Neil Newbon is one of the most popular actors in the video game industry, bringing to life some of the biggest characters in iconic franchises from a multitude of genres. Currently, you probably know him best as the roguish vampire Astarion in the phenomenon that is Baldur’s Gate 3.
However, before Neil made his name in the video game industry, he learned much of his trade acting on stage and in front of the camera. Those lessons learned would help craft his art into what it is today. In the first part of a two-part interview, we spoke to Neil about the roles that helped get him to where he is today.
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Neil Newbon’s acting career started in 1993, when he was just 14 years old. He appeared in a single episode of a popular children’s series in the UK on CITV called Chris Cross. Neil may have only briefly featured in one episode, but the life lesson he would take from it would prove invaluable.
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“I was blown away by the energy of the place seeing all these people working together,” Neil says “It was addictive, mystifying and wonderful. When you're working as an actor seeing how enthused people can be on set and living a fictional truth as a character. I got hooked, that was it. I was like okay, this is it.”
As Neil landed more acting roles in the UK, he played small parts in iconic TV series such as The Bill and Casualty. However, despite soap operas not being his cup of tea, Neil got the part of a corrupt police officer named Simon Walker in four episodes of Hollyoaks Later which would then develop into over 60 episodes on the main Hollyoaks series from 2012 to 2013.
“I was supposed to come in for a couple of months. I'm not sure I ever saw myself in Hollyoaks. I come from Shakespearean, edgy theatre and indie film,” he recalls. “Emma Smithwick, who was the executive producer, really wanted to try and cultivate more of a drama feel to the show. She brought Royal Shakespeare Company actors like me. But when I got the audition, I wasn't really fussed.”
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Believing that he had nothing to lose, Neil brought his experiences in theatre into his Hollyoaks character and his gamble paid off. “I took some big risks during the audition because ultimately, I didn't really want the gig, yet they liked it. Also, I think I was one of the few people who could match Emmett J. Scanlan's (Brendan Brady) energy as an actor. I wasn't afraid of Emmett, a lot of people get intimidated by him, as he’s a big character. Yet he's an amazing actor and a lovely guy.”
After moving from TV to video games, I wondered what the transition was like. Aside from Baldur’s Gate 3, Neil has worked in a huge number of other video game franchises, such as Final Fantasy, Resident Evil and many more.
“It was a big transition,” he recalls. “I see performance capture as a happy marriage between theatre, film and TV techniques. It comes together in the middle, there's something new and different in between all of that. But, because I had such extensive theatre training and experience in TV and film, coming to the motion capture volume, everything made sense to me pretty early on. If I use this technique here, the film technique there, and the intimacy of the camera, I can blend and work my way through the process. So, it was a natural evolution. I know that I did very well because I kept on getting hired.”
Neil mentioned two people close to him who championed the start of his career: Brian Mitchell of Audiomotion Studios, and Stacey Bozell. “That’s why I have a career in video games because it was down to those two. Quantic Dream, Imaginarium Studios, Square Enix, and Capcom, these amazing companies started giving me more work, especially in performance capturing and voice.”
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“I discovered that I'm very good at acting and performance capture, because of all the years of training and the years of rejection, which teaches you a lot about humility and gratitude. So when I hear actors say they only want to do this work, it's very dangerous. You should try everything. Even Sir Ian McKellen does panto. You should try everything because everything is valid in performance and everything can help other work because you'll learn new skills and you will have different experiences. It keeps you fresh and keeps you grateful.”
Expanding on his long path to get where he is today, Neil reflected on failure being a positive. “I learned more through failure than I ever did through success. I think wisdom is knowing what doesn't work. So to be wise takes years of experience and messing up and trying things that don't work out because when you come to the success of what you do, it's because you're unshackled by a lot of the worries.”
“I know what doesn't work, so I’m not going to go near it and focus on what I'm doing right now in the present moment,” continued Neil. “It's a very beautiful moment. When you get to a point in your career where you're free to have fun because you know what you're doing, you're competent, and you're not worried about whether people like you or not. You're just happy in that environment to play and have a great time doing what you love doing. I'm very lucky.”
Being a fan of Resident Evil, with Neil playing Nicholai Zinoviev in the Resident Evil 3 remake and Karl Heisenberg in Resident Evil Village, I wanted to dig a little into Neil’s experience with Capcom’s iconic survival horror series.
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“Are all the S.T.A.R.S this soft? No wonder so many of you are dead,” Neil recites Nicholai’s line in the Resident Evil 3 remake, in his fantastic Russian accent. “He’s infected,” as he chucked away to himself. “It’s pretty much the first line he has and it tells you everything you need to know about the character, he’s brilliant,” rejoiced Neil.
Neil goes on to explain that he’s a fan of the original Resident Evil 3 from 1999 and revealed the process of how he aimed to make his performance different from the original Nicholai Zinoviev played by Roger Honeywell.
“All respect to the original actor for Nicholai but he was very one-dimensionally evil and that doesn't feel very real to me, he wasn't to my taste. So I thought, okay, let's have a bit of fun with it. Let's look at the character and what can I do with it. I was trying to find the positives of the character first and if he's very good at his job, maybe he really enjoys his job. That might make him feel more alive in combat situations.”
“I'm very lucky to have met a lot of people in my life and one of them was a private contractor. He’s an ex-Navy SEAL. He's a very interesting guy. I based some of him on my version of Nicholai because I remember thinking he enjoys what he does. He's one of the few soldiers I've met who didn't have PTSD, despite being in heavy operations, which was interesting in itself, because I knew exactly where he worked. He told me a lot about his career.”
Neil, alongside his wife Saleta Losada, co-founded the Performance Captured Academy, a non-profit organisation that aims to give actors the tools and knowledge to take into their acting and performance careers.
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Neil explained that the Performance Captured Academy has a break-even point that covers all the course crew and expenses such as food, hotels and more. And of course the cost of the studio, which is very expensive to run. What’s more, because they have a production wing in the company, this makes enough money to help cover the cost of the non-profit academy.
“We also don't do any branding. So the people who go on our course, they get the portfolio footage from it and it looks like they've done work in the volume, which they have. They don't need to tell people that this is from a course or they went on this course, it's immaterial,” he said.
Neil talked about a variety of actors and performers who come to his academy from all walks of life and experience. The Performance Capture Academy can not only help with auditions but also help to build confidence.
“We've seen hundreds of performers from actors, dance, theatre, film, and voice work, even WWE wrestlers, stunt work and Team Great Britain athletes. We've had some very cool people at the academy. We've had people come in and discover things in acting craft, they never knew that they were capable of.”
Neil went on to reveal that the Performance Capture Academy will soon be starting up a bursary scheme to help those who might not be able to afford the career-altering courses. “We’re having a bursary scheme, which is starting up around or after the summer. So we will be paying for one actor per course, of the two courses we do for free to help people on low incomes to have this accessible without financially crippling them.”
“I also did a short film with DI4D which is coming out in the summer. They believe in real performers and actors as opposed to AI. They are also going to sponsor a performer, which is really cool. We're just trying to help. I had a lot of help and support in my career, and it’s about giving back.”
Neil recalled what he spoke about earlier in the interview about choosing to help others when we’re in a position to do so. “Like everybody, I want to be financially secure. But I also want to help people. And I think that's the ethos of what we're trying to do here at the academy. Yes, everybody gets paid a day. We have to eat and have bills to pay, but we don't need to make a profit on something because we're making money elsewhere.”
Neil concluded: “So as opposed to making a profit, let's help other people do this work so they can go off and make money and have good careers or at least have the best opportunities for that. That's a big part of why I like Larian Studios. Again, they're making money. They're doing really well. But to them, people are as important as the project, which I think is admirable and something that I take close to my heart and something that my company has an ethos as well.”
I think that’s an ethos we can all learn from. Times can be hard for everyone and if we’re in a position to do so, it’s also nice to lend a helping hand. This is part one of my interview with Neil Newbon, head on over to my chat about Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studios and the current state of the video game industry.
Featured Image Credit: Capcom/Neil Newbon (via Shinehouse Group PR)Topics: Baldur's Gate 3, Capcom, Features, Final Fantasy, Interview, Resident Evil, Resident Evil 3, Resident Evil Village, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X