Troy Baker is a well-established and popular voice actor known for his brilliant portrayal of Joel in The Last of Us series. Baker’s great voice acting roles have gained him a massive fan following and also a great reputation in gaming communities.
Despite all of this success, when Baker was asked to step into the role of Nathan Drake’s brother, Sam in Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Theif’s End, he knew that would be a significant and intimidating challenge even with his great resume.
The Weight of Expectations on Troy Baker
The role of Sam Drake was a very big one in the Uncharted series as he is the brother of the main protagonist, Nathan Drake. Baker’s task to implement a natural dynamic between Nathan and his brother Sam was why the role was a challenge. He needed to create a relationship between characters that should feel authentic and compelling.
Baker was well aware of his tasks and naturally was feeling a good amount of pressure. In an interview, he told about his emotions before the role in Uncharted: “I hope I’m not the one that screws this up and makes this bad!”. He knew every game and every character had their own set of challenges.
To prepare and get ready for the role, Baker talked to the Director of Uncharted, Neil Druckmann. Druckmann told him, “You know, there’s almost 300 people that are making this game – and it’s a really good game – you’re not going to mess this up.”
With the motivation from Druckmann, Baker realized he had to give his best and think of Sam Drake’s role more naturally. His exact words were:
I realised, and he helped me realise, that it’s all ego, because this is Uncharted. I could be bad and the game’s still going to be good. I’m not the one who can single handedly bring down this franchise. So once I kind of got over myself, then I could just listen to Sam and find where he fits into the story.
Baker’s wholehearted hardwork towards his role paid off. His role as Sam Drake was praised and he gave Nathan Drake’s story a fitting conclusion.
Crafting the Perfect Bond between Nathan and Sam Drake
The relationship between Nathan and Sam Drake was an integral story element in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. The game showed the brothers are back together and Baker was tasked with showing that emotion with his voice.
Baker wanted to ensure that Sam was not just a side role but a fully-fledged character with his own motivations. To achieve that, Baker teamed up with Nathan’s Voice actor Nolan North to ensure their performances were in sync. Also to make sure they can convey the brotherly bond of the characters.
At last, Troy Baker did not fail to deliver the performance. Instead, he delivered a memorable one that made sure it was worthy of the Uncharted series and even left a good impression of Sam Drake on fans.
