With a talent admired by many and a career paved with memorable roles, Josh Keaton has established himself as a successful actor both in front of the camera and in the sound booth. On September 7th he’ll swing into familiar territory as the Ultimate wall-crawler in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions but millions of Starcraft II fans already know him as the voice of the brilliant yet arrogant Valerian Mengsk. Josh was kind enough to sit down with us and talk about both projects and more importantly give us an idea of who the man behind the voice really is.
Looking at your body of work, it seems that comic book-related projects have a way of finding you. Was there always an interest in superheroes growing up? If so, who were your favorites?
Comics and superheroes have always been a big part of my life. When I was really little my grandma made me Superman and He-Man costumes and I would run around the supermarket either “flying” or letting everyone know that I, had the power. Once I started reading comics, Spider-Man and Wolverine were always my favorites. I was always on the shorter side growing up (at 5’9″ I’m not exactly tall now) and I always like seeing the short guys kick ass.
How did you get your start as a voice actor?
It originally started out as an outgrowth of my on-camera career. My agent at the time sent me on auditions for several voice roles and I managed to land a few (Back to the Future, Peter Pan and the Pirates, Disney’s Hercules). After Hercules, I was approached by a dedicated voice over agent, and that opened up a lot more possibilities for me in VO.
Tell us a little bit about the Shattered Dimensions project. What separates Ultimate Spidey from the rest of the pack?
He’s the youngest and the most brash of the bunch. He also has the symbiote suit which makes him stronger than the other three in this game.
Was your approach towards this Spider-Man the same as your Spectacular version or did you view this as a chance to try something different?
Well although Spectacular’s stories were more based on the classic Lee/Ditko/Romita days, there was a fair amount of Ultimate in our show, particularly Spidey’s age and the high school setting. Although Shattered Dimensions doesn’t follow Spectacular’s continuity, the age and attitude is pretty much consistent with what I did on Spectacular.
We can see from some of the recent footage that Deadpool makes an appearance in the Ultimate universe. Can you tell us more about why he’s entered the picture and if possible, what other characters/villains your Spidey will encounter in the game?
I’d love to, but SPOILERS!
By the end of the year you will have been a part of almost every anticipated game release for 2010; God of War 3, Starcraft II, Shattered Dimensions, Birth by Sleep, just to name a few. That being said, how do you view the video game industry? Are you a gamer or do you view the industry solely as a professional vehicle? If so, what sort of games do you tend to play?
Video games are finally starting to be taken seriously as a storytelling medium, and as such they’re definitely becoming more of a professional vehicle. That being said, I’m a gamer through and through. I got hooked as a tot with Atari, and now I play pretty much everything. I’m a huge fan of driving games (Forza, Dirt), open-world/immersive games (Fallout, WoW), classic side-scrollers, fighting games, FPSs; you name it, I play it. I still find the original Unreal Tournament to be one of the most fun LAN games ever.
Starcraft II continues to be an overwhelming success. When you joined the project, were you already familiar with the franchise and its fanbase?
Yes! I’ve been familiar with Blizzard stuff for quite a while now. I was actually seriously addicted to WoW for about a year and a half. I had a few different toons, but my main was a Tauren Druid. I didn’t sleep for weeks getting him to PVP rank 13 before PVP rankings went away. I always liked Starcraft (and RTS games in general) as well. If they ever make a World of Starcraft, I’m screwed.
Can we expect to see Valerian Mengsk in the upcoming expansions?
I have no idea. They really don’t tell me anything until they call me in and make me sign non-disclosure agreements.
Is there anything you can tell us about Transformers Prime (story, characters, etc.)? Were you and Dan Gilvezan able to talk about the Bumblebee character at all while working together on Shattered Dimensions?
I can’t say anything about the story yet and I’m pretty sure it’s already out there that Peter Cullen and Frank Welker will be returning as Optimus and Megatron. Dan and I actually did have a little discussion about me taking all of his roles, but I reminded him that it hasn’t actually been confirmed anywhere that I’m going to be voicing Bumblebee. (wink) UPDATE: Josh has been confirmed as voicing the character of Jackson “Jack” Darby in Transformers Prime. Not Bumblebee.
What can we look forward to seeing/hearing you in next?
I voice Rick in the upcoming Splatterhouse game, you’ll be able to hear me on a new Cartoon Network show called Firebreather, and of course, Transformers: Prime. I have a couple of other things in the works, but nothing I’m at liberty to discuss yet.
(Check Josh out in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep when both games hit stores on September 7th. )
