Bow Before Your Inquisitor!
She’s the voice behind some of modern fantasy gaming’s most iconic characters, and if you happen to be a Bioware fan then you might as well consider her royalty!
Lighting up the galaxy as Samantha Traynor in the Mass Effect franchise, defending all of Thedas as the Inquisitor in Dragon Age Inquisition, Alix Wilton Regan has certainly left her mark on the gaming scene!
As it happens, in-between all those Kepesh-Yakshi matches and dealings with Orlais politics, she found the time to chat to us about her experiences in voice acting.
Arguably your most famous roles in the world of voice-work both relate to Biowareâs flagship franchises; Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Starting with Samantha Traynor, can you summarize just how much love you have for this awesome nerd?
“Wow! What a great question! Samantha is indeed an extraordinary character: From her love of expensive toothbrushes, to her devotion to her colleagues on the N7, to her brilliant mind for chess, and her openness about her sexuality, she was a privilege to play and one of the characters that I still feel most proud to have voiced. Luckily for me, it seems that the fans of this franchise also feel the same way.”
Traynor may not have been the starting point for authentic homosexual romances in Bioware games, but she stands out as one of the most significant examples. How did it feel to help pioneer that while also getting to see a rather sweet and funny relationship bloom between her and Shepard?
“It was a great honour for me to play Samanatha Traynor, and possibly more so when I found out that she was a lesbian, because I suspected how unusual it was to have an intelligent and vital female character who was open about her sexuality and honest about it in her romantic advances, without being there to provide titillation for the viewers. Shepard and Traynor’s romance is indeed funny, tender, sensual, challenging and filled with love… just like any other relationship! In fact, I like how normal they are even as they go about saving the galaxy!”
Regardless of the route taken, following the conclusion of Mass Effect 3 what do you think became of Traynor? Does she get her happy ending?
“I like to think that ‘somewhere in a galaxy far far away’ Traynor has found love and been granted her white picket fence…hopefully with an abundance of expensive toothbrushes!”
Moving onto Dragon Age, you accomplished a herculean task by managing to deliver a great performance as the Inquisitor. If any of your fellow voice actors find themselves in the position as the lead character in a future Dragon Age game, what advice would you give them?
“Keep calm and carry on! Being The Inquisitor was a great honour for me and I felt extremely privileged to be playing the title role in a Bioware game. The great thing about working with Bioware is that they are incredibly supportive and encouraging of their actors; so, truly, no future actors who lead the charge for them need worry about their work.”
Players have the option of taking on the role of either a Human, Dwarf, Elf or Qunari character. Did you prefer voicing one race over another or were the differences too minute to really matter?
“I would say that all of them have their merits in their own different ways. It’s a bit like with children as they say, you love them all differently and they are each unique. That said I do enjoy hearing which characters fans liked to play the most and why.”
Everyoneâs got their favorite, but who is your ideal Dragon Age Inquisition romance?
“Iron Bull and Sera will always hold special places in my heart, but for very different reasons as you can imagine, lol!”
Aside from Bioware, youâve obviously been involved with a number of other video games. One of which happens to be Divinity: Dragon Commander, which much like your performance turned out to be something of a hidden gem. Do you have any fond memories from your brief time playing the elven princess Lohannah?
“Lohannah was an incredible character for me because it was the first that I had done facial capture for a performance. So bringing my skills up to speed with modern technology was a challenge in itself! I admit, that at first, I didn’t have the faintest idea what I was doing, but in hindsight it has stood me in good stead for future projects. I loved Lohannah’s passion and commitment to environmentalism and nature at large, something the human race needs more of!”
Divinity: Dragon Commander also prided itself on asking the big questions that society faces. In that regard, who would YOU choose to marry? Undead, Lizard, Elf or Dwarf?
“Let’s live dangerously, and choose the Undead!”
Thank you so much for your time Alix! Just in case fans want to stalk you and be up to date on any future projects, where can they find you?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlixWiltonRegan/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alixwiltonregan?lang=en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alixwiltonregan/?hl=en
And finally, as an honorary member of WatchMojo, if you could choose a subject for a top ten list, what would it be?
“Top Ten Most Socially Progressive Story-Lines and Characters in Video Games To Date, and why there matter!”