TVGB: Do you see games being “legitimized”? There’s been some really crappy voice acting, but do you see it coming together as a worthwhile storytelling device?
CF: I think that’s where we’re at in voiceover and the videogame industry. There are people like Cliff [Bleszinski], that are involved in the property and give a shit about storytelling. Josh [Ortega] was brought on board because he’s a really talented guy at telling a story and he likes to work with the talent in “what can we do” and “what should we do.” I rave about the collaboration on Gears, as a franchise, all the time because I’m hoping that’s the future. I enjoy camp but I really want to be part of the movement that makes this stuff real.
TVGB: You approach everything not as a job but as a fan.
CF: Totally. I’ve been in the booth with people that look at me like I’m fucking crazy because I treat the work with such respect. I approach the scripts like I would a film or a play. If I worked on a Mario game, I swear to God, I’d be like, “What’s his relationship to Peach?” It’s the way I am.
TVGB: The scene in Gears 2, Dom’s pivotal scene where he finds his wife; you did motion capture for it as well. Where’d you have to go to pull out that kind of performance?
CF: I asked the producers if they wanted me to go there and they went, “Fuck yeah, go there!” I don’t know if they really expected me to go there. There has been speculation and questions about did we turn down the lights, were there people crying and stuff like that and what I’ve said is I felt like I had done my job, at least in the first run through, when I saw the tears were not just mine, but of those in the booth. The reaction could’ve been laughter, could’ve been embarrassment, could’ve been, “What is he doing?! It’s a videogame, dude!” At the end of the day, I think the script demanded certain things. I would challenge any actor to be presented with a script with that scenario who wouldn’t feel foolish half-assing it. I feel like it’s a cheat to the player and the fans. What I get from fans, and bless them, I really appreciate Dom Santiago fans because they’ve all been very vocal about it since the game came out.
TVGB: Some feel that scene doesn’t belong in Gears. They think it’s “gay” and the series doesn’t lend itself to have real emotion.
CF: I think any criticism, especially by the people that play the game, is legit. I give everybody respect and I know the hardcore gamers just want to keep going. But at the same time, if it’s on the page I felt it needed to be done, that I had to go there. Epic and Microsoft were really brave to leave it that way and I think we were on the same page about how it was written and what it would do for the arc of the character. The other side of the coin, to the players saying the scene doesn’t belong, and this is only my experience, at every public appearance I’ve made the fans that appreciate the Maria scene it’s because Dom is their best friend. They’re Marcus. They spent most of their time playing the solo campaign and multiplayer, before there was Horde and camaraderie, they played with lots of trash talking. I’m not saying he’s their bestest friend in the world, but Dom is the guy they could count on for levity. So, when they get to this part in the story, they responded to it because they have a personal stake in Dom and those are the guys I did the scene for really. The guys that are like, “Yay…let’s move on,” I know what’s that like because I like to skip to the good shit too! I’m a big James Bond fan and I’ll leap over some of the love scenes because I don’t care how Pierce Brosnan looks making out with Teri Hatcher, but I will never poo-poo those that want the story or see James Bond be James Bond as a suave lover of women. So, if Dom is your best buddy and he’s looking for his wife and you’re taking point on these missions when he goes through this heavy duty thing, I would never begrudge the people that have a connection to Dom but I can totally see why people who just want to chainsaw fools would want to move on. I see both justified, but I definitely wasn’t going to do, “Maria!” [mouth fart]. There’s no way.
TVGB: You had to pay it justice because you felt it deserved that and needed to go there as, more or less, an evolutionary step for the medium.
CF: Absolutely. And the people that talk about the future of games have been very kind and generous with their praise for what that scene meant to gaming. For better or for worse, there are criticisms. I’m a fan, so I see it all and I like criticism. I have plenty of performances of myself that are cringe-worthy that I see and go, “What the hell was I thinking?” That being said, if I felt the Maria scene was cringe-worthy, I’d be right with those that don’t like it. I don’t like melodrama and I stand very firmly behind the scene. I hope that it’s encouraged voice acting in games to try a little harder.
TVGB: How did you end up getting the part of Michael Corleone in The Godfather II?
CF: I worked really hard to get the part of Michael. It started like any other audition, with me reading for a confidential project that I didn’t know what it was. Once I knew what it was, I started jumping through hoops because I wanted it really badly. My main motivator and I’ll go on record with anybody, is I couldn’t live with myself thinking anybody was going to fuck Michael Corleone up. I told the people when I was working on the game that I prepared for the gig my entire life because I’m one of those people that can do every line of the first two movies; every character straight through. I come from a patriarchal Latin-Italian family and the parallels have always been there. We have jokes about all the mantras and dogma from those movies that have really played into my family.
TVGB: You were concerned, because you’re such a fan of the franchise, that someone would come in and do a caricature of Pacino?
CF: That’s what I was afraid of. That was my #1 fear. People who have known me my whole life, when they found out I got the gig, beyond being happy, they looked at me like, “Of course, who else?!” They knew if somebody else had gotten it I probably would’ve talked about it like I was obsessed for the rest of my life.
TVGB: You would’ve been in a straight jacket going “Hoo-hah!”
CF: [Laughs] Totally. “I’m the Don! I’m the Don!” I did do a jump punch when it worked out and everyday going to work was a pleasure. Hearing my voice coming out of Michael, talking to Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen and saying iconic lines from the movie, it was one thing to do them in the booth but was everything and more that I could hope for. I was blown away.
TVGB: How did you prepare your own interpretation of Michael Corleone? He’s one of the most famous characters in film history and that’s no bullshit.
CF: It was the dilemma that fed the process. Rather than run from it and be like, “I can’t do that,” I thought, “What can I do?” What I can do is make sure to respect the property and have total respect for what’s behind every word and motivation. I’ve taken over parts in the past, on a theater scale, that people identify certain actors with and I’m just the guy wearing the suit. For this game, my process was I wanted to make sure to never forget who originally wore the suit. That was my own personal stake in it because I have such respect for Pacino’s work. For me, especially as a kid growing up in an Italian-Irish neighborhood, the Michaels of the world would want to kill me if I got it wrong.
TVGB: They’d put a stallion head in your bed.
CF: Exactly. Now, in terms of what you do with the opportunity, if you’re going to embrace and respect the legend, I did all that script work I do with all the games and all the scripts. This was an opportunity to not just put my own stamp on it, but to make sure I got it right. Me talking to Tom [Hagen], when he says to me, “You’ve won, Michael.” It’s a trip hearing Duvall say it right to me because it’s Duvall in the game, not from the movie.
TVGB: So it’s new?
CF: Totally fresh. Duvall says, “Do you have to eliminate everybody?” And my response is, “No, just my enemies.” I know that line the way Pacino says it and I never once had to fight the impulse to mimic. It was more about doing the line correctly and legitimizing it. I was thrilled by what I saw in the trailer because I thought it told the story and moved it along perfectly. You’ve got the player character, Dominic, who’s overhearing his Don and soon-to-be new Consiglerie — his lawyer and advisor — in an iconic moment in the film’s, now the game’s, history. I was pleased my line was different. If you’ve heard the trailers I do all kinds of things with my voice; there’s the voice, the dialect and I don’t sound like I do right now.
TVGB: Do you speak Italian in the game?
CF: I speak the way Michael should sound, without getting real specific. I don’t think anyone will be disappointed…I hope not.
TVGB: We’ll see. [dagger stare]
CF: Doing that iconic line was a perfect example because I got to see what I was most concerned about getting right and it turned out it wasn’t about getting it right, it was about doing it right. I’m not trying to match Pacino or create the new Michael. Again, it was legitimizing the character.
TVGB: There are going to be those that say there’s no reason for a game. Do you feel what’s there works?
CF: I am the perfect candidate. I could be one of those people having a debate about it at a university. Honest to God, not just because I worked on The Godfather II, I stand by them completely. We’ve talked about the future of videogames; I think this is a really perfect example. The future of games and properties like this is they’re neither complements to the movies nor, unless someone’s really trying like Enter the Matrix…
TVGB: And failed. Because it was miserable. Did you have anything to do with that?
CF: [Laughs] I did not but I have Enter the Matrix. I was a Matrix freak and loved the movie so a game…hell yeah!
TVGB: Coming from that mentality and I think we can both agree the Matrix game was crap. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, I hate the game.
CF: [Laughs] What I’m saying is, then, it was a complement to the movie. There was the game and movie acting as one entertainment franchise universe. I think we’re far away from that now. Josh Ortega said it best to a crowd of comic fans in NY. He said, “A lot of people are thinking like our parents did when we were kids. We should not forget that mentality of would you rather be at a movie or be in the movie.” Any kid wants to be in the movie! Videogames, even though its baby steps, I think with games like The Godfather incorporating all these elements and taking a strong franchise, they’ve got to know what they’re doing because it’s got to be something new and exciting. I don’t want to think like our parents and worry if it complements the movie because the game isn’t going next to my copy of the movies on Blu-ray; it’s going with my games and I think that’s how it should be.
TVGB: Would you say Michael is your most gratifying role?
CF: The most gratifying role I’ve had to date is Dominic Santiago. There’s just no two ways about it. Michael is definitely one of the greatest privileges of my career and I feel honored to even be considered. Everytime I hear my voice coming out of that character in the trailers, I don’t feel like, “That’s such a good job I did,” but rather, “I’m so thankful I got to do that before I died.” That’s where it’s different; I’m so gratified by Dom and I’d love to take Dom anywhere they wanted to take him.
TVGB: A spin-off? A variety show?
CF: Dom Santiago presents: The Maria Santiago Tribute Dancers! [Laughs] Ok, this should tell you a lot of where I’m at as a performer. When I watch commercials for Tide, bleach, peanuts, whatever and I see someone playing a superhero that’s not DC or Marvel and they get to shoot a web or fly or lift up a car, I go, “That is so cool!” And that’s the moth guy selling bleach.
TVGB: [Laughs] You’re a nerd, dude! You want to be a superhero in a frickin’ bleach commercial! Would you ever want to make your own game?
CF: Absolutely. All I can say is Josh Ortega and I are working on a property that’s first and foremost a comic. It’s a superhero and it’s a Latin guy. People kind of ran with it that it was a Latino superhero which, the message I didn’t want to send is it’s not a stereotype, but moreover it’s not all about somebody that happens to be Latin that’s also a superhero. It’s more about humanizing and giving some sort of depth and background. There’s hope for a game.
TVGB: Were there any recent game properties you wish you could’ve been a part of?
CF: So many. Having been around Capcom, seeing how they throw a party and how proud they were of Street Fighter IV‘s and Resident Evil 5‘s launches. I would’ve liked to have been involved because it’s a cool company and cool properties with great history.
TVGB: Gears of War is becoming like Resident Evil, in a way. Ten years down the line it won’t be dead.
CF: I never take for granted the Gears of War universe. If anything I’m humbled by it and I kind of try to downplay it. I think it’s in my nature as a geek and as a fan of all these things that are fun in my life to want and tell the whole world how great it is. I have a bootleg Gears money clip and phone skin. Everything that’s been for sale legitimately that’s Gears of War, I have them all. It really is a dream come true for me and when the Dominic Santiago action figure out came out it was one of the greatest days of my life. I have had action figures my entire life; my collection takes over my house completely. It goes beyond an obsession so the idea I’m affiliated with anything that spawns a toy that kids and adults can play with, myself included, I’m totally humbled by it.
TVGB: Any parting words?
CF: I take what I do really seriously. When my critics go, “We dug it,” it’s beyond a sigh of relief for me. All an actor wants — forget the money — a real creative person wants people to respond positively to what they do. The only way I feel I’m doing the people right who are purchasing these properties or listen to me jabber on in an interview or podcast is I try to do a good job; I try to justify the script and I want to be a fan. I can’t imagine being the kind of person that would sit down for an interview and be asked, “What was it like to play Dom?” or “What was it like to play Michael?” and I say, “You know what, it was so long ago I don’t remember.” I’m not that guy.
