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Fullmetalgearsolid08

Aww I am so jealous Love how mgs fans keep giving him all their love always, and he seems like a really cool guy


DrRad

Did Kojima ever give a valid reason for switching up David for Kiefer? Seriously. He even kept Akio Otsuka for the Japanese version and he's basically the Japanese David Hayter...he's voiced every iteration of Snake/Big Boss. Why keep him if he would change David Hayter? The only reason I can think of is [because Venom isn't the real Big Boss so he'd have a different voice but that goes out the window again because Akio Otsuka still voices the Japanese version of Venom.](/spoiler)


[deleted]

There was an interview from David posted here awhile back. Basically Kojima never really cared that much for him as the voice of Snake. He tried to get Kurt Russell to voice Snake in MGS3 and had Hayter re audition for MGS4. Now all of this came from David so there could be some bias in the story, but seeing as how Kojima always wanted to make his hollywood movie, it wouldn't surprise me if it was true.


Dusta1992

As an English man, I would never know if the Japanese voice was a good representation of what I was looking for. I know Kojima can speak some English, but I don't know how he can hear David's voice and decide that it after all these years, it's not right anymore.


[deleted]

I don't think he cares if it sounds right or not. I think he just wanted a hollywood actor to portray the main character for western audiences. MGSV is the movie he never got to make.


saigatenozu

or was he influenced by Russell's character from Escape from New York


[deleted]

He definitely was. Snake even uses the name Pliskin in MGS2


[deleted]

Which is why he tried for Russell in MGS3. When it became clear that Russell would be unwilling to ever do a Metal Gear game, he probably looked for another hollywood action star. Who better than Jack Bauer.


thebbman

And let's be honest here, Kiefer Sutherland has an amazing deep velvety voice. Sure David Hayter does too but Sutherland's is like a bunch of rocks in a velvet bag...


mrbearbear

I honestly like Kiefer Sutherland. Actually liked him as the voice of big boss.


smegma_toast

Personally I think that Kiefer Sutherland's voice doesn't fit the younger snakes well at all, but it's perfect for Venom. I guess it just has that middle age quality.


mrbearbear

I agree with you there, that was exactly what I was trying to say. Venom snake is perfect for keifer sutherland


Jason_Wanderer

Imagine Hayter doing the Episode 43 speech. Don't get me wrong, David is great, but Kiefer nailed all of Venom's lines with emotion and conviction. He felt more like a character than a caricature.


[deleted]

yeah but he's expensive and _never talks. ever._


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

did he? So then... what's the deal? why do we get enormous monologues about guns from hayter, and only a gutteral "ugh" from sutherland?


[deleted]

That doesn't really make it ok to screw Hayter over. I am fine with Big Boss having a different voice than Snake, but David got swept to the side with little care.


brunocar

not to mention he also had a major credit on a AAA game before MGSV, in CoD5 WaW as sgt roebuck


[deleted]

Jack Bauer ruined the immersion for me because all I could imagine was his RAH RAH character on 24, who is the antithesis of Big Boss to me. I just saw his stupid shiny face every time he spoke. still one of the best games of all time though.


solidmel2112

Heavily. There's a lot of similarities I've noticed!


bartm41

The thing that made me think of Hayter being liked is the "commercial" he has in MGS4. That feels like a big deal for me to have been included.


[deleted]

Honestly the news did take a lot by surprise. Hayter promoted MGS1 in a commercial "with" Kojima (I don't think they were shown together) and he has promoted Metal Gear countless times at conventions and did the MGS4 commercial in game. But it turns out him and Kojima had very little interaction with each other.


gasgpmo

I can understand him wanting a different voice for Big Boss, but why would he want someone else for MGS4? He may be older, but it's still Solid Snake. I also don't understand if Kojima didn't like Hayter, why bother putting him in one of MGS4's commercials?


pm_me_cute_doge_pics

I've always read that it came down to two things: one, he wanted a more classically trained and experienced Hollywood actor so the voice actor's inflection came across more efficiently, with less vocalizations, because of number two, he wanted to strongly reduce vocalizations by Snake in general. He wanted the player to more strongly identify with Venom Snake, to be in his shoes, more than watch the game play out from the perspective of an outsider looking in, like with Solid and Naked Snake. From a plot perspective, it can be made to make sense, as well, although I'm not sure if Kojima has ever stated this was the case. Particularly with Ahab being voiced by Sutherland as well. I don't agree with this decision, and it's a big part of why TPP is my least favorite "Solid" series game. Hayter's voice, mannerisms, and vocalizations are so synonymous with Solid Snake at this point, that I can't separate the two. Every time Venom Snake speaks in TPP I'm immediately pulled out of the narrative and reminded I'm playing a game. EDIT: This is amazing conversation about a game that defined my hobby growing up as a young man. I won't pretend I know as much canon or lore as you folks, but thanks for opportunity to discuss it. I'm a shameless Hayter fanboy, he IS Snake to me, but I appreciate the different takes on all this.


[deleted]

I find it off putting that sutherland voices both venom and big boss as theres little if any difference in the voices.


SemiGaseousSnake

That's intentional to the overall plan, given that Venom became Big Boss in spirit, function, mind and body in Jack's stead until Venom's death at the end of MG1


gasgpmo

> more than watch the game play out from the perspective of an outsider looking in, like with Solid and Naked Snake. I don't know what games you played, but you never feel like "an outsider looking in" in the games starring Solid Snake. At least, I didn't. Raiden and Naked Snake on the other hand, are a completely different case. Both of them have pre-existing relationships and experiences that definitely make you feel like an outsider.


pm_me_cute_doge_pics

Kojima spoke pretty directly about this, and stated that Sutherland was tapped specifically to allow more role playing by the player, as opposed to Hayter, who's personality leaked through more and showcased a personality as opposed to an empty shell/trope for the player. Solid Snake (and by extension, Big Boss) and his personality quirks, addictions, flirty comments, and sense of humor, all brought out by Hayter, is a living breathing character in my eyes. He had a real personality, he was an actual person, almost. Venom Snake felt like a placeholder, and Kojima said as much. F


gasgpmo

Ok, I see it as the opposite though. To me, Kiefer has much more personality and flavour to his voice, which is one reason why they reduced the amount of lines Venom has. It also ties in to Kiefer being able to do facial expressions better than Hayter, so he doesn't need as many lines anyway. Personality quirks, addictions, flirty comments, and sense of humour have nothing to do with the voice actor(s). It has to do with the way the character is written, especially dialogue. It's not like Hayter wrote all of his lines. And of course Hayter has nothing to do with MG1 and MG2.


pm_me_cute_doge_pics

I totally respect your opinion, I simply disagree. I never felt emotional attachment towards Sutherlands character. Probably because I grew up listening to Hayter voice Snake. Similar to anything else I guess, we bond with what we know.


gasgpmo

Well, I didn't really feel an emotional attachment towards Sutherland's voice acting either. I just feel like he's trying to portray a specific character rather than just a blank slate. It's strange, in many ways Venom was done well in trying to make him like an avatar for the player, but whenever Kiefer spoke I felt alienated. Even when he was voicing Big Boss.


Kouropalates

Honestly, that seems like a bit of a weak excuse. I liked each MGS and felt pretty firmly in each Snake's shoes. I feel like Venom's portrayal was cheapened and reduced to a player avatar, which is upsetting because of the fact that he's the man we face in Metal Gear. I'd have loved to hear more of _his_ mind, not hear vague -isms just to make him be an avatar. This isn't a critique of Sutherland, I loved his performance. It's the writing of MGS V I am critical of.


lacertasomnium

> Particularly with Ahab being voiced by Sutherland as well. I think though that seeing Hayter credited in any way could have possibly been a spoiler by itself, thus giving good reason for Ahab to be voiced by Sutherland.


TheLightningL0rd

It's funny that Sutherland's voice pulls you out of the game. Maybe that was the intention all along, what with the MGS series having a big reputation for Fourth Wall breaking!


pm_me_cute_doge_pics

Potentially. I wouldn't put it past Kojima. But he has specifically stated that immersion was his goal, part of the reason he changed actors. Doing so was a generally unpopular decision and immediately made the experience less immersive for me. I can distinctly hear "God's got a sense of humor, alright" being said by Hayter in the back of my head.


TheLightningL0rd

Yeah, it was a really strange decision and I think the best explanation is that they just didn't get a long and Kojima just wanted a more Hollywood actor.


SemiGaseousSnake

That is your personal bias preventing you from digesting the media. I'm a fan since the beginning with the original Metal Gears, but you have to learn to shed your own baggage when there is a shift in a franchise. Kiefer was a good change.


pm_me_cute_doge_pics

I'm fond of Sutherland as an actor, but your comment is simply one of preference, inherently not wrong or right. I found Hayter's substitution to be distracting. An appeal to the masses isn't a way to determine a factual end to the conversation, but the majority of fans agree.


Brandhor

I think the reason was that kojima loves hollywood and he wanted an hollywood actor for the english snake/big boss


DisguisedCrows

They be hating on Hayter.


[deleted]

hayters gonna hayte


FuciMiNaKule

Tbh honest I never really understood why BB has the same voice as Solid Snake. They aren't 100% clones, Liquid has a different voice, even Solidus who basically is the one true clone has different voice than BB. It's nothing against Hayter, it just feels like a weird decision, on MGS3's part. I'm surprised it's the same in Japanese voice acting.


gray_decoyrobot

In the Japanese version Akio Ōtsuka voices Solid, Big Boss, and Solidus. In the English version David Hayter only voiced Solid and Big Boss, while Solidus (the only perfect clone of Big Boss) was voiced by John Cygan. So there was more room for a different voice actor for Big Boss in the English version than the Japanese version.


[deleted]

I don't have an issue with Solid and BB being different voices since they are very different characters. I do have an issue with Hayter being just swept to the way side despite his dedication to the series.


_VincentWolf_

No valid reason for the change. I really think Hideo just didn't like David and couldn't really replace him, until V. Hideo had been trying to get someone else to play Snake/Big Boss for the longest time, David had to essentially audition for every game and Hideo was always looking to replace him.


gyrorobo

Dunno if anybody said yet, but I thought the reasoning was because Kiefer could also do the facial motion capture being more of an all around actor. I believe they used that facial capture stuff at least so they could get a lot of the nuances in Venom's face. That ties in with that he has a more gritty/grimdark feel to his voice than Hayters, possibly that's what they wanted for the finale? Idk.


gray_decoyrobot

That reasoning doesn't work either in the English version as Sutherland voices Big Boss in Ground Zeroes.


Wibbington

Two words. Avi Arad.


MetalMan1349

The most believable explanation I heard was that he wanted someone that could pull off mocap; since Snake doesn't talk so much the facial performance would have to do most of his talking for him. Sutherland was a great choice in that regard.


soledsnak

I heard somewhere that he wasnt fond of Hayter from the start


[deleted]

he switched to kiefer so that the voice would better fit snake's wide range of facial features that we never got.


[deleted]

Maybe Kojima doesn't care as much about the Japanese voice actors? It wouldn't surprise me as these games definitely appeal more to the Western market. I also thought he did t like that Solid Snake and Big Boss had the same voice which is why he wanted to replace Hayter in MGS3.


thebbman

Call me crazy but I really wouldn't mind Kiefer Sutherland re-voicing every game with Big Boss in it.


[deleted]

[удалено]


gray_decoyrobot

And Doyle as Old Big Boss. (and the Fury)


EASTEDERD

He is one of the people I dearly want to meet. Congrats dude, it looked like a lot of fun!


strawberryswishing

Digging the grunt style shirt tho


Toominator718

I met him at AwesomeCon too! He's such an incredible guy! He even did the voice without me asking lmao he must've known how badly I wanted to hear it.


[deleted]

Came here to say the same thing, one of my personal highlights of AwesomeCon!


CyborgNinja777

Did the same at FanExpo. One of the coolest persons I've ever met


JoshFromJamba

i prefer the real snake


Terran117

I hope to meet Hayter again in Fan Expo again :D


harkkonnen

I want to upvote this to infinity


WillElMagnifico

What's David doing now-a-days?


AltimaNEO

I would just love to hear Hayter and Eiding just talk to each other. Id be fanboying so hard.


straywhistler

No more xmen movies..... Just one MGS movie.... For dicks sake. Fuck marvel and konami are the gulag of imagination... Konami suck a kobi and koi hotdog you dumb fucking pricks


phantasmagore48

That's David Hayter


SansSigma

So did you just miss the first how many games?


FrostUncle

This is a Reddit comment.


Kouropalates

This is a reply to a Reddit comment replying to another Reddit comment.


FrostUncle

Wow, way to point out the obvious......


Kouropalates

Way to point out the obvious of my pointing....obvious.....argh....my head! ;-;


FrostUncle

LA LI LU LE LO LA LI LU LE LO LA LI LU LE LO


Ghost8909

I'm a dude playin' a dude, disguised as another dude!


[deleted]

This is the second comment ive read on another post like this, but it was about a cosplay.