I havebeencalledonthatrecentlyoflikestartingmyresponsetothatquestionwith a largesign.
I don't meantoguessit's kindofwearingtheminliferightnow.
What's theLairdsyfrom?
Uh, it's beingverygoodwithverybusy.
It's missing a lotofvideogamesthathavealsobackedup, but I havebeenabletotouchbarelymonsterunderIceBornjustcameout, and I hadpowerwithinitsliketoactuallyjustplay.
Justplay I havetoclarifyitwithusislikeareyouinitorYeah.
Areyou?
Yeah, but I actuallyreallylikethegame, too.
Yeah.
Um, yeah.
I guessthesidecomesfrombeingpleasantlybusywith a lotofprojectsthat I'm proudof.
I think I thinkhavingtherightpeoplearound, hehelpswiththat.
I'm veryfortunatethat I have a wifewhodefinitelygivesmesayingYeah, andwe'llcallmeonmyshitandtellmewhentobackaway, startingtoscareme a littleforyoufromtheprecipice.
She's awesome.
We I hungoutwithMattlastyearforthefirsttime.
Wewenttotwobitcircus.
Yeah, wifeCristina V way.
Alljustkindofhungoutandshottheshit.
Butyouguyswerelike a riot.
Yourwife's alsosomuchforShe's a black, Sobubbly.
Oh, yeah, She's alsoshe'llcut a bitch.
Youknow, shedid.
I'vesaidbefore.
Sheshedefendsmyhonor.
Yeah.
Youknow, thetwoofus.
I'm thediplomat.
She's thefighter.
Soshe's theoneisready.
Just, like, smash a bottleandfuckinggotsomeone.
And I'm like, Well, it's not a prison.
It's a goodIt's a goodbalance.
Itworksoutwell, becauseyouguyswork a lottogetheraswell, right?
Liketryinggetupearlyandgotothegymfor a bitfromtheirwakingup.
Seeingwhatauditionsordothatdaygoingtomyofficeandrecordthisauditionssethimoff, Uh, thengothroughmy e mailsandseewhatsortofbusinessresponsesneedtoberespondedto a lotofitsapprovalsrightnowwithcriticalrole.
Yeah, whichthosewhoaren't familiarparticlesare a DNDtwitchstreamthat I startedwith a bunchofothervoiceactorfriendsofmineaboutalmostfiveyearsago.
Andnowwe'redoing a darkhorsecomicbookseries.
We'redoingartbooksweredoingtheanimatedseriesofthekickstarted, andit's justkindofblownupin a wayweneverexpected.
I think I feellike I shouldbragaboutitforyoubecause I feellikeyou'reundersellingitthisway.
Got a kickstarted.
Weonlyaskfor 750 k andgotlike 11.
Yeah, gotit.
Gotprettycrazytogetto a pointwhereyou'relikeOh, fuck.
Yeah, it's beenit's beenniceinrecentyearstobe a littlemoreopenwithsomeofmychallenges.
Yeah, youknow, likementalhealthstuff.
Youknow, thethingsthat I hadtostrugglewithbecausethenitgivesmepermission.
I feeltonotalwayshavetobeatmybesttime, butitisstillanelementoffeeling.
Likeyouwanttobeyourbestforthispeople.
So I guessmightturningoffhonestlyisathomewithmywifewhen I gettogooutwithmyfriendsand, youknow, get a margaritaandjustcatchuponlife.
Good.
Margaritaisthebestthing l.
A hastaughtmeyouhadmargaritas.
Margaritasin l A prettygreat.
And, uh, I'velearnedtobebetter.
Mymywifeis a kindofsewer.
Um, asifyoucouldn't tell.
I followherleadin a lotofways.
She's muchsmarterthan I amin a lotofways.
Umbut, uh, bsoturningoffhismeaningwhen I'm withfriends, uh, andquietlyplaying a game.
Thisismy I'm a littlemorenot a bigsocial, likegooutandpartyguygodancing.
Butyoutweetedatsomething a whilebackthatcameraoneovertheresometimethisyearthat I reallyrelated a lottoyousaidyouwereoutlike a parodywithalltheseotherlike, highendpeople.
Butit's alsoveryhardwhenyou'rejustgenerallysensitivepersontoputyourselfon a verypublicscaleonlineandopenyourselfuptothattypeofnegativity.
Yeah, it's it's fullonbecauseit's a thingWhere I'm veryinvolvesmycommunityand I lovemycommunity, andthere's superniceandverycommunicative, veryinvolvedinwhat I dointhe 90% ofthetime.
Everythingisgreat, butit's it's a thingwhere I'm a hugepeoplepleaserand I reallywanteveryonetobehaving a goodtime, whichisimpossible.
Notnoone's evergonnalike I couldsay, I I saidthat, like, Jesushimselfcouldprobablycomebacktoday.
Andsomepeoplewerelike, Fuckyou, man.
Yeah, likethat.
Youcouldcurecancer, andthey'd besomebodyouttherebeinglike, No, I don't I don't likeitnottosaythat I'm gonnafuckingcurecanceroranything, butweneedtodothepeoplebewaiting.
Andthenifyou'renotintherightheadspacefor a dayandthenreadnicethingsandthensuddenlyoneperson's likeman, I didn't likethatbecauseitfeltlike X y Z islike, Howdidyouknow?
Oneofthings I likeaboutvoiceovertobeginwithwasthatthiswasananonymousthingcouldhidebehindit.
Nobodyreallyknewmuch, wouldwouldcarewho I wasorwhatitlookedlike.
Itwasjustabouttheworkthat I putoutthere.
Thatwaskindof a weirdpositiontobeinthetransitiontodoingmoreonlinemediaanddoing a showthatendedupkindofinmanyways, uh, inmanywayseclipsingthestuff I didforvoiceoverandnowbeingrecognizedinpublicspacesandgaveunderthejustpastweekendinSwedenatonedaytoactuallygoandseethecity.
And I thinkatleast 12 peoplerecognizemeoutthereinthemiddleof a foreigncountrydamnfourofwhichwereinthemainpalaceliketheRoyalCastle.
Sheishistoricallandmark, and I'm like, Oh, thisisthisis a museumNoone's gonnafortheemployeesAnd I waslike, Thisiscrazyandit's it's wonderful, youknow, Andeveryone's beenverysweet.
Andsomeguycameoverright, Asyouputitin, hewaslike a get a picturewithmykidand I waslike, I juststartedthegame.
I'm sosorry.
And I hatebeingthatguywho's like I'm playingsomething.
I can't bethatpersoneventhoughit's wellwithinmyrighttobelike I juststartedeating.
Yeah, but I'm always a personwho's like, Sure, I likewhitemyfaceandgetupandbelikemydivecrumbsonmyfaceEverytimesomeonerecognizedmeat a restaurant I'm alwayslikeHowdoeshowdoesit?
Howdohumanseat?
Isn't fortunes?
Thereisn't five.
Howishowdoweeatfood?
I'm alwaysparanoidaboutit.
Actlike a person.
It's a robot.
It's a weird, uniquespacetobein, um, especiallyjustbeingbeing a personwhohas, youknow, anxietyandinmanyways, a lotofselfesteemissuestobeinthespacelikethat.
Um, but, youknow, peopletalkaboutfame, andyouknow, I havethisattentiontobethegreatthing, andyeah, it's notsomething I everwanted.
I'm notsureit's something I particularlyenjoy, but I'm appreciativethat I have a platformwherehopefully I canmake a differenceYeah, andthat's whereit's okay, youknow, kindofendureit.
Yeah, anything I feellike.
I think I thinkwekindof a linewiththatbecauseit's oneofthosethingsthatsomeoftheaspectsthatcomewithitarehardanddifficulttoovercomeInit, itreallydoes.
If I alwaystalkedaboutitbeinglike a prismaswell, I feellikeifyou're a goodpersonbeforefamehitsyou, I feellikeit'lljustexemplifyallyourgoodtradebecauseagain, nowyouhave a platformtobeabletodogoodthings, right?
Right.
Youweretheawkwardkidplaying D and D andbackbackinthosedays.
DNDwasnotwhatitisnow.
Everything's likenerdcultureissupercoolallof a suddenandcomicbookmovies, they'rethebiggestthingintheworld.
It's it's nicetobeabletobringpeopleintothatcirclebelike, No, I wasjustlikeyou.
That's why I likedoingthesetalksaswell, becauseitreallyhumanizespeople.
Insteadofbeinglike, No, I justlikedoingitand I didit a lot, andthen I gotbetteratitand I workedmyassoff a littlebitluckydoingit.
Butforwhat I like, askingpeopleislike, What's whatkeepsyougoingwhileyoudoit?
What's what's thephoneinitforyou?
Like, what's theWhat's thegoalandtheobjective, andwhatkeepsyoutakenpartofitforforVeal, formeisthat I grewuplovingvideogamesandcartoons, andthatformofkindofstorytellingtomejusthad a hugeimpactonmeand, uh, tobe a partofthatenginetobejust a partofthattapestryforthesestories.
It's veryexcitingforme, theideaandinsomecases, franchises I grewupwith, youknow, gamesthatdefinedme, youknow, uh, tobetobeevensmall, smallpartinthatisreally, reallycoolhonorandlike a nerd, fullcircleformyself.
Yeah, um, sothat's partofit.
A secondisjust I reallyenjoysteppingintotheshoesofsomebody I'm not.
Sometimes I don't know.
Itsoundedlike a discomfortformyselforbecausethere's a newexcitementandinterestinotherpeople.
There's stillanoptionorinabilitytoempathizewith a certainpartofthestoryandgonnalearnabout a personyouwanttobe.
And I knowgrowinguptherewerenumerousvideogamesandvideogamecharactersthat I lookeduptowhere I wantedtobemorelikeandsubconsciouslymodeledmyownmoralityandsendshimselfoff, youknow, now I gettogototheseconventionsandgettomeetalltheseyoungkidswhoareplayingthesegamesandaregoing, youknow, I lovethischaracter, youknow, I reallyappreciatethem.
I imaginemyselfwantingtobelikethem, andsogettingtobekindofthenextwaveofthatcycleisreallycool.
And I think I thinkthat's whatgetsmegoingmorethananything.
I lovetheartistryofit.
I lovetheperforming, Um, but I alsolovethefactthat I gettotobringthesestoriestolifeforthosekids, thosegamers.
Forthosepeoplethatmighttakethesameimportancefromitthat I didgrowingup.
Doyou?
Doyouhave a favoritecharacter?
Well, maybeit's a differentanswerforboth, butdoyouhave, Ah, a favoritecharacterthatyou'vedone?
Anddoyouhave a characterwhoismostlikeyou?
Sometimesit's notalwaysthesameanswer.
No, definitelynotthesame.
Answerthecuretothismostlikeme.
I wouldsayBobbieLeonKennedy, Oh, residenteviljustcausebothkindofBoyScout e andlikeyouknow, youalwayswantedtodotherightthing, evenwasnotthesmartestthing.
Um, uh, he's a lotcoolerthan I am, butthisfarisjustlikethatThatneedThioDowhatittakestohelpothers.
Yeah, I verymuchresonatewithandyoudon't getthatprotagonisttypeveryoftenthesedays, peoplelikeThioonearmorintheantihero, Thestarkeythingsthatway.
Occasionallyyouget a coupleofgoodguysoutthereliketruegoodguys.
Yeah, Um, myfavoritecharacter.
It's a you'regonnabreak a lotofpeople's hurt.
I know.
I know.
It's tough.
It's a diplomatic.
I'm gonnago.
Oh, man, Therearesomanygamecharactersthat I appreciateliketheirgameslikeOverwatchthatwerejustsohuge.
Doyouthinkyoulearned a lotfromdoingthatkindofcharacteraboutyourself?
I think I did.
I think I learned a lotaboutwhatitmeanstobe a hero, whichmean s notdoesnotnecessarilymeanbeinglikehim, youknow, a lotoftimes I enjoytheserolesas a contrastaswell.
Youknow, that's why I loveplayingvillains.
Yeah, in a lotofprojectsisit's alwaysinterestinganddeliciousanddifferent.
Youhavetotake a showerafterwardandbelike I'm glad I feeluncomfortable.
Netscape.
Yeah, and I think I mean, I if I I'vedoneverytinyvoiceactingkindofstuff, butit's alwayslikethestuffthatyouyou'renot.
That's alwaysthemostfunformetodo.
Yeah, because, likeyousaid, it's likesteppingintosomeoneelse's skinandbeinglike, I couldjustbecartoonywiththisand I cangohamand I canjustberidiculous.
Whereasotherstuffthat's morelikeme, I getselfconsciousbecause I'm like, um, I reallylikethis.
I havetosaythatthat's if I couldjusthowlatthemoonandletitgowhenthatwasthesame.
LikedoingthedeadpoolthingatPax.
I thinkit's justputtingon a mask, but I stilllikewalkthesame.
I'm stillmeunderneatheverything, butit's stilljustanexcusetogoaroundandbelikeHey, dickhead, becausethatpoolwouldsaythat, Yeah, I called a groupofguysversionsonTheyallloadthatknowsthatman.
That's for I wanttodomoreofthat.
Mywifeactuallycowrote a showthattalkedaboutdentals, a characterkindofwhathemeansinWebmedia.
Yeah, that's why I thinkTomHollandreallygetswellinmorerecentfilms.
Yeah, yeah, thoseSpiderManmoviesreallyrubbedmethewrongwaybecausethere's norelatabilitytowiththemwhenhe's likehe's just a dickkindofjusttheseconddayandand I gethurt.
Oh, andthatitwaslikethere's, like, a scenewherehetexts M.
J.
Buthesaysthewrongthingorsomething.
Oh, no.
Andhe's like, stopWebswingingtocorrecthistextto a girl.
And I waslike, Manhasthemostrelatable a superherohasbeentome.
I rememberbeing a teenagerandsendingthewrongtext.
Me.
I'm nevergonnagettokissthatgirl.
Yeah, somethinglikethat.
Letterman's prettyrelatable.
I I thinktheonethat I relatedtomostwasnightcrawler.
I callsit a goodonewasmyHewasmyfavorite, I think, becausehewassomebodywholookedsodifferentfromeveryonearoundhim.
Andeveryoneimmediatelyjudgedhimbasedonthatoneimmediatelyostracisedoryelledatorwasaggressivewithhimbecausehelookedlike a demon.
Yeah, andinspiteofthat, hewasstill a very, verygoodperson, youknow?
Hecouldhaveleftittofindhim.
Hecouldlovethatexperience.
Turnhimintoyouhaven't embracewhathelookslike.
Yeah, instead, hewasjust a verygooddude, youknow, hestucktohisfaith.
Andhewasthereforhisfriends.
Andhewashappygoluckyandfun.
Buthewaskindofoneofthestrongermoralcompassisofthe X Mentoo.
Yeah.
And, uh, well, I myselfdon't youdescribeThioReligiousfaith I reallyrespectedkindofhimbeingsuch a faithbasedfigureandwhatreligionmeanttohimintheseriestome, helpmeunderstandbetter.
Andforwhateverreason, I don't knowif I wasjustfeelingrawthatdayor I don't know, butlike a soonas I foundout I wouldn't grabthecomicandreadthepagesandthen, just, like, brokedown a grownmanjustlikesolvingover a fictionalcomiccharacter.
Butyouknowwhat, David?
That's who I am.
Yeah, noshameinthatatall.
No, I playvideogamesonmychannel.
I criedover a giantfeatheredchickendogandlastguardian, I criedoverLeah, thewalkingdeadattheendofthefirstseizurelikeman.
I waslike, It's a videogamesupposedtoclimbitandkillit.
That's what I'm supposedtodo.
It's a level I gotta I gottadefeated.
Andthenhalfwaythrough, you'relike, Oh, feelgood, MrStark, I needThio.
Justsitdownand I waslike, 15 16 yearsoldbecause I I diditinmylifeshowaswell, Likepeoplegotupandplayeditwithme.
Yeah, justtohavethatthing.
AndwenamedtheColossusafterbecause I talkedaboutLet's talkaboutmyshoworanything, buthe's inthemiddleofthewholeshowwastalkingabout, likechildhood, teenagehoodandadulthoodandthedifferentphasesandchildhoodwasallaboutPokemonbecause I wasthefirstgameonmygame, Boythat I hadpeoplegetupandplayedthatandtheyfoughtGaryandhad, like, sixPokemonthatwerecalledLazinessandboredomandfearovercomethose.
Butthenmyteenageyearsweremydarkesttimebecause I justknow I WASIwastryingtofigureshitout.
Andthenthatgamecametomeand I hadnoideawhatitwas.
I foundthatingamestop, and I justplayedit.
I waslike, I likegiantmonsters.
I'llplaythisgame.
I broughtithomeanditflooredme.
I I didn't evenrealizebecauseit's thatthingwhereyouthewholetimeoftodayislike a videogame.
Youhave a level, youbeatit, you'redone.
Youmoveon.
Butthenthistime I playedand I waslike, Holyfuck, I'm sad.
Thismademefeelterrible.
I criedplayingthisgame, and I don't knowwhattheendingwasandwhatitallmeantandjustfascinatedme.
Butthatwasthethingwe'relikecompletelychangedmyconceptofwhatgameswere, and I thinkthat's where I thinkthat's thelinchpinofwhy I dowhat I donow.
I dogamesandwantedtoreachout, seeifotherpeoplelikegamesasmuchas I did, becausebackthenitwaslike, Yeah, Pennycamefor a week, andthen I won't playgamesfor a yearkindofthing.
Butthatsuckedmeinandneverletgo.
Yeah, it's alwaysbeenmyfavoritegameeversinceit's a goodit's a goodchoiceonthatone.
Thatone.
Thatonehasn't stillwithme.
Thefearofanygamethatgivesmeananimal.
Yeah, like I'm like, Okay, okay.
You'reyou'regonnashoutoftheclasses.
Meonthiscomingupthecliff.
No, no, no.
YouseeyourhorseinthegameNotsay I remember.
Yeah, it's true.
Butthatpointto, um I'm a bigproponentforstorytellinginthepowerofstorytelling.
Yeah, regardlessofmedia.
Butvideogamesinteractivemediumissoimportant.
Bites I thinkit's sopopular.
Hascontinuedtogrowisit's supposedto a storythat's presentedthatyougettoexperience.
It's onethatyougettohelp, thatitbecomesyourownexperienceandthatit's a differentdegrees, dependingonthegenre.
Yeah, but I thinkthevideogamesthatstrivetobearttheonesthatcanaskyouquestionslikethat.
Like, areyouthegoodguy?
Youknow?
Arethisbreakingthegenreandgoing?
Maybeyouneedtoreconsiderwhatitmeanstobe a heroin a world.
Yeah, evenifyoushouldbe a heroingeneral, ifthereevenis a hero, thereevenis a hero.
Butlike, ButButtothatdegree, I asasitbecomesmorerespectedasanartformaspeoplebegintorealizethatnoteverysuccessfulgamehastobe a triple A blockbuster $100 millionbudgetplus, yeah, youknow, I think a lotofindiegameshavereallyproventhatyoucantellevocative, importantstoriesonprofoundlyaffectpeople.
Yeah, andbesuccessful.
I thinkwe'regoingtostartseeingmoreandmorepeoplethatpushtheboundariesofwhatgamesconduceFarrahstorytellinganditinvolvedpeopleonthatexcitesmetonoend.
Becausethat's notonly a mechanicallyflawlessgame, itmightnotbeforeverybodymightnotbeyourcupoftea, butlike, youcan't faultthegameforwhatitis.
Butitalsotells a greatstoryaboutmentalhealthandstrugglesandovercomingyourobstaclesandthingslikethat.
Andthat's that's anindiegameandwasmadeby a verysmall t.
Yeah, andthentheywonawardsoutofit.
Thenyou'resomethinglikeBattlefieldfive, whichis, like, liquidshitthatithas a hugebudgeton.
Noonelikes, youknow, and I don't talksomuchshitbecauseoccasionally I make a paycheckoffgameslikethat.
ButButthoseairmaking a paycheck?
Whereyougoing?
Battlefieldfive.
But I'vedefinitelybeen a numberofthosethoseextendedmultisequelovertheyears, and I'vescreamedmywayrawandmany a callofduty.
Game.
Yeah, andsomeofthemaregreat.
Someofthemareanothercallofdutygame.
Yeah, youknow, and I Yeah, I hope.
I hopethatiswestartseeingmoreindiegames, succeedandwinawardsandbesuccessful 11 partmeans, like, Well, I hopethebiggerpublisherswillbegintonoticethattheirheartmeans, like, I liketheideathatwe'removingawayfrom a modelwherewedon't evenpublished.
Yeah, theycankeepmakingtheirgianttriple A games, andthat's great.