Niko voice actor earned only $100,000

Voice actor Michael Hollick was paid $100,000 for his fifteen-month stint as Niko Bellic in Grand Theft Auto IV.

Hollick, who was practically a nobody before the game's blockbuster success, has mixed opinions on whether or not he was given a reasonable amount for his role in the biggest entertainment product of all time.

"Obviously I'm incredibly thankful to Rockstar for the opportunity to be in this game when I was just a nobody, an unknown quantity," he said to theNew York Times.

"But it's tough, when you see Grand Theft Auto IV out there as the biggest thing going right now, when they're making hundreds of millions of dollars, and we don't see any of it.

"I don't blame Rockstar," he was quick to add. "I blame our union for not having the agreements in place to protect the creative people who drive the sales of these games. Yes, the technology is important, but it's the human performances within them that people really connect to, and I hope actors will get more respect for the work they do within those technologies."

In most other mediums, Hollick would have been paid royalties for his voice appearing in the product. He said that he "asked about residuals when we negotiated, but I was told that was not a possibility."

The issue is further clouded by the inclusion of his voice in other media outlets advertising the game, including television, film, radio and the internet.

Unsurprisingly, other voice actors in the game earned significantly less than Hollick. Ryan Johnston, who played Patrick McReary, said that he was paid $1,050 a day.

And if just now you're thinking "Jeez, I wish I made $1,000 a day," let us remind you that mostvoice actors (you know, people who aren't Cam Clarke or Jim Cummings) are lucky to work an average of 14 payabledays a year.

Courtesy of CVG.

May 21, 2008