How Nerding Out Over STAR WARS Landed SAM WITWER Countless Roles in the Franchise

[@andrewvasquez7872]

Sam is a representation of how much being a nerd about what you do if youre in the arts/entertainment industry can pay off. Do you have to be the best? Absolutely not. Should you be good at what you do? Absolutely. But the ones that are the most special are the ones that are both good at what they do but also love it soo much that they are nerds about it.

[@rtstrong]

if you're not a fan of Star Wars after five minutes of Witwer, you're just not listening to him.

[@CYB3R2K]

​@Ryan Gallagher not really, tell that to poor people that are forced to do shit jobs

[@zackhall635]

​@@CYB3R2K he said should, I concur

[@KuraMad2000]

Nerding out is one thing, but I hope he's also getting paid enough to pay the bills.

[@denen404]

his pure passion kinda leads you to that lol@@rtstrong

[@TheFiddleFaddle]

Man, the way he just slips into and out of voices is brilliant. I love voice actors. It's a talent Hollywood keeps disrespecting.

[@jimmy22334]

That's why I'm glad they are starting to strike. AI will never replace the natural talent of a real person.

[@StepSisRUstuck]

That's why I love family guy aswell the amount of voices seth McFarlane can do he can literally have conversation with himself in 5 different voices 😂

[@LycanLucian]

He is not a bad traditional actor either. I loved him in Being Human. Don't get me wrong as a voice actor he is top tier, but not bad at screen acting too.

[@MKUltraed]

same with motion capture artists and stunt people

[@TheFiddleFaddle]

@@MKUltraed Maybe mo-cap more than stunt people, but fair point.

[@CyGea]

I REALLY want to see Sam in live-action Star Wars, on The Mandalorian, Ashoka, or as a member The Skeleton Crew.

[@Dresden_Nova]

All of the above

[@Bloxham2012]

Because Starkiller is OP (he is let's be real) they could easily do Maul's journey between 3-4 and have him voice him with Ray Parks, they had Maul in Solo so they could move on from that at the very least

[@leonlopez2441]

Who was he in the Mandolorin

[@potkan07]

@@Bloxham2012 he's not really that OP, in books he's on level like Kenobi, he's OP only in-game for the experience

[@ShiffDawgMan]

@@potkan07 The problem though is that the vast majority of people would recognize him from the game. So when/if he were ever put in a show and gets his ass beat by some girl who's used a lightsaber one time (kinda like how a certain sith did that got a whole movie hyping him up to be one of the most powerful sith ever, but we'll just pretend that didn't happen), and wouldn't ya know it, then you've got a whole debacle on your hands because people are screaming "this guy is one of the most powerful people in star wars" then you've got the other crowd screaming "you all are just sexist and bigots" and what do you know it's the sequel sequels. In conclusion, this is why I hope that we never, EVER, see Starkiller in star wars again.

[@jerro9996]

That obvious remark about how Vader would taught Galen Marek how to meditate in a Sith way was genius😮

[@jamesdorsey5503]

I love when actors, who are fans of an ip, get casted in that ip. They show their passion in the acting and they respect the series. Henry Cavill is another great example. They also respect the fans but trying to stay loyal to those series. Now it seems when fans criticize shows because of how it radically diverges from the source material we are told we have no right to criticize and if we do it’s because we are bigots.

[@Slender_Man_186]

@@Squeekysquid and none of what you said excuses how Disney portrays ALL of their critics as bigots regardless of if the criticism has anything to do with sex or race. For example: Rey was a Mary Sue, I won’t re-list all of the reason why she’s one that you’ve probably heard before, but I will say that this would be still a major problem for the story even if the character was a Gary Stu instead. For another: Reva, the Third Sister in the Obi Wan series, was just a worse version of Trilla, the Second Sister from the game Jedi: Fallen Order, except Reva is rewarded for failure and disobedience while Trilla’s only mistake was not being strong enough to stop Cal. Of course those are far from the only criticisms I could levy at the Sequels and the Obi Wan show, but the fact that I criticisized Rey and Reva *at all* makes me a sexist and racist bigot as far as Disney and their official social media accounts are concerned.

[@al112v4]

@@Slender_Man_186 People EASILY forgets the Prequels were a thing and nothing has changed since 1999. Don't like something? Cool man, it's called taste, but STOP pretending as if everything before 2012 was perfect and 'DiSnEy RuInS EvErYtHiNg' (yes Disney is bad but it's not the main point here). So again, why are people still using excuses to try to be a victim here? We're all fans, we might like different things, stop creating issues out of nowhere because something you don't really like iches you, plain and simple. I thought Rogue One was boring as hell and Andor is a huge superior version of it, so what? It's just my opinion, that's it, it's okay to have opinions, some wanna act like children regardless of 'sides'? Let them be, it's 2023, start using your own brain instead of using other voices to try to gain.. anything(?) the way many fans use Sam's voice as the only legitimate way to enjoy the new SW material, or damn, Mark Hamill himself to this day misleading his words as if he hated the new movies when in reality he was slightly confused by his portrayal but deep down he even calls Luke 'Jake' as a joke by how many times the character has changed since the Legends days, about how it’s not his character anymore, but people still believe he speaks for them lol

[@Slender_Man_186]

@@al112v4 oh you mean the Prequels that were good? The Prequels that were canned by Hollywood shills that hated Lucas since his little Indie films blew up, the same people who later acted like Episode 7 was a “return to form” when it was really just a lazy rehash of ANH? Tell me, when did George deflect criticism against Jar Jar by calling everyone racist because he was played by a black actor? Oh right, he didn’t, in fact Ahmed himself said most of the hate was coming from the media, not the fans.

[@FuzzySamurai]

​@@Slender_Man_186 spot on man. and it's ironic for disney too because they literally did a bait and switch with the sequels, the marketing was so focused on finn then they switched it to rey instead. even John Boyega knew what was happening.

[@jcnad890]

I love how Sam uses the shape of his mouth to bring out a character. i learned this from screaming death metal vocals, and man its so important when creating a sound, the chamber you carry it through.

[@D_Ella1269]

Nice! I think we take things like that for granted in our everyday lives, but it's so true.

[@AsBreeIAmFree]

I've been a Sam Witwer fan since Smallville and I knew he did The Force Unleashed and The Clone Wars but he just took my appreciation up another level! I was amazed with his voice acting the moment I found out it was him in The Clone Wars as Maul, after initially believing it was the original actor, however, I am absolutely blown away by this clip and seeing his Palpatine impression! Insane talent! Thank you, Sam! Michael, thank you so much for this as well: for asking the right questions and encouraging the impressions! I haven't had an ear-to-ear grin like I did just now in a long time! 👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@petrsidlo7614]

If you somehow havent seen it, he plays Maul SW Rebels too. I higly recommend watching his scenes and then finding the clip of him talking about the Maul vs Kenobi scene. The amount of attention Sam gives to the role is amazing and I firmly believe it would not be half as good if anyone else was playing it.

[@AsBreeIAmFree]

@@petrsidlo7614 I’ve definitely seen Rebels! But I haven’t seen that clip with him discussing the scenes with Kenobi. I’ll will definitely look for it! Thanks!

[@petrsidlo7614]

@@AsBreeIAmFree Got it! I had to rewatch after all that time. Video name - Sam Witwer on Darth Maul & Obi-Wan Kenobi Battle from Star Wars Rebels "Twin Suns"

[@jackchn23]

Have you guys seen the video of Sam voice acting next to Clancy Brown (Savage Oppress, Mr. Crabs…)? Clancy geeks out a little when Sam yells KENOBI! as Maul.

[@seldomsane5278]

He was in Battlestar Galactica also.

[@lohengrin5082]

Forget his connections, this man landed those roles cause he’s straight up brilliant!! The way he just did George Lucas and Dave filoni was awesome

[@NephiylusBaphson]

Luck and skill are key ingredients in the recipe for success

[@michaelbenefield5644]

I first saw Sam Witwer in Being Human I loved that show but I had no idea how truest talented he is

[@robertcook5049]

0:33 he mimics George perfectly. Stopping mid sentence and the laugh afterwards

[@yasuke1709]

I didn't know he voiced the son and Maul. His Maul voice is so captivating, as soon as he speaks you can't help but listen

[@disappointedfather5114]

I came here to hear the bit about Sith meditation again. If I was in the production team I would've been so stoked this guy auditioned

[@yellalot101]

Sam Witwer was born for Star Wars!

[@rc59191]

It's fitting since he started out on Battlestar Galactica.

[@alexanderpanayi7212]

Agreed

[@Michael20]

Even his initials line up lmao

[@presko4686]

3:55 if I didn't know better I would think he did the phantom menace too. He sounded exactly like maul from the movie 🔥

[@kkhasthoughts2712]

I can’t emphasize how much I love and respect this man 😭 Definitely can’t wait for more of his projects. What would be an absolute dream is if Force Unleashed would be remade. Just for the fans and for old times’ sake 😢

[@mitchelkvedar674]

I knowww

[@unlimitedpower3157]

I could legit listen to Sam talk about Star Wars for hours on end. His passion and knowledge behind it is just great to witness and inspires me to delve deep about the universe and the meticulous details within it. It reminds me of talk with my uncle.

[@cbstevp]

The first thing I ever saw Sam in was Battlestar Galactica as Crashdown. Did a great job as an officer in over his head in a desperate situation.

[@karadan100]

Yeah man he totally sold that part. He does excellent confused/terrified/stressed facial expressions.

[@xvaderxkiller5190]

Sam is genuinely one of the greatest things to happen to Star Wars. Being a nerd on what you’re doing and also being talented is amazing. I wish more people were as passionate as Sam when it comes to their roles and can help with the vision of what they’re doing.

[@SeeYaSpike]

He’s in my top 5 favorite voice actors. He has such passionate personality that transfers into his characters

[@DiscoRaptor]

4:11... Jesus H Christ... the way he slips straight in to Maul... 👏

[@ARC117Studios]

Listened to the entire episode, absolutely was not disappointed, I could listen to Sam ramble about nerd shit all day ❤

[@ThunderCaZ]

Dude is the Top Fuel Dragster of Star Wars Voice Actors. He’s the main event that makes everyone buy a ticket to see the show and then they go tell all their friends that they gotta see the show now because this dude was EpiC! Love it!! 👏👏👏👍💯

[@DBlock_11x]

Sam Witwer is the man!!! He couldn’t be less of a diva or something like that. He’s like us fans!!! Guy loves this stuff man, he even streams games like SW on Twitch

[@tygerstripes3752]

That's such a brilliant encapsulation of how one piece of acting training reverberates throughout the career and leads to a role, which leads to another role -- I loved hearing this!

[@mrtommypickelz3441]

Sam Witwer deserves so much more praise. He's so talented! If he were live action Darth Maul, I wouldn't have a problem with that. He nailed the role and every other role. 🥂

[@BIGBMH]

Sam Witwer has such an incredible talent for voices. Combined with his acting ability, he's one of my all-time favorite voice actor so it's really cool to learn how he got the opportunity to start this side of his career. It has also been great to see him make his mark on Star Wars, because the actors with that combination of talent and passion bring so much not just to their performances, but in how they connect with the community.

[@TxDanRiv84]

IDGAF if it's not canon we need a live action Starkiller

[@CurveYourNerve]

YES

[@TheRealAbraxas]

You’d have to make him way less OP which I don’t have a problem with at all.

[@Duopierce]

One hell of a talented actor interviewing another incredibly talented actor. You're both geniuses at your craft.

[@christianrivera2674]

I recently binged Being Human with my mom, and this dude was awesome. He's her favorite character. Highly recommend the show.

[@Mymloch]

Don't you love it when an actor plays a role and is actually into the subject matter. I know there's plenty out there, but overall... so rare...

[@olgak.1139]

Such a mesmerising voice! He can read a catalogue and make it sound meaningful!

[@StevenMarcelo]

Great so now I'm going to have to binge watch "Being Human "again.

[@billdalton1477]

Watching two fabulous voice actors during this interview. Love it.

[@HolyHadou]

Glad to see him vibing and doing well. Everything that went down with the Force Unleashed and Days Gone was rough. Especially the Callisto Protocol.

[@tygerstripes3752]

'Rough'? I don't know this story. Do tell.

[@HolyHadou]

@@tygerstripes3752 Force Unleased 2 was released to middling reviews and considered overpriced DLC. Next game i recall seeing him in was Days Gone which was stuck in a bit of development hell but came out to more middling reviews due to its generic nature and somewhat buggy release. The game has since garnered a hardcore community that sings its praises since being patched up but its initial release left a lot to be desired. Unfortunately the same also occured for the Callisto Protocol. However, it was somewhat worse for Callisto, in that the gameplay loop itself was still divisive even after the bug fixes. The story also ended on a cliffhanger preDLC which left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. And most unfortunately I think he was barely in the game despite giving one of the better performances in a lot of people's opinions. At least if my recollection of things is accurate.

[@jesussheep07]

I’ve been in love with Sam Witwer since Smallville and Being Human, still so handsome and an amazing acting 😍

[@alcoholic2652]

Also...Sam does Palpy as well as Mike Stoklasa! High praise.

[@colechung7806]

Just listened to this episode this morning, Sam is a master at voice overs never expected a Walken impression 😌😆

[@ShikkenNaggets]

hope to see him and Michael together in future Star Wars projects.

[@ninepuchar1]

These kind of people bring life to the characters we love...

[@alcoholic2652]

Lex Luthor interviewing Doomsday is something else!

[@obiwanjebroni505]

sams proximity to people at lucas arts is what got him there at all. His awesome personality is what kept him there. Its who you know, then who you are, then its what you do and how well you do it. This is the truth of success in life and no one is gonna tell you the first two parts. Work on the first two before anything else and part 3 will come along with it most of the time.

[@DiogoExMarques]

I first realized who Sam was when I played Days Gone and connected the dots back to Force Unleashed, instant fan of his work especially in VO (Also, crazy how LucasArts was so ahead of their time with digitizing actors and performance capture. Kojima, Sucker Punch, Call of Duty etc. all do it now but back then it was nearly unheard of unless it was a celebrity cameo or sports game)

[@anti1training]

Yes! He musta been fun to interview with all those voices 🤣

[@nobodyexceptme7794]

Was just watching him on Twitch. Such a great fun guy.

[@That1Stormtrooper]

I chickened out talking to Sam at Dragon Con in 2021. Huge fan of his work and he was so happy talking to fans. Next time for sure I'll talk with him. Very cool story of how he got into the Star Wars universe. And Star Killers story is hands down my most requested to see in live action or animation. Make it happen Disney.

[@JacobLunbeck]

The Force Unleashed (PS2 Version) was and always will be my favorite video game of all time.

[@calvee1100]

THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH HIM!!!

[@benjaminr7359]

Big fan of both gentlemen, incredible talents! I lost it when Sam began doing voices 🤯👏👏👏

[@nickcastrellon909]

He is long overdue and extremely entitled to have a LIVE ACTION role in EVERY new Star Wars project going forward. I truly admire this guy's talent and passion.

[@VoiceNerd]

Every time he speaks about his commitment to Star Wars, it always makes me feel like a proud dad or whatever 😂 Just listening to him convince studio heads to do something different than what's expected because he understa ds the source material better than everyone else in the room is some fun to hear.

[@starpetalarts6668]

I would so give him the part of Dr. Doom's voice... another actor could be the body and/or face... but I want him to do his best Doom voice dubbed over the MCU.

[@FrederickLopez]

The force is strong with this one. It would be cool to see a spin-off or limited series adaptation of The Force Unleashed with Sam Witwer as Starkiller.

[@DeathstrokeIncGaming]

Don't think I've ever said this but the darth maul lines gave me chills. Palpatine was also insane.

[@sarahnadeofpoetry]

OMG, so he WAS in Julliard? I always figured he received some sort of classical training somewhere, and this makes so much sense. I knew he couldn't have just been another dude in LA trying to make it big. His acting is far too good for that. Woww.

[@BABAthaYAGA-kx9fu]

Darth Maul voice giving me all chills and goosebumps. This guy 🔥 🔥 🔥

[@Lucifronz]

He's right, too. The kind of passionate fan knowledge that made him "nerd out" with that role is exactly what made him perfect for the role. Sith don't have inner peace, they're embracing their darkest impulses. Hate, fear, sadness... those aren't things that make you zen. Well, maybe anger if you get to the point of seeing red, but meditation is just... not a Sith thing. It's kind of funny to hear that they didn't think that through, but at the same time I can completely understand how they got caught up in the idea of what a powerful Force-user would be like that they forgot that their image of it doesn't make much sense. I'm sure they could have made it work somehow if they really wanted to, but Sam's perspective was right. My first exposure to him was that game and I loved every minute of it. I hadn't yet played the Jedi Knight games, my first experience with Star Wars games was KOTOR (which I loved for its gameplay and story), so the in-depth Force powers were really cool to me and a completely unique experience. In fact even if you take into account the Jedi Knight games, with Jedi Academy having the best lightsaber combat in the series, Force Unleashed still has quite possibly the best Force power experience in the series. If you took the story depth of KOTOR 2, the lightsaber combat of Jedi Academy and the Force power combat of Force Unleashed and mashed them into one game, you could just print money off of it. Jedi: Fallen Order is a great soulslike and if you got rid of the jank of the movement system, there's plenty to incorporate into this "perfect Star Wars game" there too.

[@micaelasparrow650]

Such a deep understanding of the character when the character had barely begun. Love Sam Witwer

[@Lightwrath1994]

Sam is the Darkside incarnate... His voice, omg, his impressions, oh my god! Love this nerd! He is also our voice, tbh

[@jureigeeksoutoccasionally]

The way Witwer talks about Star Wars makes me feel a way about the series I haven’t felt in years, what a cool dude

[@wahn10]

One of our favourite actors in all of Star Wars. Would love to see him in a major live action role, in a series or movie. Sam's talent is limitless and his knowledge of Star Wars is vast.

[@Viking.warrior.94]

such a nerd. such a fan. such a great person. massive respect all the way, MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU

[@darkLord_Sith99]

Such an underrated talent and performer ! Thank Mr Witwer

[@wolviespartan]

Sam is great I love watching him on Twitch, he has such love and enthusiasm for so many things. I really want to like this video more than once.

[@kenstable1433]

His Maul is absolutely amazing.

[@_oriTech_]

would love to know that witwer is more involved in future star wars projects, he is rly a nice and true star wars nerd.

[@lucas8265]

That’s scary good. Almost perfect I’m sure Ian would be proud

[@Zygma]

I'm a huge Starkiller fan and have always wanted to see Sam play a live action movie of the Force Unleashed. He was so damn good in the games.

[@JelloFluoride]

I will bare knuckle brawl ANYONE who doesn't like Sam. He's our champion.

[@omarmahmood7128]

I just realised that George's influence has now extended to gaming. The original sequels transformed cinema. To become a spectacle and the use of ILM. The prequels (I don't care whether you love them or hate them, all the power to you) heavily used CGI. He was mocked at the time. But look at how films are made now. Another transformative impact. I'm a gamer. I love motion capture in gaming. I just realised that George was the pioneer. What a man.

[@pkill23]

Speaking of video games, Sams performance in Days Gone was amazing as well

[@SirAlmightyAllseeinjah718]

His impression of George is spot on, but his interpretation of how a Vader apprentice would meditate 🫡 genius! I never played the game but there is a scene in the trailer when he’s walking down the hallway meditating, perfect!

[@jchungTO]

I met Sam Witwer while in a Theatre in Canada. He was there just ordering, i believe ice cream and I was so shy to approach him. I know some actors don't like meeting strangers, who does? He acknowledge me and was so kind, he accidnetly dropped his ice cream bar. But Mr. Witwer was so kind and patient cause i think he knew i was nervous. He shook my hand and I praised his work in Star Wars Force Unleashed. He is so cool and i am a big fan of star wars. He is super awesome.

[@jamesc8722]

Wow this dude’s voice acting just made love to my ears, silk chocolate melting into my brain.

[@the1HLT]

Sam witwer IS star wars to me in many ways. A true legend and a joy to watch

[@dougf1249]

Ohh i love this! Man this is amazing watching

[@0292-q3l]

This dude deserves so much respect within the Star Wars universe.

[@MrCarpediem6]

he and Jensen Eckles remind me a lot of each other.. hard working, blue collared actors. and also what a great game!

[@niallotoole4991]

Sam is the man. Love his work in Star Wars and also in Days Gone

[@maestrozero117]

Awesome how much more there is to him after watching Being Human.

[@Bton1233]

When he said he played the son of mortis I lost my shit that’s sick this guy is the bomb

[@ssjcajas]

Sam is the gift that keeps on giving to the Star Wars universe.

[@zyphon7]

His voice acting is so good, holy smokes

[@nicholasparker3786]

Uncle Iroh said, "Follow your passion and it will reward you."

[@MMZERO9]

Witwer is another one of those actors who is incredibly versatile. There doesn’t seem to be any role he can’t do.

[@zekel787]

Sam visited the comic shop i worked at some years back. It was so cool. And fun fact, I sold him star wars comics unsurprisingly enough. I was pretty star struck. The friend he was with was super chill. I was like...."there is no [effing] way." And his buddie goes. "Yes way" and that went back and forth like 3 times before I continued my conversation with my friends who was visiting the store. I have a picture to prove it and everything.

[@AidanDownes_KH]

Sam is such a legend still can’t believe I got a video message from him.

[@fluffinsquirrels]

It took me way too long to realize that he voiced the son in that series of episodes. Makes sense why the son was so compelling

[@Mina-ok5qm]

He is very gifted. And blessed to be physically fit to transition into live action. He's good looking, he's really lucky. These voices were incredible.

[@Foustdoodles98]

Yessss!!! I absolutely loooove Sam!!! If I could I would love to give him the biggest hug EVER!!!!😍😭😭😭

[@dancechica]

Sam's voices are amazing

[@Kamikazibroadcast]

Sam and Dave must take over the star wars disney!!!! They are our only hope!!!

[@AmanOU2be]

Where is the clip of Sam talking about how they came up with either Maul or Starkiller as parts of Luke, parts of Han and whatnot?

[@skilifavas4016]

this guy is so talented. i loved his ps2 game

[@theBoonarmies]

that Ian McDiarmid impression is alarmingly good.

[@acetrigger1337]

Sam's Darth Maul always sounded like he was at the edge of committing genocide... but calmly and enjoying every second. It was twisted and engaging!

[@ryancronk6762]

Got chills when he did maul and palps, it's so great when a star wars nerd gets the role. Probably why Cavill was so perfect in the Witcher to bad he can't keep it up like witmer just so freaking good❤

[@grassyhill5830]

How awesome itd be to be sam both live action and voice acting roles and has a band

[@GKFF9872]

I really never expected Sam Witwer to be such a phenomenal voice actor nor be such a nerd for Star Wars.

[@taftmh]

Sam Witwer is an absolute dude, seems so down to earth. Glad he’s part of the Star Wars universe.

[@hylianjim6484]

Any time I do a Star Wars Saga Marathon, Force Unleashed is always essential to play through after Episode III for me, Sam Witwer as Starkiller was such a game changer!