Baldur's Gate 3 Interview: Neil Newbon Talks Astarion and the Art of Performance Capture

[@kiterafrey]

Neil says stop him, but we love listening to him being passionate. As someone with ADHD too, I'm also self conscious I'm talking too much, but Neil's passion is contagious. I could listen to him hyper-fixate on topics he's passionate about for hours.

[@nunpho]

Yesss, have ADHD plus I'm autistic and I just love listening to people like Neil. Hearing passionate people go off is great.

[@antoniatheda3335]

I saw this comment and as a fellow ADHDer, I felt this in my soul.

[@soshy.illustration9454]

What an amazing and fun interview! You both really let him talk and go into depth about motion performance and everything that comes with it - which is just fantastic! All the love he gets is well deserved! Neil loves to talk about his passion and we all love to listen! ❤

[@carolxs]

I love seeing voice actors get more visibility! Neil deserves it, and so do the writers and developers involved

[@coolguy2179]

He is not a voice actor! He is an Actor!!

[@carolxs]

@@coolguy2179 would you feel better if I say "actors who voice characters in games"? Voice actors are actors. It's not demeaning to add a descriptor just to make the point that actors who do characters voices don't get the same visibility as those who appear on camera. For me it's the same as saying "game designer", "computer engineer"...

[@coolguy2179]

@@carolxs yeah but he did not just do voice work! He played it on cam! Then they Animated his performance! So its him! Noy just voice! So wrong to say voice actor! Its Actor!

[@defonthana]

he has sooo many nuances in his voice...even little laughs and chuckles are adding so much depth to the character! i love his range from sassy to melancholic and sad loveable ♡♡♡ yes i know astarion is the hot one but what i love is the hidden pain is what really captures him for me

[@Brassroses]

Same. I saw all the art on Tumblr long before I played and I was aware Astarion was a pretty boy, but didn't care that much. It was the emotion behind the character and the nuance of the performance that sold me on being my absolute favorite

[@mirelancholic]

It's so refreshing to see hard-working people truly cherishing their work and inspiring others as well. Neil's eloquent and insightful answers reveal his passion for what he does, and expressing such genuine passion is a quality denoting the utmost care and commitment. It becomes mesmerizing to listen to. Purely magical. Also, the fact that he never misses a chance to express his gratitude for the people he's worked with and the opportunities he's been offered truly makes him a wholesome human being. He knows he's very competent, yet he stresses how his success and accomplishments are gifts and blessings to him. I'm glad I discovered such a talented actor and got to enjoy the fruits of his labor in Baldur's Gate 3. Thank you for putting up this interview, it was highly appreciated. We need to hear more stories of capable individuals who can inspire others through their strong dedication, much like Neil :)

[@rosefamilia3169]

Even when he is being a bit sick here he is still very passionate about his craft. I admire his work ethics :D

[@arbsan8366]

Absolutely love how passionate Neil is for working on Baldur’s Gate and for his career in general! He seems like a great person to work with!

[@vonvard9765]

What a great insight. Can tell he loves the craft and incredibly talented as an actor.

[@hydro_pyro]

He and the writer did an amazing job with Astarion. The game is massive and incredible, and as much as I’ve played I’m still finding new things and experiencing new depths with Astarion. Haven’t had a chance to focus on an it her companion yet!

[@KezzieWarcraft]

Not just an amazingly talented actor but a human being with a heart of gold. Forever cheering on Neil and people like him who exude nothing but love

[@SakuraTbh]

He answeres each question so eloquently. You can trurly tell he is so passionate about his work and its honestly beyond inspiring not just passtionate about his work but about his love for this game too. I hope you knows how loved he is as a person and actor by the community of this game 😊

[@birdsrneat]

This was actually so interesting! I could listen to Neil talk about mocap and voice acting for so long. 😂

[@katiatall]

Thank you for the interview. Neil is really passionate about his work and it’s amazing.

[@ThatMissQuin]

Wonderful conversation. Astarion's story helped me too and I haven't even finished the game. I'm so grateful.

[@bp6h]

Yooo that was a bad ass interview!!! Thank y’all so much for setting it up.

[@ElfWithAKnife]

What a wonderful human.

[@anunez3450]

Neil is an amazing actor i was so excited when i found out he was both nemesis and Nikolai and him being astarion is the cherry on the top.

[@angelstarlight6030]

Firing a cannon powered by the sun onto Astarion the comments when I resurrected him was too funny 🤣🤣

[@bunnybi4910]

You two were fantastic interviewers! And Neil was such a joy to listen to 💕 Thank you so much for sharing this with us! First time on your channel - but this just happened to be recommended to me, and I’m glad I checked it out!

[@3Askya3]

I really enjoy seeing the amount of passion Neil puts into his job, the game. Amazing interview. I loved watching it!

[@xanaminx]

This is the best interview with him I have ever seen. Thank you 🙏🏼

[@karikasumi888]

Such a great interview. Loved the questions and how enlightening his responses were. 🎉

[@ecenker]

Collider Extras, thank you for quality questions, and an interview masterfully led. And of course thanks a whole bunch to Neil Newbon who answered each of your questions tirelessly and in depth.

[@apocodino3785]

Absolutely loved this interview and love Neil! Thank you for having him!

[@tulayamama7578]

Thank you for this wonderful interview. The question are really good. That shows when Mister Neil Newbon gives a wonderful explanation. Thank you for this.

[@gamewrit0058]

23:39 "Because the camera can be put in afterwards."😲🙌💖 And simultaneously catching wide and close-up shots.

[@Writing_in_Rags]

Really great interviewers and great questions. Thank you!

[@heroizumi]

The freeze frame laugh at the end XDD Gotta love it!! Really fun interview, thank you very much!

[@jevriend4992]

Great job. I didn't like Astarion the first time I played the game, but I learned he makes the game more fun

[@dra2521]

Neil, i love listening to you talk. I literally put on your interviews at work while im fixing cars, it makes the busy work more manageable. Youre a true artist and it's cathartic to listen to you talk about your work.

[@ChristopherAnders-dd4hd]

All the voice actors and actress di a very good job on characters. They are my new friends in game

[@be_the_sky_girl]

Great interview, thanks a lot, it was really so interesting to hear Neil's story

[@mimma904]

that end tho nicely done

[@MelRay373]

30:27 “Everybody has seen everything as far as I know off” … one month later: the epiloge 😉

[@notanplant]

I love the part where he talks about method acting and how motion capture works, I love to see educated people talking passionately about their crafts Funny that when he started talking about "method acting" I immediately thought of Jared Leto's joker lol

[@K0dakHalfBlack]

So nice to hear his voice after Astarian left my party 😂

[@Spideywebz73]

Oh, wow. Just this once, the actor who voices a favourite character is *lovely*. No wonder I love Astarion so much. And I'm a queer trauma survivor myself. Neil has used that amazing voice to give me a character that I can identify with completely.

[@Gray1995.]

Neil is amazing

[@Monochrome_11]

Cool BG3 shirt

[@anoykoaoi]

Neilstarion leaves me speechless

[@AnnaRandomTangentsJohnstone]

I hit the wrong button on one run through stopped the ritual and seriously upset him. Told me he hoped I died screaming. Whoops.

[@mcolville]

LASER CANNON?! What?! Where?!?

[@sparks1455]

Githyanki creche!

[@petitmeowmeow]

Neil doesn't watch his work back but I wonder how he feels about watching clips of his streams or interviews where he's being himself?

[@valentina7590]

the intro to your video is very bad for people with epilepsy/photosensitivity so please fix it, it gave me a headache

[@melissaamato1139]

So bleak, is if you decide not to take Astarion's Character with you, as your team member. As one player did, ñ sadly found out, if you look for him, you don't find him, Casabore, get's a hold of him. Go to the Manor, on your play, ñ sadly you will find Cas, Decimate Cas. Seek for your Companion, you never had. Ñ poor Astarion's Remain's, are left behind ñ a splatter, called darkly, enough. Here lyes 🩸🩸 Zombie Astarion...💔🪦🥀 So the TAV player (you + your party) Find out, 😮Astarion was definitely destroyed by Cas's ritual. 🥺Ah, oops... Later you find out, you let him down. Ñ he counted on you TAV, you let him down big time, as if not trusting him, ñ staking this very amusing, dark, lovely sad boi Character DOWN, MORE THEN ANY OTHER❤️‍🩹 CHARACTER IN THE BG³ fam. Ok... Hope you saved when you meet Astarion ( Soo many's fav Char. His name is Elfish for Lil Star before the cruel Vampire Lord, took poor Starry, ñ turned him into a Vampire Spawn.✨🧝🏻‍♀️✨) Neil is a Bigger Star, giving, ñ great bigger hearted Human being. Thank you. This was soo good. You did good Bless U all out there. 👩🏻‍🚀🐶✨🌜✨❤️‍🩹

[@birdsrneat]

Huh

[@ningenKami]

Cutie ( ･ิω･ิ)

[@auroraarchangel369]

having ascended astarion to call me his pet/consort and to sit naked on his lap while he rules the world.......sorry that ain't scary for me xDDD

[@dominika3762]

It's not? Being treated as inferior? Having less free will, losing your agency? Being made to sit naked, even if you didnt want to? It seems that people are so different.

[@auroraarchangel369]

indeed people are different,and some people,including me,like that,and him as a sadistic dom daddy. the game itself even tells you later 'but perhaps you like that' lmao @@dominika3762

[@hmmmidk6690]

@@dominika3762you’re assuming that didn’t want to

[@dominika3762]

@@hmmmidk6690 judging by the XD's it was supposed to be funny. I don't think that keeping someone on a leash or a slave is healthy. I also think romanticising really toxic behaviour is not good, society wise. I won't come to your home to tell you how to play. But I think it's valid to call it out, especially if some younger, impressionable people were to read or see it. People get stuck in bad relationships all around the world, why normalise it?

[@hmmmidk6690]

@@dominika3762 i was just joking but it’s supposed to be a bad ending, right? Plus the game isn’t meant for younger even though there are some playing. It’s not meant for them.

[@VandalXXI]

I was unreasonably upset at when he offered to answer as Astarion and dude was so dismissively "you can if you want" so Neil ended up not doing it. Unbelievable missed opportunity.