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Baldur's Gate 3: Neil Newbon talks his influences for Astarion and his love of D&D
Astarion actor Neil Newbon details the array of influences behind his award-winning performance in Baldur's Gate 3
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If you've been out of the loop in all things gaming, actor Neil Newbon's performance as Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3 captured the hearts of gamers everywhere in the wake of the game's release, leading to a win for Best Performance at the Game Awards last year - so obviously, we were excited to speak to him about playing the vampire spawn elf rogue at New York Comic Con 2024.
For Newbon, there was a lot that went into bringing Astarion to life. The actor detailed how everything from a stray cat to three friends of his impacted his performance as Astarion. We also spoke about the uniquely healing journey that the character can go on in Baldur's Gate 3, thanks to the game's emphasis on possibility. Baldur's Gate 3 is a game that can be played over and over again, with new discoveries to be made every time.
Part of what has made Baldur's Gate 3 such a hit among gamers is that it marries the intimate experience of tabletop roleplaying games with the lush storytelling of big-budget video games. Larian Studios' game elegantly brought to life the deep roleplaying, storytelling quirks, decades of lore, and world of possibilities of Dungeons & Dragons in a video game, which is no small feat whatsoever.
With this in mind, I wanted to ask Neil Newbon about his roots with Dungeons & Dragons, and what kind of characters he likes to play the most. (In my own D&D campaigns, I can't seem to get away from playing as a Drow, for instance.) Learning firsthand from Newbon about the significance that D&D has had in his own life was lovely.
Watch the video above for the whole conversation with Neil Newbon, including a moment where he speaks in the voice of Fibonacci, a fish character he played in Warframe.
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