Matthew Mercer is one of the biggest names in gaming, known not just for the voice acting roles he's been a part of but also for the web series Critical Role, where he runs D&D campaigns with fellow voice actors in the industry as a Dungeon Master and serves as the CCO. He's been in countless anime and video games in his career, but his voice often shifts across roles, and is no stranger to accents.
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Having worked as a voice actor in hundreds of projects, Matthew Mercer was able to lend his talents to some of the most defining and iconic video game characters, sometimes in the role of the protagonist or other times as a memorable side character. And here are just a few of those examples.
10 The Ludens Fan - Death Stranding
The Ludens Fan may be a minor and unimportant character in the grand scheme of Death Stranding, but it's a special cameo that's a stroke of genius from creator Hideo Kojima. Like with Guillermo del Toro's Deadman, Geoff Keighley's likeness is only used for this holographic Prepper, while Matthew Mercer completes the design with his voice.
If you follow the annual Game Awards and Summer Game Fest events, Geoff is not only their presenter but the figure who made them happen. This is quite the legendary pairing and a treat for all video game fans when you have some deliveries for the Ludens Fan, a name itself a play on Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens and the official mascot of Kojima Productions.
9 Ezekiel - Starfield
Say what you will about Starfield's controversial gameplay mechanics, space exploration, and loading screens, but the game ultimately nails well-written characters, whether they're main story companions or recruitable NPCs. At Aggie's Bar in Akila City, you'll find a Sam Coe lookalike named Ezekiel, who has Matthew Mercer's voice and is ready to be a part of your crew.
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While he may have the same cowboy hat as Sam Coe, Ezekiel is a distinct character model with a significant burn scar on the right side of his face, a voice less hoarse, and a thicker country accent (as fitting with the Western theme of Akila City). If you want to engage in more personal questions, you'll find he's a Universal with a tragic backstory, leaving behind space travel due to a starship accident where he lost his sister Emmeline.
8 Mr. Freeze - Batman: The Enemy Within
While Matthew Mercer has voiced both DC villains and heroes in games and animated projects like Robin and Anarky in the Batman Arkham games, Mr. Freeze in Telltale's Batman: The Enemy Within is a performance that captures the essence of this character. The sequel game follows Bruce working with Amanda Waller to infiltrate the Pact, a group formed by Freeze, Joker, Harley Quinn, Bane, and Catwoman.
Dr. Victor Fries is one of the most compelling villains in the Batman rogues gallery, very underutilized in cinema, and whose tragic backstory shines in these episodes. As Bruce, you'll have to gain his trust a lot, and there are some excellent heartfelt conversations you can have balanced with moments of trying to stop Freeze from killing as much as possible.
7 Cole Cassidy - Overwatch Series
Starfield's Ezekiel wasn't Matthew Mercer's first go at portraying a cowboy in games. If you play Overwatch, the playable hero Cole Cassidy is also voiced by him. While you only hear dialogue barks and short phrases from characters in a multiplayer battle royale shooter like this, Cassidy often has memorable and hilarious conversations, particularly with fellow hero Elizabeth Ashe in the gameplay.
Cassidy and Ashe have a long history of being partners in crime in Overwatch lore, with things souring between them and that tension present in their in-game dialogue. Cole says many harsh yet funny comebacks that he comes off as Arthur Morgan but with a deeper country voice. "I'd rather bite the dust" and "I can't repeat what she said in polite company" are just a few of the greats.
6 Ganondorf - The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
This recurring villain from the Zelda series and is probably why Matthew Mercer is fantastic at portraying him, aside from being a longtime fan of the cruel Green Giant. Ganondorf is back to human form in his Tears of the Kingdom incarnation, along with several boss variants that explore his new destined story toward defeat.
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What Bowser and Dr. Neo Cortex are to Mario and Crash Bandicoot, Ganondorf is to Link and Zelda, a formidable villain showing up in a new form in most games. This final form isn't as intense and grotesque as Calamity Ganon in Breath of the Wild, but Ganon still puts up a tough fight and transforms into a long Demon Dragon.
5 Hunter - Marvel's Midnight Suns
In his more natural voice, you'll instantly recognize Matthew Mercer as the male version of Marvel's Midnight Suns' customizable protagonist, The Hunter. They're the child of the game's antagonist, Lilith, awoken from a tomb by Doctor Strange and the Abbey's Caretaker early in the game during a ritual to help out the Marvel heroes.
What's significant about this deck-building turn-based tactics game is that, while you can utilize a whole roster of fantastic Marvel characters in battle, you follow a new and original powered character created for this game. For The Hunter, slaying monsters is programmed into their DNA, which becomes an interesting theme explored throughout the story.
4 Jack Cooper - Titanfall 2
Matthew Mercer was also the protagonist of Titanfall 2, a solid sequel that brought a campaign exploring the bond between a pilot and Titan. Mercer voices Jack Cooper and assumes control of unit BT-7274 throughout the story. While Jack keeps pretty silent, dialogue options do pop up throughout gameplay, making the conversations with BT become just as much of a highlight as the gunplay.
All around, Jack Cooper is a grounded and well-developed FPS protagonist. His gameplay entails immersive level design with wall-running, shooting, and using all the rockets and features that come with this unique BT-7274 mech, particularly the thermal shield and vortex shield that sends back any bullets fired your way.
3 Minsc - Baldur's Gate 3
Another RPG where you might find Matthew Mercer is Baldur's Gate 3 portraying none other than recruitable companion Minsc. You meet Minsc inside the vaults of the Counting House, where he makes his entrance by crawling out of a mimic chest, battling it out, and later reuniting with his hamster Boo.
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Minsc's accent is a much different voice for Mercer but also borrows a bit from his experience of doing a Russian accent for Dead or Alive's commando character Bayman to create something unique for this formidable softie in Baldur's Gate. Minsc has an almost identical stature, rage, and a red mark on his face to Kratos, but with a sweeter side caring for his hamster.
2 Goro Majima - Yakuza: Like A Dragon
The Yakuza series only has Goro Majima's English voice versions in two games so far, the first voiced in the original 2006 Yakuza by Mark Hamill and the second in Like a Dragon with Matthew Mercer stepping into the shoes of the iconic Mad Dog of Shimano. It's quite a role to fill, especially since this character is one of the most beloved by fans, but it's not the first Hamill performance Mercer had to follow, as he portrayed Luke Skywalker in Battlefront 2.
His entrance in the game is executed perfectly, with Matthew nailing the personality and maniacal laugh that sounds even better than some of the Joker laughs actors have done. His dialogue is as chaotic as ever and effectively delivered, whether being overzealous with wanting to fight for sheer enjoyment or introducing his blade by slicing off some ties.
1 Leon S. Kennedy - Resident Evil 6, Revelations 2, And The Animated Movies
Ever since the character's debut in Resident Evil 2, Leon Kennedy has become a pivotal part of the games and animated movies, with many different renditions of his character voiced by various actors like Paul Mercier and Nick Apostolides. Matthew Mercer, however, took over for the character in Resident Evil 6 and all the animated films from 2012's Damnation to 2023's Death Island.
Most see Resident Evil's beloved Leon as just Ken, but Mercer brings a grittier edge to Leon in the films. He still has his classic himbo moments of funny one-liners here and there, like "adding tour guide to my resume," but you mostly see him in non-stop action set pieces showing off his John Wick moves on the Bioweapons.
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