Stephen Dorff is onder andere bekend van de thrillers FearDotCom, Cold Creek Manor en Alone in the Dark. In een gesprek met Official Xbox Magazine ging hij echter niet in op zijn films, maar op het spel Far Cry Instincts waar hij zijn stem voor verleende.
Hier kun je zien in welke films Stephen Dorff zoal gespeeld heeft. Voor ons gamers is echter het belangrijkste dat de beste man zijn stem heeft verleend aan het hoofd personage in Far Cry Instincts, de FPS van Ubisoft. Het interview verliep als volgt:
Loads of Hollywood stars increasingly seem to be doing voiceovers for games these days, but why you, and why Far Cry?
Stephen Dorff: I liked the idea of the part, and I like the idea of the game too. I knew the PC game was very successful, so it just seemed interesting. I also like to try things. When the internet craze was going on, I did a little thing which was one of the first internet films to be broadcast over the net. It was weird, but I kinda went for it. And, from what I know about Ubisoft and this game, it's a first-class operation. Far Cry has a shot to be really successful on Xbox, and I wanted to lend my voice to it. Jack Carver seems like a cool character, and I like the realism behind it. Whether I'm playing a vampire or a human being, as long as there's realism there, that's what attracts me.
Jack Carver is something of a hard-bitten survivalist. How do you think that'll come across in the game? Will you be researching the lifestyle, or just shouting a lot into the mic?
Stephen Dorff: Umm... I just brought the character to life in a similar way I'd have acted in a movie. The part was written, and the beats were pretty clear and simple. I knew when he had to be aggressive, and I knew when he had to be more playful. I just kinda went in there and laid it all down. I've been asked to do this types of thing before, but this one kinda seemed interesting.
So, if you were stuck on a desert island surrounded by a gang of militant nuts, how
do you think you'd cope?
Stephen Dorff: (Laughs), I'd probably try to make friends with the militant nuts! Either that or I'd get myself a machine gun, or hook up with Jack Carver. Or learn how to swim for a really long time. I'd have to quit smoking though, because I don't think I'd make it very far. The island I'm on looks like a vacation, but basically it's a disaster area with grenades going off and all kinds of craziness. Jack has this line where he says "Welcome to my paradise", when in fact it's hell!
Can you tell us a little bit more about Jack Carver's trap-setting abilities? Did you have to record death throes for when Jack gets himself caught in traps or snares?
Stephen Dorff: There's such a variation to what's going on, so I recorded reactions to everything, and then they'll plug 'em in.
But what about your acting style? That can't be the same when you've got your foot in a trap?
Stephen Dorff: Well, he complains a lot, that's for sure. Today was a real 'Oomph', and 'Argh' day in the booth. We got all the scripted stuff done, and then the reaction stuff came. I kinda do that in the movies anyway, it's easy, but you just want it to sound real. When I get thrown out of a boat I wanna scream and grunt to make it sound real bad.
So how much freedom are you given throughout voice recording? It must be very tempting to add the occasional 'Die, you ugly bastards!' in there when there isn't one!
Stephen Dorff: Well, I think Jack is the kind of guy that does say whatever he wants. Obviously I don't know the legalities of it, but there are already a lot of 'f*cks' in the script! I think they want to make this an edgier game! It doesn't seem like a young kids' game. If the cursing works, then just like a movie it should be there. You don't want Jack Carver to be shouting "Stop, you friggin' idiots", you want him to shout "Stop, you f*cking maggots!" You know what I mean?
Do you have to use props when voice recording to get into the flow? We've got a radio show here in the UK called The Archers, and the actors have to scuff around in gravel to produce walking sounds. Will you get to fire a gun to produce the same effect?
Stephen Dorff: Do I get to fire a gun? (Laughs) Not really, no, I just do the voice!
Do you think Far Cry will do wonders for your reputation? No doubt a lot of ladies will be pleased to hear you saving the broad and ending the terrorist threat!
Stephen Dorff: It's always good to run away with the girl and be on a desert island and stop the terrorist threat, I like the sound of that. As far as doing wonders for my career, well I don't know. Hopefully the game will be a big hit so I can call up Ubisoft and get games for my friends, and do ten sequels or whatever! Hopefully it'll be a monster!
With so many videogames becoming films these days, if you got offered the part of Jack Carver on the big screen, would you take it?
Stephen Dorff: Man, I dunno, I have to read the screenplay first to see who'd I'd wanna work with! But I think there's certainly a movie within Far Cry, you know? A really sexy action movie in the vein of Die Hard on an island. I miss those old action pictures that didn't have too much CGI, and that were straight up. Yeah, let's go and do the motherf*cker! We'd shoot it in Fiji! I'd cast the girls! Ubisoft should greenlight it straight away!
We saw you in Ashton Kutcher's Punk'd recently, and you were working up some impressive method acting-style anger. Are you going to reach into the fiery depths and deliver more full-on fury as Jack Carver? We interviewed Tom Jane about the Punisher game recently and he said doing voice work was a piece of piss. What's the case for you?
Stephen Dorff: A piece of piss? Oh man! I love your questions. Um, it was incredible. It was orgasmic. It was er, great! Jack Carver's a stud so it was a pleasure.
So did you reach into those fiery depths then?
Stephen Dorff: I didn't really think about Punk'd or Ashton when creating Jack Carver, to be honest. I was more angry at the waiter [from a scene in Punk'd]! I wanted to kill him. They've shown that about eight gazillion times now, too. I don't think about it too much!
Can you tell us any amazing facts about the game that no-one yet knows?
Stephen Dorff: Oh man, I don't know enough about it yet! What can I tell you? As far as the surprises within the game go, I can't tell you because the guys are still working that out.
Have you got an Xbox yourself, then? If so, will you be playing Far Cry on Xbox Live and actually go out hunting as yourself?
Stephen Dorff: I've been given one, but I don't know where I left it. When Far Cry comes out I'll be getting another one for sure, just so I can hear myself. I'm not very good at videogames though. I'd probably be telling Jack to do something and he won't end up doing it, and I'll be stuck in the same fricking area. Hey, we'll see how it goes.
So what would your Gamertag be then? And don't say 'FarCryIsGreat73' either!
Stephen Dorff: (laughs) Oh man... I've no idea. I have no idea. I guess it would be... Um, I have no idea.
Okay, you can have FarCryIsGreat73, then.
Stephen Dorff: These questions are really insane! It's been harder answering your questions than doing Jack Carver in the videogame!
Thanks! Okay then, just one more and we'll let you go. What can we expect to see you in next, and what's in the future for you?
Stephen Dorff: Well, I've just done another videogame title, a movie called Alone In The Dark with Christian Slater, and a film called Shadowboxer due out soon, but I'll see all you Xbox fans when Far Cry Instincts comes out. Hopefully you'll like it.
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