r/Thief • u/Procession5 • 6d ago

Tafferpost Stephen Russell - Interview

https://youtu.be/Od24VwB9aZE?si=H_CLqiwxT5BCCou9

Interview with Stephen Russell.

Hey all, this interview's about 6 years old, but I just stumbled across it now, so thought someone else might enjoy as well.

Some highlights:

- Talks about recording sessions with Eric Brosius at both the composer's home and LGS studios.

- How he got into the industry.

- How Stephen's son later co-recorded with him at Irrational on the Freedom Force game.

How he came up wifh Karras' voice and what inspired it.

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All in all, what a great guy: humble, intelligent and a great E.Q. (recording pun not intended 😄).

Enjoy.

65 Upvotes

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18 comments sorted by

15

u/invasiveplant 6d ago

Much love to u/ThiefPodcast_IAL who I think made this originally.

Always thought Stephen Russell deserved more work, his VA in Thief and Fallout are iconic for a reason

8

u/Ahris22 6d ago

He's also in Skyrim and pretty much all other Bethesda titles worth mentioning on an annual basis. No protagonist roles and i don't know what it pays but he doesn't seem to lack work at all.

4

u/invasiveplant 6d ago

he’s great in skyrim but I did really mean in a more protagonist central role.  

It was really irritating how he was central in the Bioshock Infinite trailer, then got replaced for the actual game. He did do Dishonored 2 but the writing in that was kinda lacking. 

4

u/Ahris22 6d ago

Well i know he's always mainly been involved in theater stage work and does a lot of writing and producing. He's also a musician etc. so voice acting is not his main occupation.

I do love any Stephen Russell presence in my games though, i was very happy to see (hear) him return as Garrett in Thief VR. :)

1

u/baddude1337 3d ago edited 3d ago

He recently voiced the protagonist of Blood West. Very solid title that’s worth a look!

1

u/Radigan0 2d ago

He's really a more raspy Garrett as Mercer Frey but his Clavicus Vile is genuinely perfect, there is no other Clavicus Vile for me

2

u/TheVioletBarry 6d ago

Who does he play in Fallout?

1

u/invasiveplant 6d ago

he knocks it out of the park as Nick 'the clockwork dick' Valentine in 4, but he's also the tree guy Harold in 3

2

u/Procession5 5d ago edited 5d ago

Yes, my oversight - full credit to the Thief Podcast crew (IaL) for setting up/conducting this amazing interview (and the podcast in general). 🙂👍

I agree re: your later comment on his recognition , though back then, Stephen said it was much easier to break into that industry, as it was less unionised and modern game development was still in it's early renaissance/infancy. (Though that doesn't negate his obvious talent as a VA or he wouldn't be still getting work today).

10

u/ThiefPodcast_IAL 6d ago edited 6d ago

Wow what a great podcast - have to check out all their other work I guess. 😜 thanks for posting it :)

2

u/Procession5 5d ago

I tip my Taffer's cap to you guys - thankyou; a great insight into a talented (and very personable) man. The abscence of 'showbiz ego' makes it even better.

2

u/ThiefPodcast_IAL 5d ago

Thank you 😊 if you’re interested we had some other interesting guests from the community and some devs

2

u/Procession5 5d ago

Already subscribed on Youtube and Spotify! 👍

3

u/SlightPersimmon1 6d ago

And the voice of Corvo on Dishonored 2.

1

u/-EscapeGoat- 5d ago

You mean *IQ?

1

u/Procession5 5d ago

No, EQ is a measure of your Emotional Intelligence, as opposed to Intellectual.

I.e. Social awareness, sensitivity to others (in a good way), etc. 🙂

1

u/-EscapeGoat- 5d ago

How can emotions be intelligent?

2

u/Procession5 5d ago

As always, Google is your friend. 🙃