From the first line of dialogue to the final recording session: Bringing characters to life in games is a collaborative process. So, what do actors need to embody these iconic personas, and how can narrative designers and production teams bring out the best in their performers? Acclaimed voice actor Jennifer Hale has spent her career mastering this craft, and knows what it takes to find that "creative spark."
In this latest episode of GDC Side Quest, a monthly series on the Game Developer podcast, host Beth Elderkin talks with Jennifer Hale about some of her most memorable roles, the importance of collaboration in front of and behind the controller, and how performers can protect themselves from potential AI abuses.
Jennifer Hale will be at the 2026 GDC Festival of Gaming, participating in two panel discussions. Both are accessible for all GDC passholders:
Actionable Intelligence: Practical Advice for Game Developers Working with AI Under the SAG-AFTRA IMA
Location: Room 2003, West Hall
Date: Monday, March 9
Time: 11:50 am - 12:50 pm
Page to Booth: Table-Reading and Performance Recording Live Demo
Location: Room 3005, West Hall
Date: Tuesday, March 10
Time: 1:50 pm - 3:20 pm
Below is a transcript from select parts of the interview. Listen here for the full episode, or watch the video on YouTube. Make sure to check out all the performance talks coming to the 2026 GDC Festival of Gaming, celebrating the entire game ecosystem.
Beth Elderkin: You have had an amazing career. It's spanned over decades in the video game industry and other voice acting roles. I personally remember you as Sam from Totally Spies.
Jennifer Hale: Yeah. Oh, yes. Yay. Oh, God. I love that. Love that show.
Beth: But, speaking of video games specifically, how have you seen the role of performers and voice actors evolve since you started?
Jennifer: It's been so exciting. So exciting. I've loved watching the whole journey and I love watching it continue. One of the cool things that's happened is the technology has evolved and gotten more detailed, more specific, more compelling in terms of the visuals that can be brought. Then the acting gets to drop back into more of a film and television style as opposed to that little presentational edge we had to have in the beginning. We get to drop back and just live the moments. And performance capture is also really expanding what we can do.
Beth: Can you share a moment in your career where you felt your performance in a scene or an action or a narrative moment transformed the narrative or impact of a game?
Jennifer: You know, I would never presume that. I would love to, but no. I mean, I love the question because it helps me really talk about the rest of the team. Because this is such a group effort. It is such an incredible collaboration among so many people over years. It's just, it's one of the most intense collaborative art forms out there.
By the time words get to me and I get to have them come out of my mouth, I mean, they started with the people who I think should be sitting in my seat, which are the writers. Writers make the world go round. Writers are everything. Writers are just, I think so highly of them. Without them, we have nothing to do.
I can recall times when I have felt elevated in a session as a craftsperson by the material I was getting to do. I can absolutely talk about those. There were some really beautiful moments—[there were] recordings near the end of Mass Effect 3 that were just like, wow, everything came together so beautifully.
The Long Dark, my god, we just finished recording some additional material. It's just extraordinary. And then you've got things as incredibly fun as like Brutal Legend. Fun, crazy, silly things like that, that are just elevating [the scene], can be intense, can be emotional and deep and heartfelt. And it can also be just what makes you laugh your backside off and just have an incredible time and connect to people.
It's one of the many things that are so special about games. Games pull people into worlds for huge extended periods of time and can change the way people think and change who they connect to and change their lives.
Beth: I absolutely agree. And I will say the Mass Effect series was, I believe, the first series I completed from beginning to end. And when you had the DLC in the Citadel, it just, it got me. It got me quite a bit.
I love that you bring up collaboration because that's a field that I feel like is really growing in between voice actors, narrative designers, production. Do you feel like there's more collaboration now than there has been in the past?
Jennifer: I think there is. I see it more as a result of time, gatherings like this, and our ability to connect with each other digitally. Because the workflow, good lord, in games are intense, man. That workflow is brutal. And the time to connect is minimal. But. because of events like this and because of the ways that we can reach out to each other. And because it is a forward-thinking open community—in spite of NDAs and things like that—people can collaborate, cooperate, and sort of cheer each other on across projects.
Beth: What do you feel actors bring to these roles in video games that are, you know, not necessarily overlooked by developers or audiences—our audience is primarily game developers and industry professionals. What would you love for them to understand more about what you're bringing into the space?
Jennifer: Ironically, one of the things I learned in the strike last year was how much devs, producers, people on that "other side of the table" value us. And it's really cool to see that. It's really humbling and it's an honor and it's relieving. Honestly. I think there's a disconnect at the very top, in some instances, to a lot of the creative. But that's normal and that's a load we all bear—one we can all begin to chip away at or continue, I should say, to chip away at.
One of the things I'd love to communicate to devs is bring us in groups. A lot of recording now is remote. I live on an island off the coast of Canada and Steve Bloom's in Hawaii. Everybody's all over the place. We can still do remote sessions ensemble. And having people together in a session brings an extra element.
Because what is really that extra little X-factor that actors can bring in that elevates your game is the human soul. It's the human soul. And ain't nothing like it. When you combine humans with unique little souls in a room and you let them rip creatively, incredible things happen. Even if you stick word-for-word, punctuation-to-punctuation to the script, there's an energy that you can't explain. And that cuts through to the player, and to your community and to your audience, and really digs that groove deeper into the hearts of everyone.
Beth: Do you have an example of that happening at some point in a recent game, where you had that collaborative environment where you were able to spar off with your fellow voice actors?
Jennifer: Yes, yes. David Hayter did an incredible thing. When he did the first Metal Gear, he was just my buddy David Hayter, the actor. And then, by the time the second one rolled around, he had become this, wow, super successful, amazing writer ... and the voice of Solid Snake. He used that leverage to negotiate a lot of great things for us, including that we recorded in a group.
We did the same thing in Bioshock Infinite. Now, this is still some time ago, but [creative director Ken Levine] brought Oliver Vaquer, who is brilliant, and I in at the same time, because we were the Lutece twins. We got to do the scene as written, and then Ken had the confidence and the creative intelligence to say, "OK, we've got one as written. Let's play." And we would just riff and have a great time and it was extraordinary.
Beth: Did any of those riffs make it into the final product?
Jennifer: I believe they did. Mm-hmm. Row, row, row... [laughs]
Beth: I do want to transition topics to talk a little bit about generative AI tools and actor protection, because I know that is a big topic of yours. It's what you're talking about at GDC 2026. We've seen generative AI tools becoming more prevalent in the industry over the past couple of years. Before we talk about protections, are there opportunities that you see for these tools to enhance the work of performers or developers?
Jennifer: I think there are opportunities that exist in areas that I don't necessarily touch. I imagine there are efficiencies, there are great things that are possible. Look, AI is not going anywhere. It's part of our reality, and I believe that one must accept what is, but we are also responsible for it.
This is the thing I say over and over, I'll say it again: AI is not yet an independent intelligence. It's a tool. And the tool does what the human holding the tool tells it to. And we are the canaries in the coal mine, as creators and performers. It is going to impact everyone's employment—well, nearly everyone. Some jobs won't be touched by it, but not many.
I think it's really important, number one, not to "other" this technology, like we sometimes other each other. I think we've got to stop that all around. I think it's important to collaborate with it consciously.
As actors, what we're asking for is consent. Like, do I give you permission to use my voice in any way—whether it's generative and it's mixed with a bunch of others and you "can't really tell." You can tell. I can hear my rhythms in other humans copying my work, or who learned from my work, or who were honoring whatever came before them, including my work. Like, I can hear it.
Control. I don't want it used in some situations. I don't want an AI to do a performance I could have done because I can inform it with my human soul that is however many days or years more informed, intelligent, and experienced than it was the last time I worked on that project. I have so much to bring that you don't even know about and can't conceive of. Let me bring it.
So control, consent, and then compensation. You can't take away someone's ability to make a living and not pay them for it. It is wrong. It is wrong. Ain't nobody making you do it. You do it or you don't.
Beth: It is a choice in a lot of circumstances.
Jennifer: And if we choose together, we are stronger. If we stand up and speak to the good in everyone and people have this, you know—decision makers at the very top have this very narrow lens that landed on us sometime in the 1970s, about shareholder supremacy, that the wellbeing of shareholders is better than everybody else's wellbeing. And it ain't, it ain't, you know. The piece of me that holds shares in anything is not better than the rest of me, or any of us. We need to get by and we've got to check ourselves. We've got to check our values. And we do that as a group.
We can't even, as you see, form words around [this technology] because it's so new. But I realize I don't feel right taking work away from an artist. But there are artists out there who are using these technological tools to create beautiful things. There's a collaboration. There's a train I can sit on and feel good and feel like I'm being ethical and considerate. It's about thinking long-term.
It's not sustainable to remove people's ability to feed themselves while you're making more and more money. Have you looked at history? That doesn't go well.
Beth: What can actors do to safeguard their work to make sure that their voices aren't being used without that consent and that they're being compensated? Because AI can replicate performances using [learned language models] and can even create new things from it.
Jennifer: Yeah, it can. Doesn't have the same spark. But what we can do, number one, is contact your representatives. There's an organization called NAVA, the National Association of Voice Actors, which also has the Canadian, Australian, Latin American equivalents. Latin Americans called LAVA, which I just think is the best thing in the world. Support them. They are lobbying Congress. Call your representatives if you live in the US. Call your representatives no matter where you live.
Make your voice heard about what you want because, look, they want to get voted back in. If you get loud enough, they'll go, "I won't get voted back in if I support this." No, you won't. So, make your voice heard. Don't leave the adulting to anyone else. Make your voice heard. Read your contracts. The same organization, NAVA, has an AI rider that you can use whenever you work. It's very simple. It's very straightforward, vetted by several attorneys. If someone won't sign it, get curious about why. And unless you completely understand and support their why, you gotta step away.
When I first started, it was terrifying. I had no body of work underneath me, and I lived in a non-union market. They wanted to take my small market car commercials and have them in perpetuity, on camera and voiceover. And my little, I mean, I was still in my late teens, presumptuous self said, "I won't sign this contract, but you can have it for five years." And they were like, "Okay. Who do you think you are?" And I was like, "I'm just being cautious." And I'm so glad I did. I'm so glad I did. Yeah, it took courage and I had to adult it and it was terrifying. Adulting is nauseating sometimes, but you have to do it.
Beth: It's actually great that you bring up your experiences as a younger voice actor, because we do have actors who are now entering this industry wanting to break into voice acting. And they're breaking in during a time when these kind of things can happen, these kind of contracts can get signed. What advice would you give to aspiring voice actors during this time?
Jennifer: Well, I started a site called SkillsHub for Actors that is for both working actors like myself and for newcomers and people in the in-between. The structure of that site is is actually how I started my career And it's what I recommend—whether you do it through SkillsHub for Actors or you do it somewhere else, find mentors. We have like a hundred coaches now: working actors, casting directors, voice directors, and you get them by the minute. You can hire them for 10 minutes and pick their brain.
You can reach out to a working actor, whether it's through us or someone else, get their opinion. Talk to each other, be open. We are all one community. It doesn't matter where they are in their career, what their affiliation with the union or not union is, we are all in this together. And so reach out, communicate, and support each other. And read the fine print and talk numbers. I talk numbers. I talk money. Simply because that's what you need to know. That's the practical stuff. Wherever I'm legally allowed to, I'm going to be open with information because it's useful. It's how we take care of each other.
Beth: Wonderful, I did have one more question for you before we wrap up and it's more of a personal one. What do you love about working in games? What's kept you here for so long?
Jennifer: Goodness, this chokes me up. I haven't thought about it in these terms. It's the ability to channel the muse—that divine, beautiful spark of creativity that comes through the human soul and comes out as a story or an adventure through one human's brain into another's. And then a bunch of us have to get together and collaborate and support each other in this gorgeous thing that is run by the muse. Like, that spark of creativity is the thing that guides us all, and we join together to uplift that.
There's this wonderful notion called "divine spark" that a really, really smart friend of mine told me about years ago, which is when you're connected to the highest and best part of yourself and you're jumping into an endeavor, creative or otherwise, and you're bringing that highest and best part of yourself to it.
In something like these projects, when they go out in the world, people hear them. Even if they're just walking by and, you know, it's GTA in the background and their kid's playing it, doesn't matter. That spark is in there, and it could alight in them something to lift them up. We get to impact the world in an incredible way.
I don't know any other medium that provides more of an opportunity to truly walk in someone else's shoes. To truly open hearts and minds, and share perspectives and connect people so incredibly powerfully. And this group of people, everybody here, everybody in this industry, these are some of the smartest, most interesting, most creative, and some of the kindest and funniest and most enjoyable human beings I've ever met.
The GDC Festival of Gaming, a global gathering for the full game-making ecosystem, will be held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center from March 9-13, 2026.