Earlier this month we visited New York for a Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater event where we got to play the game for review and meet some of the people involved with the original game and the remake, including some of the voice cast. We spoke with David Hayter, who voiced Snake in every interation of Metal Gear Solid, except for Ground Zeroes and Phantom Pain, and Lori Alan, who voices The Boss. Hayter and Alan did not re-record dialogue for Delta, save for a few added tutorial lines, but they were on hand to reflect on the experience of recording Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and share their excitement for the remake.
What were the lines that needed to be re-recorded?
Hayter: It’s primarily the original recordings. For the voices, they really wanted it to feel like the original. The lines we did were mostly new controller instructions. And I think I had to clean up one time saying “bastard” or something and saying it a little softer. I don’t know why.
Alan: I didn’t have to say anything over.
Hayter: Oh, because yours was perfect?
Alan: Yes, mine was perfect [laughs].
Hayter: I am not surprised.
Alan: Well of course! The instructional. That was it. It was really fascinating. I’ve had a low voice for a long time. I’ve been sounding like this since seventh grade. But I remember thinking I had to sort of to drop my voice [for The Boss], but now I am thinking, “Oh, I’m already there now.”
Hayter: Yeah, I have become a lot Snakier over the years.
Alan: And I’ve become a lot Bossier. I just wanted everyone to feel the same feelings they felt when they played it the first time.
From left to right, David Hayter (Snake), Lori Alan (The Boss), and Cynthia Harrell who sings the Snake Eater theme song
How much is The Boss the character that fans associate you with? I would assume it’s not the first, but how often is it The Boss?
Alan: I think it’s more now with the anticipation of Delta coming out, I get it a lot. In fact where we’re staying here in New York I called to talk to them about the rooms and they go, “Your voice sounds so familiar,” and then when I had gotten in my room they did a nice drawing of The Boss. It was very, very cool.
But of course I am on another show that’s absolutely crazy called SpongeBob SquarePants.
I assume that is number one.
[Spoken in Pearl Krabs’ voice] The character is quite different.
It’s usually one or the other.
Hayter: Do you ever mix the two up in the booth?
Alan: Yes, yes. It’s very confusing.
Hayter: “SpongeBob – loyalty to me? Or to the mission?”
Alan: Loyalty to me or to the sponginess?
[Spoken in Pearl Krabs’ voice] CQC?
This is very left field. I am not sure if anyone has ever asked you this, but did you watch the HBO Watchmen show?
Hayter: I did, yeah.
Did you enjoy it? I associate you with the film version of Watchmen.
Hayter: I was on it for eight years trying to get it made, so yeah. I did watch it. I loved it. I thought it was super creative. I thought it really felt like Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ world. I was very impressed. I dug it.
Who knows what the future holds for Metal Gear at this point, but are you open to revisiting the characters if there is a future entry?
Alan: Yeaaah.
Hayter: Yeah. Anytime they ask me to be Snake, I’m in. It’s the definitive role of my life. It’s so complex and so profound and there are so many different aspects to both him and Big Boss – any time it comes up, I am down.
Alan: Me, too. I just hope it lives on forever and ever and ever. Obviously, we’re so thrilled that there is a different generation that gets to play it. It’s so epic and such a beautiful game and it’s so complex. We also have the best fans in the world. I learn so much about the game continuously from them because it’s dense and epic and all that. So of course, the more the merrier. I think we’d all be beside ourselves for it to keep going.
Hayter: Yeah, and to Lori’s point, I get so many people coming up to me now saying, “I just got into Metal Gear last year,” because of the Master Collection. It’s so cool. 18-year old fans and kids discovering it for the first time. It’s very, very cool. A great game should be like a great movie or a great album. It lives on. And a lot of times because consoles change and technology changes, a lot of times games disappear. I’m just grateful Konami is behind this they way they are.
For a whole lot more on the voice acting in Metal Gear Solid, check out Game Informer’s deep dive podcast special featuring extensive interviews with the cast of the original game.
