As great as a game's storyline and dialogue may be, it's the actors behind the characters that truly help bring the game to life. Troy Baker is one of the biggest names out there when it comes to actors in the gaming industry and he is the voice behind many well-known video game characters.
As well as his more prominent roles, there are a few roles that Troy Baker has undertaken that you might not know about. Check out some of his most iconic roles below, as well as some that might come as a surprise to you. He might've just snuck a few lines into your favorite game without you ever knowing about it.
Updated January 18th, 2021: Troy Baker continues to be one of the most well-known actors in the videogame industry and continues to take on big character roles, as well as surprising fans with smaller roles too. Amongst Baker's large list of past work, there are a number of characters that he is well known for playing, as well as quite a few that fans might be surprised to hear that he voiced.
Just below is a list of some of Baker's top roles that everyone knows and loves him for, as well as a few curveball characters where fans might not have realized that it was Baker behind the microphone.
15 DIDN'T KNOW: Magni (God of War)
In God of War's latest installment, Magni is the son of Thor who accompanies his half-brother Modi and their uncle Baldur in his efforts to track down Kratos and Atreus and bring them before Odin, making Magni one of the antagonists of the game.
By the end of the game, Kratos defeats Magni by shoving an ax into his head, which doesn't go down well with Thor as Magni was his favorite son. Fans might be surprised to hear that this side character was voiced by Troy Baker.
14 ICONIC: Rhys (Tales from the Borderlands)
Rhys is one of two main protagonists of Telltale's Tales from the Borderlands series and was voiced by Troy Baker. In fact, Rhys wears colorful striped socks in reference to his actor, who is known for his love of colorful socks.
While Baker voiced Rhys for all of the episodes of Tales from the Borderlands, he did not reprise the role in Borderlands 3, where Rhys was instead voiced by Ray Chase. Baker explained in a statement that he declined the role of Rhys in Borderlands 3 because Gearbox "wouldn't go union".
13 DIDN'T KNOW: Gul'dan (World of Warcraft)
In World of Warcraft, Gul'dan is one of the main story characters and serves as an antagonist for the Warlords of Draenor and Legion expansions. He is physically weaker than other orcs, which led to him being ostracized by his clan, however, he made a secret alliance with the Burning Legion and became a powerful warlock.
For both of the previously mentioned expansions, Gul'dan was voiced by Troy Baker, though noticeably the character of Gul'dan in the Warcraft: The Beginning movie was voiced by someone else.
12 ICONIC: John Jones (Fortnite)
Love it or hate it, Fortnite is undoubtedly one of the biggest games out there and it doesn't seem as though its popularity is going to wear off any time soon. The game continues to stay fresh by introducing new seasons regularly, which add new content such as skins, missions, and more.
John Jones, also known as "Jonesy", is one of the characters in the game; he is part of the secret organization called the Imagined Order and is currently in control of Apollo. Jonesy is voiced by none other than Troy Baker.
11 DIDN'T KNOW: Pagan Min (Far Cry 4)
Pagan Min was the unforgettable antagonist of Far Cry 4, which was pretty impressive given that fans believed no bad guy character would even come close to comparing to how awesome Vaas was in Far Cry 3.
Unbelievably, Pagan Min was voiced by Troy Baker, something that many players of the game don't realize at all. Baker explained during a panel that he was given a lot of freedom with the role, and talked of a time where he probably scared the hell out of an on-set assistant by speaking to her while in character.
10 ICONIC: Sam Drake (Uncharted 4: A Thief's End)
Sam Drake was introduced as Nathan's older brother in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. For fans scratching their heads about how Nathan suddenly had a brother and why he hadn't appeared before, it was revealed that Nathan was led to believe that Sam was dead, having died during a failed prison escape.
Troy Baker not only did the acting for Sam but also all of the motion capture work as well, though interestingly, the character of Sam was originally going to be voiced by Todd Stashwick.
9 DIDN'T KNOW: Higgs Monaghan (Death Stranding)
There were so many big names when it came to actors for Kojima's Death Stranding that it's not surprising that some of the other roles were forgotten or that players didn't realize the awesome actor behind them. Higgs Monaghan is one of the antagonists of the game, with him hiding his identity behind a golden mask for much of the gameplay.
Troy Baker was not only the voice for Higgs Monaghan, but he also portrayed him as the characters within the game were based on their real-life voice actors and were fully modeled to look the same.
8 ICONIC: Talion (Middle-earth Series)
Troy Baker was the voice behind the protagonist of the Middle-earth game series, portraying Talion in both voice and motion capture for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Additionally for Shadow of War, Troy Baker was also the Performance Capture Director.
Talion was originally the captain of the rangers of Gondor, but after everyone at the Black Gate was killed by Sauron's Black Hand, including Talion's family, Talion is left for dead. He realizes that he is bonded with Celebrimbor's wraith, who promises to help him avenge his family.
7 DIDN'T KNOW: Protagonist (Saints Row: The Third/ Saints Row IV)
The protagonist of the Saints series is never named, nor do they have a fixed appearance as they can be customized by the player. For both Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row IV, the protagonist is voiced by Troy Baker.
Players start as a nobody within the Saints in the very first title, but as the series progresses, the gang reaches new heights, which makes them a household name. In Saints Row IV, the protagonist even becomes the president of the United States.
6 ICONIC: The Arkham Knight (Batman: Arkham Knight)
Troy Baker has voiced a few Batman characters over many Batman games, including Batman himself in the Lego Batman and Telltale game titles, but his most notable roles were in Batman: Arkham Knight. In this title, Troy Baker did the voice for the Arkham Knight, Red Hood, Jason Todd, Harvey Dent, and Two-Face.
Interestingly, Troy Baker voiced the character of the Joker for Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Origins - Blackgate, despite Mark Hamill being synonymous with this character as he had voiced him before, most notably in Batman: Arkham City. This is due to WB Games Montréal developing Arkham Origins, whereas Rocksteady Studios did Arkham City.
5 DIDN'T KNOW: Kanji Tatsumi (Persona 4)
Many fans don't realize that Troy Baker voiced one of the main characters of Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden, with him lending his voice talents to the character of Kanji Tatsumi. Kanji is known to be a delinquent and as such, he certainly looks the part with his slicked back, bleach blonde hair, piercings, and punkish style.
However, Kanji has a softer side and loves to sew, though he keeps this hidden from many. Persona 4 Golden has recently made its way to Steam, so now even more players can get hands-on with this awesome title.
4 ICONIC: Booker DeWitt (Bioshock: Infinite)
Bioshock: Infinite was the third installment to the Bioshock series and moved the setting from the underwater city of Rapture to the floating sky city of Columbia. The protagonist of the game is Booker DeWitt, a private investigator, who gets sent to Columbia to retrieve a girl from the city.
This was the first time in the series that the protagonist had a personality, face, and voice, with Troy Baker bringing Booker to life with his talented voice acting skills.
3 DIDN'T KNOW: Snow Villiers (Final Fantasy Series)
The character of Snow Villiers first appeared in Final Fantasy 13 and he also featured to a lesser extent in the sequels, Final Fantasy 13-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13. Troy Baker lent his voice to Snow for all three of the main titles, as well as doing the voice acting for Snow's appearances in the spin of titles of World of Final Fantasy and Dissidia Final Fantasy NT.
Snow Villiers is one of the playable characters in the first title and is the boyfriend of Serah Farron, the protagonist's sister.
2 ICONIC: Joel Miller (The Last of Us Series)
Arguably, Troy Baker's most iconic role to date is Joel Miller from The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II. Joel is the protagonist of the first title, and one of the main characters of its sequel also.
A survivor in a post-apocalyptic America, Joel is hired to smuggle Ellie, who holds the cure for the human race for the cordyceps virus. However, as they travel together, Joel forms a bond with Ellie, and the two become inseparable.
1 DIDN'T KNOW: Vincent Brooks (Catherine)
One of Troy Baker's lesser-known roles is as the protagonist of Atlus's Catherine, a puzzle game that features dating sim and horror aspects and is full of quirky and memorable gameplay. The protagonist is Vincent Brooks, who finds himself torn between his long-term girlfriend of Katherine and a new lover called Catherine.
Catherine was recently re-released as Catherine: Full Body for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, with this new version adding a host of new content, including a new love interest for Vincent.