Uncharted 3s plane scene involved a stuntman throwing Nolan North around a set

When it comes to following up Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, arguably one of the greatest games ever made, developer Naughty Dog had its work cut out (just like it has next year when Uncharted 4: A Thief's Endarrives). How do you outdo that opening train scene for start? Well, you throw leading treasure hunter Nathan Drake out of a plane and ask him to climb, shoot and one-liner is way back to safety, of course! In the latest issue of Official PlayStation Magazine, Drake voice/mo-cap actor Nolan North describes what it was like to recreate the centre-piece of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. Even if it did mean being thrown about a green-screened studio by a stuntman.

"We did this with the stuntman just holding me up, literally holding me up then throwing me down on pads," recalls North. "This fight, though, is actually two stunt guys. The interesting thing about this is when all hell breaks loose and this stuff is [flying around], when Drake does fall from the plane – and is bouncing around in the air in the process – that was a stunt actor named Reuben Langdon that they actually had hanging from a wire."

Of course, the action movie absurdity of the whole shebang (which will return later this year in the noticeably more modern feeling Nathan Drake Collection) was never lost on the veteran voice actor, even when he shooting that iconic scene. "My favourite part is that this guy is holding on by one hand, about to die from falling out of a plane – and he still wants to shoot me! That is commitment from your bad guys, folks! That is commitment! But no, they had him up on a wire. One wire would pull him from side to side, and the other wire in the other corner pulled him up and down, and they would yank at the same time and his body was flapping around for eight hours! For eight hours they did that to him!"

The latest issue of Official PlayStation Magazine, with four collectible covers (featuring Uncharted 4, Fallout 4, The Division and Mirror's Edge Catalyst), is out now. Download it here or subscribe to future issues.