It's no secret that the Baldur's Gate 3 cast members are passionate about their roles in Larian Studios' beloved Dungeons & Dragons RPG, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'd want to play similar characters elsewhere.
Neil Newbon, the iconic voice behind vampire elf Astarion, wouldn't want to, anyway. The actor reveals as much in a new interview with Luality on YouTube, first explaining that he would genuinely enjoy playing Astarion in a Baldur's Gate game again – something Newbon has actually revealed in the past, saying he'd do any "live action or game" as Astarion… and even "an advert for grape juice" if it came down to it, as he put it.
Although he'd like to play Larian's charming companion once more, he doesn't want to be shoehorned into "Astarion-like" roles. "I like to do different roles all the time," Newbon admits to Luality. "For instance, I'd love to play Astarion again – but I wouldn't necessarily enjoy playing an Astarion-like character." This actually relates to situations he's been in before, with folks asking if he'd take a character on as they're similar to Astarion.
"I also had people approach me," describes the actor, "saying, 'Oh, you know, this character is just like Astarion. Would you like to play as him?' Not really, no."
It's an understandable position to take – after all, Newbon has more roles under his belt than just playing as one of the Baldur's Gate 3 companions. He's been featured in everything from fan-led projects like Fallout: London to more recent indie gems such as Date Everything.
It's safe to say Newbon is a highly skilled actor – both as a cunning vampire and otherwise. What of the future of Baldur's Gate, though? Could the actor return as Astarion? Sadly, the sequel isn't coming from Larian Studios, but Hasbro has stated that it's "talking to lots of partners" about the next game already and is working on a separate new D&D title, too, so there's plenty to look forward to as a fan.
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