of the sound effects. The score for the game complements the emotions that the actors have brought into their scenes. Each of the actors has given a passionate, heartfelt performance for their role, and the recording sessions were days full of both tears and laughter. We are very excited to share the results with you soon this year!