Kiefer Sutherland, the star of 24 and many other Hollywood favorite, is the new voice and face of Snake in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, series creator Hideo Kojima revealed during Konami’s pre-E3 showcase. Kojima said he wanted “a more subdued performance” for the protagonist, and Sutherland’s face and performance matched perfectly with what he envisioned. The Hollywood star provides voice acting and facial motion capture for the iconic character, and Kojima confirms that the game’s script is trimmed down compared to past games since Snake’s face can now convey emotions more effectively.
“This time, with Metal Gear Solid V, the themes are a little different from previous games in the series,” Kojima said. “We’re taking on some very heavy subjects such as race and revenge. This makes the tone much darker, and as a result I wanted Snake to have a more subdued performance expressed through subtle facial movements and tone of voice rather than words.
“Furthermore the game takes place in 1984, when Snake is 49 years old,” he continued. “Therefore we needed someone who could genuinely convey both the facial and vocal qualities of a man in his late forties.”
“It’s an honor to be able to play this character,” Sutherland said. “This character has an unbelievable legacy. There’s a real personal quality to the character that I’ve connected to.” He admitted to being aware of the series even though he’s not a gamer.
Sutherland replaces long-time Snake voice actor David Hayter, who expressed something resembling resentment on Twitter following the news. “Ah well, Can’t fault @RealKiefer,” he tweeted. “Great actor, good man. The game will probably still be excellent. Like New Coke!” He followed that up with “To my beloved Tweeps, I can’t thank you enough for all your support. Getting fired was never so heartwarming. You all rock, DH.”
