Voice acting is a part-and-parcel of almost every game we play these days – and while not every voice actor is as, er, prolific as Nolan North, they do get around in the VO industry.

Just like normal acting, voice actors fill many roles across many different kinds of genres – but not dealing with visual cues and having their faces in the spotlight, means that their “range” has to be significantly wider.

And if you do a little bit of hunting, you might be surprised how wide some voice actors can spread their wings and how the the most contrasting characters are linked by the voice behind them.

Ali Hillis

Did you know that Final Fantasy XIII’s Lightning is also a seductively blue extra-terrestrial? Actress Ali Hillis has made a name for herself more for her roles on-screen – but she’s fast becoming a recurring name on game’s credit lists.

She’s also done voice work in Castlevania, Valkria Chronicles – as well as a role as Dr. Ariel Hanson in StarCraft 2

John Di Maggio

The raspy voice behind Marcus Fenix is no stranger to voice over work – especially considering as he’s been the voice behind Futurama’s hilariously malicious Bender. Bet you didn’t see that one coming, eh?

Not only that, you can also blame Mr. Di Maggio for the annoyance that it Wakka from Final Fantasy X. Now you know where to send the hatemail.

Other video game voice credits go mostly in Marvel/DC games, with John voicing the big guys like Rhino, Juggernaut and even Tekken’s Craig Marduk.

Claudia Black

Another voice that’s been popping up almost as much as Nolan North is the sultry British tones of Claudia Black.

Whether she’s giving Nathan Drake attitude as Chloe Frasier; feeding her love/hate relationship with Baird as Gears of War 3’s Sam; or being the endlessly acidic Morrigan in Dragon Age – her voice is instantly recognizable, but each character is portrayed uniquely.

Plus she really does have a sexy voice.

Roger Craig Smith

With such a posh-sounding name, you’d find it hard to believe that Mr Smith is the voice behind the very Italian Assassin we all love.

Indeed, Ezio Auditore is credited to Roger Smith – who also happens to be the voice of Resident Evil 5’s Chris Redfield.

Sticking to super class heroes? Well, you can throw Sonic in there too then, and even a dash of Tekken’s Eddie Gordo. Impressed yet?

Tara Strong

So what do Bubbles from the Powerpuff girls, Rikku from Final Fantasy and Harley Quinn have in common? Why, Tara Strong, of course! Looking at Tara’s list of credits, you can’t help but be amazed at her contrasting roles.

From sweet, naive Bubbles, to a foul-mouthed, racist Princess Clara in Drawn Together, you can see why games developers seek her out for the roles that require that feminine touch – with a slight hint of bad-assery.

Loads of secondary roles, big titles like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Jak & Daxter and many Marvel games – Tara Strong’s video game VO resume is as strong as her name.

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