Actor David Hayter, known for his roles as Solid Snake / Naked Snake / Big Boss / Metal Gear Acid 2 Snake / Super Smash Bros. Snake / Old Snake, has spoken about his time playing Metal Gear Solid 5 after years of avoiding it due to being recast.
Everyone talks so much about the Kojima and Konami controversy from Metal Gear Solid 5 that I feel like we've lost sight of the game's original controversy, the recasting of Snake voice actor David Hayter in favour of Hollywood icon Kiefer Sutherland (and before you say "Venom Snake was a new character" he also played Big Boss in Ground Zeroes, smartass). Hayter maintained for years that he wouldn't be playing what was Kojima's final Metal Gear (saying it would be "60 hours of humiliation"); however, he changed his mind and in 2023 announced that he had beaten the game, with Snake's lack of dialogue being his biggest gripe.
Speaking to PC Gamer, Hayter went in-depth about why he finally decided to pick up The Phantom Pain, and some of his thoughts on it. "I didn't want to play the game because I figured it would hurt my feelings," Hayter said, but he added that as a screenwriter, "I get fired for a living," so "I was like, 'Stop being a baby and play the game.' So I played it. It's amazing."
Hayter recalls asking fans at conventions what their favorite Metal Gear game was, and when people would respond with The Phantom Pain, he'd admittedly have his feelings hurt somewhat, "And then I played it and I'm like, 'I think this is my favourite gameplay of the series.'" Hayter specifically praised the enemy AI, which reacts to what you do on other missions (for example, if you always go in at night, they start donning night vision goggles), which he said was "badass," adding "far as I'm concerned, all is forgiven."
As for Snake's new actor, Hayter recalled "I ran into Kiefer Sutherland at a bar in Dallas…we had a bunch of drinks. And he's a great guy, you know?" saying that there's no ill will between the actors – not that there would be, as Hayter never really seemed to hold the recasting against Sutherland, despite fan attempts to pit them against one another.
Hayter has reunited with Konami in recent years, hosting the Metal Gear Solid Legacy Series, where the 20-year mystery of who voiced Eva, which was none other than The Little Mermaid herself, Jodi Benson.
