Roger Craig Smith started his career during college, working as a stand-up comedian, until his agent suggested that he should follow a career as voice actor where, according to the actor, he found more work than he could ever get in stand-up. He’s already worked in successful games and animes such as Metal Gear Solid 4, Medal of Honor, Naruto and Code Geass. By playing Curtis Miller, in Resident Evil Degeneration, and Chris Redfield, in Resident Evil 5, Roger Craig Smith becomes the second actor to impersonate two central characters to the series. The first one was Alyson Court, who played Claire Redfield and Yoko Suzuki.





      The way it came about is somewhat underwhelming, I suppose. I received a call from the studio handling the voice recording for RE5 asking if I could swing by and read a few lines for a client. I showed up, read some lines and thought nothing of it. In fact, I did not realize I was auditioning for Resident Evil 5. They then asked me in a second time a few days later, and I was approved. I still did not know that much about what I was getting myself into, so I assumed it was just a standard video game role. It wasn’t until the scheduling started and I realized how much work would be involved and that everything would be different from my other roles in previous games. And it wasn’t until the second or third recording session that I started thinking: “I’m pretty sure Resident Evil is a pretty popular franchise”, but I had no idea just how big the game would be.
      As far as playing both a villain and a bad guy goes, I think it’s a blast. I dig playing bad guys and it was an honor to portray Curtis Miller. However, I’d say that calling Curtis a villain might be a little too much. He has his nice moments and could be considered just to be a little “misguided.” Curtis being a bad guy depends on how you look at it. There’s not too much I can say about him yet, but some might see him as brave or even foolish. Of course, some might have a hard time seeing him as anything other than a guy in need of a serious hair cut. It all depends on the beholder...


      I’m hoping this does not irritate the fans, but my answer is: not really. I had played a very small amount of Resident Evil 4, but did not really follow the story line of it, I was just approaching it like: “I just wanna kill some zombies and shoot stuff.” And the game delivered on that, but I didn’t really dive into what was happening. After landing the role of Chris, I was definitely getting a crash course in the Resident Evil series. Now, after having done the film and the game, I’m very intrigued by what I’ve missed out on over the years, because it was like opening a book and starting from the middle of the story. I’m a little lost in some areas, but I’m familiar with lots of elements in others, and I’m looking forward to learning about all the elements I’ve missed out on up until now. It’s an amazing series to work in.


      Each project came with unique challenges. The most unique aspect to Resident Evil 5 was the facial motion capture, something I had never done before and had to learn a completely different art form on the fly. Mocap actors are pretty hardcore, the stuff they have to do is crazy and I have a lot of respect for that. So many things to be aware of and deal with; it’s completely different from voice acting. For me, it was a challenge suddenly having to be aware of where my eyebrows are or how many times I blink while reading a line, for example. But with motion capture, all of that stuff really matters, and it was a little rough for me to get the hang of it at first, but it soon just became a part of the process and I was able to adapt. I had fun contorting my face and seeing it in real time on the mocap computers. I was pretty much dorking out on the technology of it, and I’m still fascinated by how it all comes together to form a character. There was also a great deal of content to voice, which had to sound healthy and strong all the time and it was a challenge keeping it that way. Stephanie Sheh and Liam O’Brien [the voice directors of Resident Evil 5] did a great job of directing and keeping my voice safe throughout the process and they worked really hard on making sure we got the absolute best performance for each line.
      The Degeneration sessions were much more traditional, as far as voice acting is concerned. While I’m trying not to reveal too much about the film, I’ll just say that playing Curtis was pretty demanding on my voice. Still, having just seen the LA screening of Degeneration, I was stoked to have been playing Curtis. It’s a fun role.


      Both characters have elements I can identify with, but I more closely identify with Chris. He has great taste in partners and seems to surround himself with beautiful women on a regular basis. Aside from being stalked by infected crazies, he’s got a lot of things going for him, and if I was facing my doom at the hands of zombies, I’d like to check out of this world with a hot lady by my side.


      Both projects rule, so it’d just depend on what mood I’m in. If the gamer in me is looking to unwind and zone out while getting the satisfaction of splattering zombie brains across a wall, I’ll play the game. But if my inner film student wants to get lost in a story and just enjoy the ride, then Degeneration is perfect.


      All I can say is that it would appear Chris has been spending a considerable amount of time in the gym since the first game. Once fans get their hands on it, a lot of questions will be answered about what’s been going on with Chris. In Resident Evil 5, he’s pretty confident and determined, and not too familiar with how he was portrayed in the past. Still, dude’s got arms like tree trunks, right? So, he’s been doing some protein shakes or something.


      The directors and I worked hard on giving his voice an element of caring, while not becoming a wimp; and keeping him tough, without being an ogre. He’s not some over-the-top military character, but you still wouldn’t want to piss him off. He’s not incapable of compassion, but he’s not going to be the guy crying at the end of a movie. He’s got just the right amount of cool mixed with the right amount of kick ass. Again, he’s a very determined, focused, driven individual, and hopefully that will come through in his voice.


     Without revealing much, I’ll say that they make a great team, and despite having different personalities, their relationship has many different layers that the fans will love getting to see. It’s like a great, big partner-relationship onion. Start peeling away the layers and enjoy, it might even make your eyes water, too.


      I’ll only say that when these two get together, there’s no denying that they have “issues.” I will say that scenes involving Chris and Wesker were some of my favorite to voice and I can’t wait to see the finished product. I’ve not gotten to see too much of the completed game, so I’m going to be just as excited as the next fan to open the box and start playing.


      It was clear to me in the audition process that they wanted to have an element of complexity in his voice. They didn’t want him too simple or one-note. I didn’t really base him off a previous actor or try to emulate a previous version of Chris. This was all approached from a fresh perspective, and in an odd way, not being too familiar with the series helped me approach him without any previous ideas as to how he should sound.


      Have you seen the trailers? It looks AMAZING! There are so many goodies in store for fans of this series. The producers have gone all out to make a very gratifying gaming experience for the fans. The story is awesome, the gameplay is top-notch, the sound is killer. In short, the game is setting the bar for everyone else. It’s going to be an absolute blast for fans, both new and old.
      The difference between this game and others I’ve done is the level of anticipation over the game’s release. Resident Evil fans are awesome and they’re chomping at the bit to get their hands on the game. I’ve done other games that were popular, but the anticipation for this game’s release is unreal. Seeing how excited fans are only gets me more pumped up for March 13th, 2009. I can’t wait...


      A TON of work has gone into this game at all levels, and Chris’ voice is just a very small part of the whole process. The producers, designers, motion capture actors, editors, artists... everyone has poured their heart and soul into this game and it’s going to show. The recording sessions were long and very detailed, because they absolutely wanted to get the best possible performance from each actor and make the fans proud. So, I believe it’ll look like a movie and be a blast to play.


      Between Resident Evil 5 and Degeneration, I’m super stoked for these projects to hit the shelves. I’ve got quite a few different projects that’ll be coming in 2009, feel free to swing by my web site www.rogercraigsmith.com to see what’s coming. .


      I’m so honored to get to play Chris Redfield and the fans of this series are amazing! Without their support, Resident Evil wouldn’t continue to thrive and I wouldn’t have been able to be a small part of such an incredible project. Thank you so much and I hope I do you guys proud with my performance. Kudos to the supporters of this site; the Brazilian fans were the first to discover that I was playing Chris and contact me for an interview. Well done! Obrigado e tchau!