How Uncharted 2s train scene got Nolan North a part in Star Trek

"Yeah, this is my blood... a lot of my blood." Just one of many iconic quotes that's immortalised Nathan Drake's second treasure-hunting shindig. In fact, the quip from the opening moments of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves did more than just make that train scene all the more captivating - it got voice actor Nolan North a job with a certain director who may or may not have directed the latest Star Trek movies.

"Interesting thing about this is that years later, I got to work with JJ Abrams," says North in a previous issue of Official PlayStation Magazine. "We talked about Uncharted. It was the reason he put me in Star Trek Into Darkness – a little part [USS Vengeance bridge officer] just for fun – and he said the opening of Uncharted 2 was the best opening of a game, television show or movie he’s ever seen."

High praise considering Abrams has Lost, Alias, Mission Impossible 3 and a certain new Star Wars film out in December to his name, but North - who will reprise his role as Drake one last time next year following a necessary delay for Uncharted 4 - is just as taken with the memorable sequence. "And he might have been lying, but yeah he did," he adds. "He thought that that whole opening where you wake up like that and you realise you’re hanging sidewards with the snow going sideways... he said that was just a brilliant opening. And it really does set the tone for the game, especially one where you’re going back in the timeline of what happened."

The latest issue of Official PlayStation Magazine, with four collectible covers (featuring Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, The Division, Mirror's Edge Catalyst and Fallout 4) and a limited edition subscription cover featuring The Last Guardian, is out now. Download it here or subscribe to future issues.

Dom has been a freelance journalist for many years, covering everything from video games to gaming peripherals. Dom has been playing games longer than he'd like to admit, but that hasn't stopped him amassing a small ego's worth of knowledge on all things Tekken, Yakuza and Assassin's Creed.