Nathan Drake speaks—an interview with Nolan North

Ever since he first appeared on the PlayStation 3 as the charismatic quick witted treasure hunting rogue Nathan Drake in Naughty Dog's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Nolan has firmly established himself as one of the most prolific and talented voice actors working today. His robust C.V and credentials speak for themselves. Nolan has contributed his considerable vocal and acting expertise to dozens of high profile titles and as such, has become one of the most recognizable and important voice actors on the gaming circuit.

First we ask Nolan about how he first got involved in voice acting, what it is that makes a good voice actor, who have been his favorite characters to play over the years and what it's like working with Naughty Dog casting new characters in Uncharted 3. In the later parts we ask Nolan about the underscoring pressure there is to deliver another blockbuster game in Uncharted 3. We talk to him about Uncharted 3′s returning characters, motion capture on Uncharted NGP and if given the chance, would he consider playing Nathan Drake in David O.Russell's forthcoming Uncharted film adaptation.

We would like to thank Nolan for taking the time of his incredibly hectic schedule to speak with us. I think you'll all agree, the guy is not only a talented actor but a sincere and genuine person. He was a pleasure to speak with. We wish him all the best for the future.

Hi Nolan. Let's start off my asking you a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and when did you first get into acting?

NN: I'm originally from New England, from the smallest state in the U.S, Rhode Island. Even though I was New England born, I grew up just south of Boston. All my family is from New England.

Nowadays I live and work in Los Angeles. I'm an actor here. In the last few years the voice over world has really embraced me and I've embraced it right back. With the difficult times out there with the economy, I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have the opportunity to continue working. I've carved out a little niche for myself in the videogame industry as a voice over. It's not something I went to school for. Growing up with the videogames I had, there was no such thing as a videogame voiceover actor, they didn't have that. It was Pac-man, Space Invaders and Mario.

As of late, I guess most people would probably know me as Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series and I'm proud to be Nathan.

Was getting into voice acting something you always aspired to or did you fall into voiceover work by accident?

NN: I've said this before and I always tell people that I basically make a living doing all the things that I used to get detention for back when I was in school. You know (husky teachers voice) "Mr. North? Do you really think these silly voices are going to get you anywhere someday?" I'm happy to tell that teacher that yes, apparently it did. I was doing a lot of theatre when I started off and stand up comedy too. Then I ended up on a day time drama called ‘Port Charles'. It was a spin-off of General Hospital, a soap opera here in the United States and I was on that for five years. After that, the show was finally cancelled and my wife, who for years said "you have to do something with all those voices, accents and impressions that you do", made me think about the voice over side of work. I had actually been introduced to an agent, Pat Brady, a good Irish woman whose father is originally from Ireland and I've got to hand it to Ireland, an Irish woman found me and after I met her and gave her a demo tape, she said " you can do this". She's my agent to this day and I love her, she's like a second mom to me. She really took me under her wing and when she finally landed at Cunningham-Escott-Slevin-Doherty agency at Los Angeles, she brought me with her and the opportunities rose from there. I then was introduced to my other agent, Cathey Lizzio. So I've the Irish and the Italians working for me! Cathey was the agent that handled all the Uncharted stuff so we have a great partnership. I have these two wonderful ladies looking out for me and they've done a great job. For my part I just try to keep delivering and keep moving forward from there.

Did the shift into voice acting happen quickly? Did you suddenly find yourself getting booked for work straight away or was it more of a gradual drawn out process?

NN: Unless you win the lottery, everything is pretty gradual. I remember Maximo Vs. the Army of Zin; it was one of the first things they booked me on for a videogame. I remember thinking how cool it was and how fun it was. I had such a good time and I always took it upon myself to make sure that the people I work for are having a good time. There's no time for ego or pretense. We're making games. Let's have a laugh. Let's do the work. Let's do it in a timely manner and have a laugh along the way. I always prided myself on that. I think what happens is, the more laughs you have in a session, the more those people want to work with you again. I'd do one game for a casting director and they'd be like "o I'll have you back for another one next month,"  and so on and all of a sudden you get welcomed into this community because people want to work with people they like, people they enjoy working with and people who do a good job. When I started getting into videogames, there were a lot of voice actors saying "ah, I don't want to do this anymore. I'm not going in to scream for that kind of money" and I'd always joke with people that I've two young children, so I could yell for hours! I quickly found that I really enjoyed it. I had a talent for it and the people I worked for enjoyed working with me. Can it be taxing at times? Yes, but we're making games, I can't complain. We're just making games and it's just so much fun. Who am I to complain?

You're widely considered to be the go-to guy for games and voice over work….you're in everything….

NN: That's interesting because a couple of years ago when Uncharted 2 came out, a bunch of games that had been in development for a long time (from about the time of Uncharted 1) came out with my voice. The timing of those games was a little bit unfortunate because all of a sudden, everyone who loved me turned around and was like "you're in too many games." For example, there's Dark Void. To be fair to Dark Void, the initial recordings were done I believe just around the time the first Uncharted came out. So they had been casting before that and then the development stalled along the line. It then came out and everyone was like "O, its Nathan Drake with a jet pack." That was unfortunate. I don't think that was fair to all those developers who had done a lot of good work. Since then I've really tried to take on different roles. People say I sound the same in every game. What they don't realize is that I was in Ratchet and Clank, "he isn't in Ratchet and Clank!" He is. He's Sigmund. They hear and don't think it sounds anything like me so it's been really nice to take on more roles now that are not so much ‘in my voice'. They'll be a couple of games coming out this year that will really surprise people when they hear that it's actually my voice in there. I've been a little more attracted to roles that have been away from the Nathan Drake voice.

Do you feel like you're a little bit typecast?

NN: It's like what we've already said. First it was gradual and then it started barreling forward. When Uncharted came along, the people who recommended me for the job, people like voice over directors Kris Zimmerman and Chris Borders who did Mass Effect, were like "you don't understand. Nathan Drake is Nolan." That became a perfect marriage. All these people felt that Nathan Drake the character was very much my personality. Credit has to go Amy Hennig, the writer and creative director of Uncharted; she let me just run with it. They knew who he was and they wanted me to just be me. But in terms of all the games that I've done, it started slowly before snowballing into something very special.

What in your opinion makes a good voice actor on the circuit?

NN: I think that good voicing acting is something that doesn't take you away from the suspension of disbelief, so to speak. Sometimes good voice acting is when you don't think about the voice, when it sort of just blends with the character, it's very realistic and it just keeps you in the moment of gameplay and cinematics. That's so important. When you don't notice the voice acting, that's good voice acting. There's nothing worse than when you're playing a game and some weird big cheesy voice comes on and you're like "O my god. That's horrible". You shouldn't really recognize the voice actor. You shouldn't think about the performance. You might hear the voice and think "that's the guy who does Drake" or my friend Fred Tatashore, he does a lot of these things too, he's fantastic. But what's important is that you can believe them as a character and that it's subtle. Subtly is a key thing in voice acting. People say to me "o you're a voice actor" but I always tell them "well, I'm an actor". I don't care if you have me on camera or in front of a microphone or live on a stage in the theatre. It's all the same. You don't adjust. It's performance no matter the medium. Voice acting should be subtle and real and it should keep the audience member engaged without distracting them out of the moment there in. As games progress further and further, that's going to become more important.

So what you're saying is that there's less of a tangible difference behind acting mediums (voice acting, live action) than one might initially think on the surface….

NN: I think the techniques can be different and every actor approaches it differently. You do have to use a little more imagination when you're doing a videogame because you have to see the situation and just play it out to a microphone. Sometimes you don't have the other actor in the room to play off. That's one of the nice things about Uncharted. We actually do the motion capture all at once. It's literally like doing theatre in the round without any props. I think it's a different skill set but what I'm trying to get at is that the outcome for the audience should be the same; keep the person engaged in what you're watching or playing and don't distract them from that reality they've created.

Obviously Nathan Drake is who you're most famous for but Uncharted aside, can you name drop other characters you've enjoyed recording and interpreting over the years?

NN: I really love the Assassin's Creed games. I think it's a great game. I think the Ubisoft developers do a fantastic job with that. I love the story. I remember doing the first game and when we were finished recording I said "well, let's get a cup of coffee and you guys can get me the rest of the scripts" and they were like "no, that's it". I remember I was a little angry. I couldn't believe that was it. I needed to know what happened. Corey May the writer was there just laughing. He didn't even know what happened next. He said we'd have to wait until part 2. The whole story with the animus and the Assassin's going back in time is absolutely one of my favorite stories from all the projects that I do. I really find it just fascinating. I think they do a great job. Desmond Miles is up there for me. I always look at that character and think how I could separate him from the voice. I think the true gamers will see that although it's a similar voice, the intent and who that person is compared to Nathan Drake is very different. He's a different more complex character. It's a very subtle shift in the voice. You can tell it's me but it's just a different attitude.

There have been so many other games, to numerous to mention. I really enjoyed all the Ratchet and Clank stuff because it was just a departure for my voice to do Sigmund. I liked Alpha Protocol. I liked Steven Heck because he was absolutely insane. Some of the dialogue they wrote for me was just hysterical. I did a couple of characters for Marvel like Deadpool. I did it for Hulk Vs. Wolverine first. They actually came to me with the finished movie and they wanted me to replace the actor they had as Deadpool. He did a great job but the head of Marvel wanted it to be more. No one had ever voiced Deadpool before that. So they weren't sure what was missing from that. But because I had done Wolverine in the X-Men, the producers knew me and they knew my sense of humor and they came to me. If you ever watch the behind the scenes of Hulk vs. Wolverine you'll see me in action. They sat me down and said here's the script but just forget about it, just adlib stuff. Go crazy. Go nuts. Imagine it's you and you've gone crazy but you love murder. It went to Comic Con that year it came out and friend Fred Tatasciore (The Hulk) said that they loved Deadpool. Deadpool was the hit. So when Marvel came to me and asked me to do Deadpool for these games I was again given free reign to make him goofy and silly and murderous. That's a lot of fun too. I'm Deadpool in Ultimate Spiderman and Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. That was a blast.

I also really love doing the zombie levels for the Call of Duty games. I do the crazy Dr. Richtofin. The great thing about it is they've started using Steve Bloom who plays Tank Dempsey and Fred Fred Tatasciore who plays Nickolai and they put the three of us together a lot in the booth at the same time and it's just magic. We're very close friends the three of us and if they ever did an album of out-takes, it would be rated X. It's absolutely hysterical.

The Final Fantasy games are always interesting. The director on that, Jack Fletcher, is a dear friend and he's fantastic. Those are always very interesting because the Japanese games are different. It's a very unique style. A lot of times they come to you after the Japanese version has been done and we're dubbing it to English. It's just like what we do with Uncharted when we send it to Japan. Someone has to do Nathan Drake in Japanese. A lot of times we get the Final Fantasy animations and we have to get lines in there to match lip movements as close as possible. It's always a little sketchy because you can't translate Japanese to English and have the lip moments be the same, so for me it always looks a little strange. But I think the animation is beautiful. They're incredibly talented. I'm not a big part of the Final Fantasy world but I know it's a big deal for a lot of people. I'm proud to be a part of it.

Jumping worlds now to Uncharted. You've probably told this story a million time before but take us back to that original audition for Nathan. I think you can actually watch snippets of the audition on YouTube….

NN: It's funny. I actually worked on Friday on motion capture all day for Uncharted 3 and Amy Hennig (Creative Director, Uncharted 3) said "come here, I want to show you something" and for the first time in five years I actually saw that full audition. So that's just a couple of days ago. That was the first time in five years…..no wait…..excuse me…..the first time ever. The only thing I can tell you about the audition is that I had no idea what I was going in for. To me, it was just another videogame. The original audition was in a very small little room and they said that I could move around but I was just looking for the microphone to do the voice. But they were like "no, we want you very much on camera". I hadn't been prepared for that but I think I do a little better when I'm less prepared for something like that. I'm one of those actors who thinks best on his feet. If I hammer something into my head it becomes very repetitious and I think it can get dull. So I just went for it. I had a good time with it. It's funny because when I watched the original audition you see me walking around thinking "ok, they're telling me to do stuff and I'm literally in the process of trying to figure out what the hell they were doing". So we did it and I think it was a week or two later that they called me back and this time in a bigger space. Oddly enough, the person, the reader, I was reading with to play Elena was Emily Rose. Emily hadn't the part yet and I didn't know she was up for the part but we just kind of bantered back and forth and I knew that I needed to make a connection with the reader. That chemistry just kind of worked. I do remember running and sliding and knocking over a chair. I was literally a kid in a sandbox. I thought, let's just have some fun with this, I don't even know what this is. I think they mentioned motion capture and I had never really done that before but I thought it would be kind of cool.

So I remember looking at the video the other day and looking at Amy, laughing and thinking and you hired me for that? She looked at me and she goes "you were Drake. I mean we had great people come him, but you were him. We found Drake. You were exactly what we envisaged." She said that I was someone a little self deprecating, someone who was a little bit unsure but you went for it anyway. She said I made her laugh. I didn't know what they saw in me but I know what they talk about now. This will be really interesting for you. With Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3, I have been a very big part of casting. Naughty Dog and Sony wanted me to be part of the casting process because we learned on the first game and especially on the second game, how important the chemistry of the people involved on the game has to be. We work on these games for a year. Most games I go in for like 3 days and maybe I come back a month later and we do another pick up but with Uncharted it's different. This month we're going crazy with work. There's deadlines to meet by the summer. But we're a family and I sincerely care about everyone I work with on this project.

Now though, I'm on the other side of the table casting people. It's really a little bit awkward and difficult because a lot of times these actors and actresses are friends of mine and they're reading and they do a great job but at the end of the day you look and think, that person just wasn't it or that person is the guy. Graham McTavish, who has become a dear friend of mine, read for Harry Flynn and Lazarevic on Uncharted 2. There was another actor who came in right before Graham. Graham read for Harry and he was amazing, I mean, he's a Brit anyway. He was perfect. The guy who came in before him did Lazarevic and he was terrifying. He was great. In my head, I thought "BANG" Graham is Harry Flynn and that guy's Lazarevic, this is over! Well, then Graham did Lazarevic and I remember thinking to myself "O SHIT, he's not Harry, he's Lazarevic." He was amazing. He scared me. He literally was threatening. He was perfect. Fortunately three or four auditions later Steve Valentine came in and this wise ass was Harry Flynn and we were done. We get to see some incredibly talented actors but it just takes that one to make you think, that's him, that's the person.

It's the same thing for Uncharted 3. Everything has just clicked. We have great people coming in for some of these new roles.

So what is it about Drake that makes him so popular among gamers?

NN: I can't get any credit for Drake, Amy Hennig should get the credit. Drake and I share the same personality but Amy Hennig created this amazing character. She bestowed the honor of playing Drake on me. She told me to play Drake and give him my personality. She told me to play Drake as Nolan North would. Amy deserves most of the credit. She wrote a brilliant yet flawed character. I think the thing that resonates with people is the same thing that resonated with Bruce Willis in Die Hard or Indiana Jones, when they get perched, it hurts. These characters are real. If they fall, they don't jump right up. Drake's a normal guy. My wife would say when she sees the game "Drake needs a hug." I think that's really telling. Here's a guy whose bravado and rugged and yet she could see his vulnerability and I think any good character in any medium needs vulnerability. Nathan just drips with it. He's charming, he's roughish, he's the guy that men want to have a beer with and women……you know……want to…….hug……or more. He's flawed and vulnerable but he's brave and he's loyal. He embodies the things that people admire without being a muscle bound  80's Terminator/Conan character. People like a character that they can relate to. I mean, have you ever tried smashing a door open with your shoulder? It's tough. Drake, like most people, needs a couple of different tries. We'd be doing mo-cap and id try and knock a door in and just adlib ‘ah shit' and then maybe kick it open. That's something I bring to the character. I might hold my shoulder and shout ‘son of a b***h' and the developers would turn around and say that's going in the game because that's Drake. He's not perfect. He's flawed. That attitude has fed to the other actors. Richard (McGonagle-Victor Sullivan) and I are always going back and forth. With Uncharted 3, I can't give away any spoilers, but Graham McTavish and I will continue running dialogue long after the scene is over and they'll just keep running the camera. They just let us go.

You've talked about the Uncharted team as a family. How important is that family dynamic to the quality of the end product?

NN: It's critical. It's crucial. Get me a thesaurus and I'll tell you every other possible word. The chemistry on that set and the good feelings and respect everyone has for one another is amazing. It's all tied by in a little bow by our director Gordon Hunt, who is fantastic. He keeps everybody in line. When you have that atmosphere, comfort and respect, you're free to try things. Sometimes it won't work and sometimes it will. That dynamic is something that's fed down through all of Naughty Dog. I've had a really great opportunity to really get to know the animators, not to mention the co-presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra. I've gotten to know a lot of the programmers too. I've gone over to their offices and hung out with them and that same atmosphere of collaboration and respect that we have on the mo-cap stage is basically mirrored at the developer's office. It's one of the most amazing work environments. It's fostered by hard work and respect and real care for what they are making. That transcends over to the mo-cap stage. The chemistry of this entire project is like nothing I've ever experienced in the entertainment industry.

Given how successful the first two Uncharted games have been, is there a pressure to deliver the level of quality that has become synonymous with the franchise when it comes to Uncharted 3?

NN: There is pressure when we think about it. We try not to think about it. We just go back to doing what we do. I remember talking to Christophe (Balestra, Naughty Dog Co-President) about all the awards they got for Uncharted and he's like, in his very French way (imitates French accent) "ah, awards don't matter, it's nothing". He said that awards are nice but that's over now. Now we can go make another great game. So yes, of course there's pressure. But the thing is, even if we repeated what we did in the last game, it's going to be great. But they're doing things to make sure it's better. That pressure is always there. I  think it's easy to live up to the expectations of everyone if you try to surpass your own expectations. We're just going to go do what we did with the last one. The story in Uncharted 3 is strong. Amy (Hennig, creative director, Uncharted 3) has written another strong story. She's put some great characters in it. The animators and the programmers have some cool new things for the player to do.

The other reason I think this game has become such a huge success is just how well the cinematics and the gameplay that Naughty Dog do blend together. People have said to me that sometimes they forget if it's a movie or a game or a game with a movie in it. What came first? The Chicken or the Egg? As long as that marriage is there and the player is brought into this engaging world, it works. You never get taken out of the experience.

I recently began working on a new cartoon and I walked into work the other day and the executive producer, who must be like 47-48 years of age spun around in his chair and goes "you're Nathan Drake!" I said "Excuse me?" and he was like "yes, you're Nathan Drake, yes, I play Uncharted all the time, I had no idea. I was sitting here thinking ‘I know that voice' and I finally looked it up. That's amazing. My wife and kids sit on the couch after dinner and they watch me play and we try to figure out the clues and everything". He asked if I could get him a T-shirt. I said, if you keep using me on your show, then yes! It's amazing the range of people that have just embraced this. I hear this all the time from people "I don't even play videogames, but I play Uncharted!". I'm like wow. That's fantastic.

So Nolan, how thrilled are you that the lid has been lifted on Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception and gamers can start looking forward to getting to grips again with Drake this November?

NN: Like I said, it's going to be great. Amy (Hennig) has written another great story full of different locales and different challenges. I just hope gamers have half as much fun playing it as I have had making it. We have another hit on our hands. I think there's going to be (and I hope that there's going to be) more market penetration for the game. There's much more PS3's in households out there now. The one drawback with Uncharted is that it's a PlayStation exclusive and that's because the PS3 is the only machine that can handle all the data and how it works.

Do you think PS3 exclusivity is a drawback?

NN: In terms of numbers, then yes, of course it is. I think Uncharted would sell as many copies as Call of Duty. I think they'd go 20 million copies or more. But it's not multiplatform because it can't be. We can't deliver the product that we deliver on another machine. While they're all amazing machines, they're just limited with the capacity and speed that the PS3 can deliver. So, go get a PS3! The other great thing about the PS3 is that it's a Blu-Ray player too. I got rid of my DVD player. We use the PS3 now as both.

Uncharted 3 isn't the only Uncharted making headlines at the moment. Uncharted was recently announced for the next PSP, the NGP. Are you working on that at the moment too?

NN: Yes, we are. We've been doing the motion capture for a lot of it, for cinematics and gameplay. It's been announced for the next handheld and why not? Uncharted has becoming something of a flagship for Sony and with any new hardware you want to have the top title there. The game has been put on the shoulders of Sony Bend to make the game. We have a great writer, John Garvin, who is handling the story and we have sat down and really tried to get the same kind of atmosphere for it. With did a casting for that one as well and that went incredibly well and we have some really good people on it. It should be really interesting. It's different. It's a much more aggressive shooting schedule because there's certain type elements they have to do. Seeing as it's not on the PS3, it's slightly different. We'll do a full day instead of a half day and then we'll do motion capture on back to back days and capture a ton of material. They can't borrow anything from the PS3, the data is different. But it's very exciting and great to be able to play Drake again. I can't tell you how much fun it is. As a guy who has had so many jobs in his life that weren't fun, this is fantastic.

I don't want to press you too much on Uncharted 3 but can you tell us something we don't already know?

NN: What a lot of people don't understand is that we don't have a script from beginning to end when we start. Amy has an outline in her head and that where it stays. There's nothing for me to tell you. We don't really have spoilers. I don't know where the story is going. The one thing is that Graham McTavish (Lazarevic-Uncharted 2) is back as a different character. Lazarevic is dead but because Graham is such a pro, there was a character that Amy had in mind and it's him this time. It's in Graham's accent. You won't know its Lazarevic. It's him and he's fantastic. The thing about it is, Graham has been cast in Peter Jackson's ‘The Hobbit' as Dwalin and he's on location shooting in New Zealand. This was happening during our mo-cap. So logistically our shooting schedule has been nightmarish at times. In fact, Peter Jackson had an ulcer and had to take some time off so Graham has actually just flown back last week. So our schedule had changed and Amy has to change the story because we weren't going to have Graham all the time but now that Graham is here, Amy has redirected it and we're going to shoot a bunch of stuff. Ultimately it will get where it has to go. But we don't have a 120 page script that we're going through. We do scenes at a time. That's where it's going and I think that's one of the elements that makes it so good. Amy will write the scripts with Justin Richards the gameplay director and they will collaborate because maybe they'll have a cool new move that Drake can do. They might come up with a cool concept where the programmers say, we can make him to this and they'll go to Amy and ask her to fit it into the story because they're on to a really cool thing. She always knows where she's going with it. She's such a good director and she has the ability to help it meander along the way it has to in terms of gameplay and story. It's a fantastic marriage.

In terms of returning characters, there's you and Sully obviously, it's safe to say Elena will be in there too. Can we ask about Claudia Black as Chloe?

NN: I don't know what I can say. I don't know what's been announced. I can say that a lot of fans with Uncharted 2 were very disappointed that Sully really didn't play that much of a part. He was very limited. This time, you're going to get your money's worth of Sully. Richard McGonagle is a phenomenal actor and a phenomenal friend. I can tell you that there's a lot of Sully and Drake in Uncharted 3. Whatever about characters who are and aren't in the game, I can confirm that I will be in the game. I'm in Uncharted 3. I will be returning as Nathan Drake!

Really? I never would have guessed?

NN: Yes, that and I think I'll get to play a couple of extra henchmen in mo-cap.

Can I ask you about the Uncharted Movie? Any thoughts on it and David O.Russell and Mark Wahlberg's involvement?

NN: I don't know much about it. But what I do know is nothing you can't be read online. All I can give you is my opinion on things. David O.Russell has been contracted to write the script. Given his success with ‘The Fighter', that'll either be good or bad for the Uncharted film. I don't know? He's very close with Mark Wahlberg, he has been since they made ‘Three Kings' together and there's talk that he wants to put De Niro and Pesci back together as Nathan's father and uncle. That's awkward because Nathan's an orphan. So that's a little strange. People are calling me all the time and asking me "so why don't you play Drake?". I was told that there was a meeting at Sony about that and while everyone knows I could do it and deliver that performance, why couldn't I? Drake is me. It's just I'm not a movie star. I don't have a big enough name. The way the film business works, you need financing and investors in place and foreign investors aren't going to invest in Nolan North. They're going to invest in Mark Wahlberg. That's just the way the business goes.

Would you play Drake? Would you play him if you could?

NN: Of course I would…..

People would love to see you play Drake…..

NN: I'd like to think they would. I think the gamers would really embrace it. But it's a little sad. When was the last time we went to see a film that went "Blah, Blah, Blah movie featuring Meryl Streep, Anthony Hopkins and introducing ‘this other person'!" You know, people are going to go to the movie and they're going to say, "o it's Mark Wahlberg playing Nathan Drake". But if I was Nathan Drake, people would go to that movie and be like ‘wow that must be Nathan Drake because we don't know him from anything else'. Unfortunately, I think studios today and film makers need to take that financial investment first. They make money first. They may not make the right movie but they'll make money on it and move on. It's unfortunate. I'm disappointed, but I understand. I'm a causality of the business of ‘the business'.

A good friend of mine is James McGaffery. He has a much more impressive on camera resume than I do, he does ‘Rescue Me', he had his own series in the 90's and now he's in a new show with Tom Selleck in the States. But he's also the voice of Max Payne.

Mark Wahlberg strikes again…….

NN: Yes, we laughed about it. I asked him if he saw the reports and he said "yes, I hope it's better than the Max Payne movie turned out".  It's really ironic. He's a good friend of mine and Mark Wahlberg took both our roles.

There is another point of view that I take on this and I'll share it with you. If Mark Wahlberg does the movie, I hope it's a big enough departure from what we're doing. I don't know what the plot is, but if it's a big enough departure from what we've done in the game then it may stand alone as its own thing and it won't affect what we do. It could be separate enough from what we've created. The one problem I have with Mark Wahlberg is, you know, he's a great guy but he's a tough kid from Boston and he tends to play that tough guy against the odds, that tough guy who makes it. That's not Nathan Drake who we created in the games. I'm not sure if that's something that he can thrive in. If David O.Russell and Mark Wahlberg make a film that's much more their own take on the series, that's fine. That being said, we still make our games with the loveable Drake and they make their movies and he's a different type of guy, all well and good. The one thing is, if I did the movie, and let's say the movie stunk, could that adversely affect the game and how people view the game? So there's part of me that says, you know what, let them go make their movie. The producers have said that they want to put me in the movie, I don't know if it will happen. You know if there's a flashback to Francis Drake on a boat somewhere or walking through a jungle, I could grow a beard and be Sir Francis Drake in the flashbacks, you know, for the gamers. They did that for Max Payne. James McCaffery actually played one of the federal agents in Max Payne. It would be a kind of a wink to the players. If I did the movie and it stunk, that might adversely affect what we're doing for the gamers and we wouldn't want to do that. Quite frankly, my first loyalty is to Naughty Dog, Sony and the fans of this game. I just want to keep making these games. I want to do an Uncharted 4. I want to do an Uncharted 5. It's the best job I've ever had in the entertainment industry. Period. I want to keep doing it for as long as they keep making them.

So part of me is like, if you make the movie, just make it different enough from what we do so that people don't get turned off. I think the gamers will rally around us. It could be a great movie but as long as people keep saying keep making the games, that's what we want first and foremost. This movie is a touchy subject with a lot of us because you're like "if you're going to do it different, do it well. Don't screw up the good thing we've created." It's our baby. It's touchy. O.Russell is a brilliant director. The Fighter was amazing. It would have been interesting to see what Spielberg would have done with this kind of thing because he knows that genre. What if Spielberg or Lucas was involved? They know this genre. Quite frankly, if Spielberg had gotten the rights I think I would have had a much better chance of playing Nathan Drake. Spielberg and Lucas are the ones who got Harrison Ford out of obscurity and made him Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Look what they did with him.

People will always go see a big  action packed Spielberg summer blockbuster……….

NN: Yes. But again, it's disappointing that you don't see those ‘and introducing….this person' anymore. I think audiences rally around a character that isn't a celebrity. People will see the film and think its Mark Wahlberg as Nathan Drake, it's not just ‘some guy' as Nathan Drake. It's like the backlash that the cast of ‘Friends' or ‘Seinfeld' got. People watched ‘Friends' and saw Matthew Perry as Chandler and since then I think he's had a very difficult time because people just look at him and think ‘It's Chandler'. He's a good actor. You get filthy rich but you get typecast. You get stunted into certain characters.

It's clear from speaking to you that Nathan means so much to you personally….

NN: He does. Like I said, this is the best job I've ever had. It's the first and only time in my career that I was given a character to run with. This is like one of those roles of a lifetime. This is like Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. He got Han Solo too. He got two iconic characters. It's a different genre but it's the same because that was him. You can't picture anyone else as Han Solo, can you? It has become important to me because the franchise is important to Sony and I'm so close with the people at Naughty Dog and I see how hard they work. We've done something special. It's the first time I've been given the lead role in something where they said we want you to take this and run with it. If you run too far, we'll stop you and pull you back but just keep making this your own. They've allowed me to do that and we have critical success. It's really nice for people to respect and appreciate what you do for a living. No matter what it is, you want your friends and peers to think you're doing a hell of a good job. You want to be appreciated, especially in your industry. That's important. This game has changed my life. It's changed my outlook on the business. It's made my life better.

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  1. 13 years ago
    WestHamMan

    I didnt know he was in Ratchet and Clank!!! Must check that out. Great interview guys……..

  2. 13 years ago
    Morue

    Nolan is a great guy. You can feel how much Drake means to him. And I completely agree with him about the movie. Let them do their crappy movie. Nolan is the one and only Nathan Drake!!

  3. 13 years ago
    Douglas Richers

    If I may, i just want to say that I think Nolan is an incredible talent and he has changed the way I play videogames. Uncharted is such an incredible gaming franchise and he has a huge part to play in it’s succeess.

    An amazing guy. An amazing interview.

  4. 13 years ago
    KLIO Jake

    Great read, O think Nolan is brilliant. He sounds so honest and hard working. He needs much more credit…..

  5. 13 years ago
    Keldroc

    Very nice interview. North seems to be a good guy with a great respect for the material he does and the roles he plays regardless of medium. Glad he has found success with Uncharted and Nathan, a character he clearly loves playing. Shame about what Hollywood will likely do to the property, but hey, the gamers know that’s not a reflection on the quality of the game franchise.

  6. 13 years ago
    Russ

    There’s only 2 people fit to play the role of Nathan Drake on the big screen – Nolan North himself or Nathan Fillion – Amy Hennig and the folks at Naughty Dog created the character of Drake BASED ON Nathan Fillion, they said as much!

    Whoever in Hollywood decided on Wahlberg, should be beaten, with a wet trout.

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