An Interview with Luke Allen-Gale the Voice of Zenos Yae Galvus

Luke was so gracious to come on the channel and we had such a great time talking all sorts of different things from Zenos to acting in general. Such a bright, intelligent, and warm person. Huge shout out to my Patreon supporters for making this interview possible. There are Chapter markers for easy viewing though I recommend watching it in its entirety! (of course I would say that...eyeroll)
More About Luke:
Luke grew up in the British Westcountry. It’s pretty much home to JRR Tolkien’s inspiration, alongside swathes of Wales, for the Hobbits and Hobbiton. Super easy living. Beer comes in Pints though. I attended the prestigious Drama Centre London which has now sadly closed its doors and have been in all sorts of shows since graduating in 2008 including Ripper Street on BBC, Dominion on Syfy, Genius on Nat Geo. I was also in a terrible rebooted film for Doom (yes, that video game) and I’ve voiced many characters over the years for games like FFXIV, Forza & Ryse and film - Ghibli’s Arrietty. Check out my IMDB here: m.imdb.com/name/nm3012604/
showreels:
International Showreel: vimeo.com/724549088
Ads & Voice: vimeo.com/649162280
Cameo link
v.cameo.com/e/FFAaWDQwZsb
Marco's Links:
Support the Channel:
/ marcomeatball
If Memberships Aren't Your Thing:
ko-fi.com/marcomeatball
Join your fellow Warriors of Light Here:
/ discord
I Talk about Myself Here:
/ marcodmeatball
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:43 Were you Given a lot of Freedom in the Booth?
02:54 Did you Feel Pressure being a canon Final Fantasy Villain?
04:00 Finding the Truth in an "Evil" Character
05:00 What was the Physicality Of Zenos Like for You?
07:14 Does Zenos Peacock and Strut?
09:00 Spoiler Warning
09:26 How Does He Feel About the Resolution of Zenos?
10:50 Yin-Yang between Zenos and Warrior of Light
12:01 Zenos' Drug and Addiction
12:46 Discussing the Final Zenos Moments
13:47 What are your interactions with the Game Audience?
15:22 When did You wrap Recording?
16:51 What Decision Would Zenos Make At the End?
17:57 What Would Have Happened if Things Ended Differently?
18:26 Zenos Doesn't Die....
18:52 The Slow Growth From Stormblood to Endwalker...
19:30 Zenos Needs Someone Who Understands Him...
20:25 Did You Know If You'd Be Back?
21:30 Being possessed by an Ascian...
22:57 First Impressions of Zenos To Now?
24:00 How do I feel About Him Now?
25:08 Getting Comfortable With a Character..
26:14 Being Okay With Doing it "Wrong"
26:27 Opera vs. Voiceover
27:14 The Nuance of Voiceover
28:33 A Moment of Praise
28:45 Whats your favorite line?
29:24 What was Your Inspo for Zenos?
30:31 Favorite Zenos Memes...?
31:30 How Many Takes to Master "A Test Of Your Reflexes?"
32:35 Did you Listen to your Japanese Counterpart?
33:50 The Troubles with Translation/Localization
34:55 How do you feel about the Zenos Fanbase?
35:17 How did you manage the emotional and idealistic challenges?
36:00 Addiction to the Goal
36:23 Power Sexual
37:10 Did you have to decompress post recording sessions?
37:53 What Line read Did you Struggle with the Most and Most Proud of?
39:37 Sicard Experience
40:13 Which Did you Prefer? Zenos? Or Shinryu - Primal form Zenos?
41:18 The Pleasure of Shinryu and Power Playing
41:42 Is Zenos Evil Or Just Misunderstood?
42:46 "A TEST OF YOUR REFLEXES"
43:00 What's your favorite Color?
43:57 Endwalker Trailer
50:00 The Power of Music for Storytelling
51:00 How Music aids in Telling a Story
52:22 Praise for the FFXIV Community
CREDITS:
Developer: Square Enix
Designer: Nobuaki Komoto
Composers: Masayoshi Soken, Nobuo Uematsu, Naoshi Mizuta, Tsuyoshi Sekito
Singers: Sam Carter (Architecs), Amanda Achen
FINAL FANTASY is a registered trademark of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
© SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.

[@MarcoMeatball]

It should be mentioned that THERE ARE HEAVY SPOILERS HERE.

[@albireo1989]

Love how he just lit up and beamed when the Warrior of Light appeared on screen. Felt like Zenos getting excited to see his friend, HAHA

[@MarcoMeatball]

:) He seemed to have fun!

[@justsomeguy4422]

I dont care what anyone says Zenos was an amazing character.

[@Keira_Blackstone]

It took me a long time to come around on him- but his final words really brought home the character for me.

[@beanclam]

you only speak truths

[@HappleProductions]

I feel he's an amazing mirror to the WoL, through the lense of those players that are Savage/Ultimate proggers, always chasing that high of that next difficult fight to push yourself to the edge against.

[@justsomeguy4422]

@@Keira_Blackstone his final words were his last chance to let us know how much we meant to him. we brought excitement into his dull boring life. we gave him purpose, he killed his own father just to spend more time with us. he was a ride or die. and he did both.

[@haydn9315]

Yes.

[@yelenapavlenko2344]

I had my first eargasm of FFXIV when Zenos was introduced. Luke's perfomance as him is just brilliant, chef's kiss!

[@lukoscreyden]

Damn, this man's understanding of his character is incredible. Of course, VA's often know their character, but Luke is at a whole different level. Incredible VA work, incredible character and Luke seems like a lovely person.

[@MarcoMeatball]

After so many years it’s definitely interesting seeing how someone can really inhabit the ethos and pathos of a character

[@tickledpickle5671]

@@MarcoMeatball He can test my reflexes any day.

[@halebobuwu]

oh thank you SO much. finding other people who are interested in actually having conversations about Zenos is such a rarity for some damn reason. exactly what i needed.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Its truly my deepest pleasure

[@DKC196]

Not many people like Zenos, I suspect that’s the reason why there’s not much conversation about him. My wife doesn’t like him and considers him a bad character that could have not been in the story in the first place. And I suspect others think the same despite the very valid arguments in defense of Zenos they hear.

[@halebobuwu]

@@DKC196 yeah. im an artist myself and the amount of people who actively reach out to me to tell me how much they dislike the character I draw fanart regularly is... ridiculous.

[@Jadefrost_10]

@@DKC196 I love him, he awesome character :)

[@Keira_Blackstone]

@@DKC196 it honestly took me till the finale of endwalker to truly see the value in him as a character. Which made his end even more sad for me. Up to his final moments, even his only 'friend' never truly saw him as he wanted to be seen, or understood what he was going through.

[@serisothikos]

I could live off of the sound of him saying "vicissitudes" for my entire life.

[@Abeltestament]

He acknowledged dissidia. As one of the few people who played until support stopped it, that tickled me in just the right way. Everyone seems to really love their job, that's great.

[@MarcoMeatball]

He did!!

[@ignightroad]

Well, you might already know but after Dissidia shut down, the FFXIV battle themes for Shadowbringers turned into Zenos' theme's version!

[@tonyaduvall49]

I'm probably one of the rare people who cried at the final fight scene with Zenos. I finally understood him and it hit me hard. What a great job you bringing this character to life. Thank you.

[@Jadefrost_10]

is ok, i did so too :D

[@Jadefrost_10]

I cried too, didn't cried in any part of the game but at Zenos in endwalker i cried

[@alyishiking]

yep, me too

[@Ayarane]

30:40 oh no, he knows about JUICY TANGENTIALLY: one time while my Unreal static was doing Aglaia after we'd done our retelling, and they started talking about Zenos memes during the trash pull before the 3rd boss, and someone brought up JUICY, and my PC IMMEDIATELY bluescreened. So now it's a meme on top of a meme, that Zenos' bum is so powerful it can crash my PC. ...it hasn't actually done that since that one time, but the precedent is now there.

[@Kikkia2018]

In the Endwalker trailer - Luke's disappointment when they baited us into thinking it was Zenos' moment, then his excitement when Zenos got that moment, was so wholesome

[@MarcoMeatball]

😂😂😂 I know

[@austinyun]

Bro Zenos fuckin insanely good. Amazing performance

[@MarcoMeatball]

Truly he really is a phenom.

[@anonymoususer69420]

One of the main reasons I love the dub, this man’s voice is top notch. Truly a stand up guy.

[@wickedraptor2651]

i've said it before and i'll say it again. the english dubbing of XIV has to be some of the best work i have ever seen from any media. its on a whole other level with the amount of passion and power that goes into the (post arr) voices are just 10/10

[@shipperwolf7090]

I love how passionate he is about Zenos; thanks Luke for giving this character the beautiful complexity he deserves!

[@SMNtheNight]

Zenos is amazing, and Luke Allen Gale did an absolutely incredible job portraying him! I normally play in Japanese, but I have also seen and heard everything in English as well many times and it's so unheard of and immensely impressive to have that much talent in one game, Allen-Gale's Zenos being one of my favorite characters and English voices!

[@orsonsnow1228]

Right before the Royal Menagerie Trial, your soliloquy leading in solicits a similar reaction from all players experiencing that part of the story for the first time. It goes something like, "Good God, this voice actor is killing it." In order to enjoy the game to its fullest, the player has to be immersed. And, when a voice actor totally wears the role as you did, it's a real treat for us (as was this interview). Ohhhhhh my....have I said too much? :D

[@sitnspin1819]

OMG... Zenos?! The voice of Zenos *makes a cup of tea, gets a biscuit* This was another win for you, Marco. Your interviews are more like a chin-wag and I love that! I can see, as a viewer, how people are so comfortable around you and that says a lot about you as a person. It's always a treat to hear how the VA's think about their character, and Luke seemed so excited to be part of Eorzea. I can only imagine how he must have felt landing not just a place in this world, but that of Zenos yae Galvus. I never in my years thought to see another Sephiroth, but then Zenos came along. Without Luke's enthusiasm and passion, I very much doubt Zenos would be half so loved. Truly, his love for this character has awakened my need to use the New Game+ feature just to go through the Zenos parts all over again! Watching this interview made me smile non-stop. From one gamer to you two, keep it up and thank you! P.S. One of my favourite opera songs, though I know very little about opera in general, is Largo Et Factotum, closely followed by Queen of the Night. Both fantastic songs :D

[@MarcoMeatball]

These were very sweet words and mean sooooooo much so thank you very very very much.

[@sitnspin1819]

@@MarcoMeatball Thank you! Very much looking forward to seeing what else you bring to the table :D

[@sitnspin1819]

@@MarcoMeatball Something Luke said about power and the sexual aspect of power. Stormblood, in general, what about that very thing. How power corrupts. Be that power over a child, as in the case of Yotsuyu, or power over a land and her people. It brought to mind a history class I took many moons ago. The lecturer played one of Hitler's radio broadcasts to us and it was one that was also broadcast here in the UK. In this radio cast, Hitler kept saying "He is coming. He is coommiing..." Not a one of us mentioned the sexual implications of that broadcast in the class, but we all spoke of it after. There is much about Stormblood that I absolutely adore and how they displayed the perversion of absolute power was spot on. Why Stormblood always makes the bottom of the list is beyond me!

[@eternalwind08]

A TEST OF YOUR REFLEXES! Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[@CaffeinatedKing]

This is absolutely amazing, Zenos brought Stormblood alive for me when I first played through it and I felt like I immediately understood where he was coming from. The layers to his character, the feeling of how dissatisfied he was with the world and how he was just going through the motions playing the "role" of the Prince, never truly feeling any worthwhile emotion or passion, it all came across. It came across to such an extent that in 4.0 when he offs himself at the end I remember going "Wait that's it? That can't be it, there's so much more potential here, he can't be done already surely." I couldn't believe it, so I was pleased to see his return so quickly because I felt there was a lot more to do with him. I will say though that it certainly does feel like they were setting up some plot threads with Zenos in the 5.x patches that are then just abandoned in Endwalker, but I really enjoyed his journey in EW as the guy left with nothing to do after his plans fail, and everyone kind of looking down on him and waiting for him to go away, it was perfect, exactly what he needed to get that character growth After all, the real secret to Zenos is that he doesn't actually know how to deal with people and he probably would have managed to find some purpose in life as a traveling adventurer if his upbringing had allowed him such an opportunity. When you first hear Zenos, his voice isn't what you expect but that's part of what makes it so interesting and helps to define him as a believable character, this is only made better with Luke's incredible voice acting and scenery chewing goodness. It's some of my favorite voice acting in all of video games, I'll be remembering those lines of dialogue for decades.

[@MagpieSam]

that moment in Endwalker where we as warrior of light can hear that bashing, and Zenos breaks through.. THAT moment was for me one of the best moments. I absolutely loved it. I actually squealed and clapped when I saw Zenos arrive. Towards that moment, also with that pivotal moment with Alisae, where she tells him off, I felt a sorrow for Zenos, yes he was foul, but I could feel more than hatred for the bad guy. FFXIV and Luke did a beyond wonderful job giving heart to this character. I for one, felt that "yearning" to finally fight Zenos and I cried when Zenos died. Felt like yes, our mirror image was lost now. It was one of my favourite moments for sure.

[@cherrydragon3120]

My literal first words were like: oh god its him.... But i was glad afterwards when i got to bash his Blond royal face in tho.

[@unloyal4847]

I love Zenos and this was a treat, loved him way back in sb when people were bored by his character, honestly I love his "simple" villain thing

[@utafumi_s3244]

After having watched his cameos, particularly the Boba diatribe, I have never admired a man's dedication and tolerance for weirdness more. Bless Luke for his work, but especially bringing Zenos, in all his glory, to life. I miss Zenos every day 🙏🏻

[@MarieW72]

I love Zenos and have not given up hoping that I will see him again one day. ♥

[@cherrydragon3120]

I honestly hope zenos is just gone for good. IF he is to return i want it in a past sense. Due to time travel or something weird. But not after we left him for dead at the end of the universe. There is no aether there to live, let alone get back. He's a goner for good. Tho i wud like to see a past version of him where we see where his obsession of battle came from.

[@castoputa]

This guy is the real reason that he’s a fan favourite villain! Thank you for these stellar interviews Mr Meatball 🙌

[@reikoloire]

ZENOS!

[@philipnilsson1365]

This was absolutely incredible! I'm so happy that you've gotten to talk to these wonderful people who have played a part in our adventure through the years! This might just be a wish on my part, but René Zagger (Solus zos Galvus/Emet Selch) would be really interesting to see his thoughts on the character and the game and so forth.

[@MarcoMeatball]

That’s my goal - just need to figure out how

[@Malgarroth]

My favourite Zenos line too! In one line all my thoughts and theories about Zenos were confirmed. He's the perfect foil, and I'm going to miss him very much.

[@jesster402]

From the first time I heard his voice as Zenos, I told my friends "that's someone who has just thrown himself into the role" and I feel so vindicated hearing this interview. Thank you so much for this it was great. Also I was hoping so much that his answer to his favorite Zenos meme would be the juicy one.

[@bleaf_]

I loved the Cameo he did for me, it was a joke I'd had in my head for a long time, Zenos constantly calling my Warrior of Light to come fight him but she wasn't picking up the bloody phone. He was so humble and sweet and such a sport about it. What a great guy, very talented actor. I can't wait to see what else he works on!

[@bigiasonuoc]

Zenos was an amazing villain with so much depth, and a villain-looking vibe, while Luke is just the sweetest-looking person. It's crazy to merge these two together, but no doubt he is an amazing VA!

[@theegocollective2695]

SIR YOU HAVE DONE THE LORDS WORK

[@MarcoMeatball]

Hehehe its my absolute pleasure

[@omensoffate]

Zenos is my favorite character and I’m sad he is gone. Sort of took my final will to continue playing. He still had a lot of potential

[@cherrydragon3120]

Nah, no potential at all. This was his destiny, its what he wanted. He died doing what he loved most. Its a good way to go. If i want zenos back in a way i qant it in a past version to see how he became what we saw. To understand his obsession to fight more and why he chooce us to end his life. He should not overstay his welcome, no matter how good the VA is. As a villain he should not overstay his welcome. Rather be it short and impactfull, then have it dragged out and become Dull and boring

[@thorn_lekoh]

It's so nice to see at least one space of appreciation for Zenos. I find it so sad to watch youtubers and streamers' reactions to ffxiv to hear them and the chat dunking on the character, or even half defending it saying that he's bad "on purpose" and "is supposed to be hated". There would be so much to say about him and that does not fit into a readable KZbin comment, but at the end of the day whether we like him or not, it's part of our mission to save him from his despair. His life, his position, his country, his whole legacy has been determined by his great grandfather Emet-Selch, a man that didn't think the sundered world had any value, or that any of the sundered lives were worth living, and who fell to despair after so many deceptions trying to find that worth. I found the same weird sense of responsibility for him after Emet-Selch was gone that I did for Emmanellain after the death of Haurchefant, when the guy chooses you to watch over the house after him, least you can do is take care of the kids.

[@Jadefrost_10]

If u think of it, Luke aka Zenos has a lot of frienemies, all the WoLs that love him, in a way Zenos is immortal now as he is being remembered and discussed forever , just had a chat with a friend of mine yesterday about Zenos lmao, shows what a good job they did with Zenos. I must admit i keep coming back and listen to Luke, his voice is Zenos, can't get enough of Luke's voice , amazing vocal texture and colour

[@user-mr4bf4qk6h]

Amazing written dialogues with amazing voice acting. My experience with Zenos was so much fun, so much entertaining. You captured him so well. Thank you, Luke, for delivering such satisfying experience to me (and of course to many Zenos fans and haters out there lul).

[@BlueSpiritFire1]

Very cool to hear the VA's thoughts on Zenos! I love hearing VA interviews and I'm definitely looking forward to any other cast members you get to chat with!

[@MarcoMeatball]

Im doing my best!

[@ashitakaharuo]

ala mhigo is one of my favorite dungeons in the game, and that's to a good part because of the fight with zenos and luke's voice acting there. i remember how much i loved the way he laughs when i ran the dungeon for the first time. luke has contributed a whole lot more to the enjoyment of the story and zenos' character than he realizes.

[@fey2450]

I would die for you to get René Zagger in one of those, absolutely incredible to hear Luke's thoughts on the character and his journey as a whole.

[@MarcoMeatball]

I’ve asked his agent so 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@fey2450]

@@MarcoMeatball We appreciate your hard work.

[@didiannes8795]

If that happens i will cry because of happiness.

[@reyk1665]

Zenos is such an amazing character! I just wish we would see a bit more of him in the future and learn more about him. He had so much potential, yet it was shown so little of it. Still hoping he will come back... again! xD

[@omensoffate]

It was not in game for some stupid reason

[@rieJW]

This is beyond fantastic, absolute props to you for managing to have him on the channel ^_^ Also _A test of your reflexes!_

[@DaikyAdarkym]

Best sentence in the ff modern story xD

[@shoujo0taku]

probably impossible, but fingers crossed for an interview with jonathan bailey someday :D

[@MarcoMeatball]

Im going to do my absolute best for

[@fluoritaceles3144]

I couldn’t click fast enough when I saw this. Even if people disliked the character (I loved him), no one can deny the fact that Luke’s voice acting was superb for Zenos. Definitely one of my favorites from the entire game. This was a great interview, had a lot of fun hearing his thoughts on the character. Hope he can get another big role in whatever comes next!

[@celcius_87]

That was so cool, I feel like I understand the character even better now

[@MarcoMeatball]

glad you liked it robert!

[@caramelgrace2156]

"Everything they ever wanted with the first encounter, but didn't feel ready for when it finally happens." I can't describe how accurate that is because I was. So so far from ready for it, I went from "Okay let's just kill him already get this done with" when we first fight him to the final fight of just.... so many emotions. I feel like my WoL's emotional wellbeing would have been in a worse state than their physical one after the final fight with Zenos. I knew it was bound to happen eventually and I even yearned to get to finally have such a contest, yet... I want it again, I want to be able to redo that fight and get to experince the unparralelled bliss of it. But as he himself said "What joy is there in pursuit of a prey you have already bested? There is no thrill, your victory is assured and your prize is a hollow one, butchery." I have a feeling I'm gonna wind up not too far from him waiting and yearning for someone else who can bring my WoL so close to death in combat.

[@campbellava]

as a Zenos enjoyer I'm really excited to watch this interview :D

[@MarcoMeatball]

Good!

[@lizmcconnell6248]

Thank you for this! Zenos is my absolute favorite character, and LAG is a treasure ♥

[@MarcoMeatball]

You’re welcome :)

[@elenhin]

LOVE Zenos, and now I love Luke too! So fun!!!

[@AHylianWarrior]

I love that his favourite meme is the big dumpy meme lol

[@LucysPlauderecke]

Really great interview. Personally I find Zenos to be a very interesting character, though I was a bit disappointed with the ending of Endwalker. I feel like there were still many questions about that character, which needed to be answered. He might even be open for a redemption arc, if done right. Ah well, still a very nice journey we had with him and certainly a great performance for his voice. Who knows, maybe we will learn more about him in the future. I sure hope so.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Mhm!! Who knows!

[@evilphemt]

SPOILER FROM 6.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . I think that Zero could tell us something more about what zenos really thought and how really was his innerself

[@Jadefrost_10]

I actually cried when he died, and when he asked if WoL found fullfilment, the way Luke said that word, makes me wonder if Zenos knew he will die and was sad even almost crying, wished i could ask Luke about it and what the director told him, bcs that word tonality was different and special. But yea, Zenos is amazing and after the final fight i felt empty for a long time, something was missing... I still miss his "juicy, "😂

[@faaeen]

Loving these interviews. It cannot be overstated what an impact the amazing voice acting has had on the game.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Absolutely!

[@cherrydragon3120]

A voice actor can make or break a character. And deoending on the character or can make or break a game

[@owlserah]

Did my birthday come early this year? Thank you, Marco! Wonderful interview, wonderful voice acting. So happy to see the passion Luke Allen-Gale has for his craft.

[@MarcoMeatball]

You’re so welcome!

[@RyldsGirl]

OMG This was such a good interview! Thank you so much for this! We love you Luke! And Marco you’re the man! Keep up the amazing work!

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thanks amber :)

[@cheers2023]

Such a great voice! Zenos is one of my favs

[@happyanzu1]

Thank you so much for this wonderful interview. I'm glad that this character is talk about and I really enjoyed his voice work.

[@burtwonk]

Man your interviews are brilliant. You’re so easy to talk to and it brings out the best in your guests. If you can get G’raha and Emet Selch you’ll break the internet.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Im truly working on it. Those two…they’re harder to figure out but I know how I think

[@cherrydragon3120]

The VA of emet-selch would be amazing. Its such a deep and complex character. And i love it

[@deprest5555]

im glad they mentioned him being an addict, as one myself i was able to empathize with Zenos, and understand him as something more than an evil man.

[@MissKittybigpaws]

This was amazing!!!! Want it to go on forever!

[@Sirine_Eques]

Thank you very much for this, wonderful coversation and nice to see such an enthusiastic voice actor. Always gets me hearing actors real voices vs the character, since it shows just how talanted they are.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Glad you liked it!

[@Teclo25]

Another great interview! Thank you Marco! ♥

[@TheGamefreak612]

I have been waiting for this video all week!!

[@MarcoMeatball]

:)))))

[@ferraris1006]

This interview was amazing! Thank you Marco :)

[@MarcoMeatball]

My pleasure!

[@zeehero7280]

This interview is such a test of our reflexes!

[@tickledpickle5671]

I want to hear this line on my alarm clock daily. "This is your prey? why does it still live? I thought you above something so Banal as despair." 13:09 I had a gut feeling from wen I first saw Zenos established as a powerful enemy, that we'd have to team up for "SOMETHING" What eluded my until Endwalker. And it all made sense. I was rather proud of myself for calling it years in advance. XD

[@Lhunuial]

Thanks for this awesome interview! I love listening to Luke and hearing him talk about what playing Zenos was like for him, and how he's enjoying getting to interact with the fandom. It's just great. Really hoping you get more cast members to have an interview with, because I loved the interview with Thancred's VA as well.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Im going to try

[@NakuruKouChannel]

thank you so much for bringing us such marvelous interviews marco, such good content. thank you for bringing us nearer to the voices we came to know and love so well

[@MarcoMeatball]

My pleasure! :))))

[@svenornitier]

Missed opportunity to listen to Jocat's Spooky Slice. :)) Jokes aside, this is a brilliant interview. :))

[@MarcoMeatball]

Lolol

[@Offbeaten]

My favorite line of his will forever be "You lily-livered bilge-rat."

[@SaraHungary]

Thank you for this incredible interview and thanks for asking my question, it was really interesting to hear the answer!

[@MarcoMeatball]

❤️❤️❤️

[@akiinmoonlight79]

It's so amazing ~ i love him 😭❤

[@darkpsimystic]

Real talk: I didn't know how much I needed this interview today. I do want to say, the physicality of Luke was not even close to what I expected for the VA of Zenos. Well done, sir! And yes, music is such a key piece of storytelling, especially in this medium. The music helps a game shine bright.

[@davelzdr]

Great interview as always Marco, was surprised my question was the first one! There was a line in endwalker where Zenos talks about the reasons that people give themselves and other in order to justify actions or motives that really spoke to me in terms of who he is as a character and what drives him.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Glad you liked it!

[@bfu-jeansshadow]

How fun this must've been for you, and Luke is quite handsome. He did Zenos well even though he annoyed me to no end moreover because I have a tendency to fall for characters that end up being evil, crazy or something else. Best of luck to him snd thanks!

[@kirarcia]

Stellar interview, Marco! I'm so happy that you had a chance to talk with Luke and prepare all of this for us to enjoy! ♡ I can bet that your interview will be watched multiple times by huge part of our FFXIV community! Thank you once again and let's get this algorithm going for you! Will share this with my friends as well! :)

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thank you so much! That’s my hope :))))

[@dnnu]

I absolutely love Zenos and having you together with Luke Allen-Gale is amazing. I loved this interview, super interesting insight on how Luke feels about Zenos himself. I agree that he is a brilliant character and that too many people overlook him

[@MarcoMeatball]

Im glad you liked it!

[@nahuel3433]

Oh dang, interviewing a GOAT

[@Jraice]

I clicked as soon as I saw. And maybe squealed. No shame.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Im glad you’re exciteddddd

[@PsychopathNextDoor]

Man, that was one enjoyable watch. Thank you.

[@MarcoMeatball]

My absolute pleasure

[@thapotatonater827]

Thanks for showing him my comment, happy you guys like the name, love you both and wish you guys the best 👍🏻

[@MarcoMeatball]

Welcome! Big hug!

[@withincrisispodcast]

Amazing interview there, the more of these you do the deeper insight we get into the recordign aspect for the voice actors. Just need to get you to secure a Soken interview next ;)

[@coffeelink943]

42:52 “A TEST OF YOUR REFLEXES” he couldn’t have said anything better than that

[@o0cacoto0o]

This was awesome to see. Thanks for the interview.

[@MarcoMeatball]

Welcome!

[@coaster1235]

Ahh, hearing Luke talk about Zenos really made the character click for me, finally. This interview was a joy to listen to!

[@MarcoMeatball]

Glad you liked it!

[@FVIsaac]

Marco, thank you and Luke so much for this! I THOROUGHLY enjoyed listening the whole way through. Though had I closed my eyes at any point, I probably would've been like "this is the most composed I've heard Zenos talk in 6 years. And I don't remember this dialogue ... guess I should replay from Stormblood". But I must admit, the best moment of it all, was seeing the BIG smile Luke had on his face during the watching of the trailer. You really saw how proud he is of his involvement in it and how happy to be a part of it. It was heartwarming. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you!

[@VillainQueen]

Thanks for this interview. Luke Allen-Gale did such a good job as Zenos, he made this character his.

[@MarcoMeatball]

You’re welcome!

[@revi6482]

I swear his performs was great. Sometimes he was spitting lines out like he was recording a BDSM audio book, but I was fine with it. Otherwise seems to be a great guy :) really happy to hear he had a great time with the role because you can hear it.

[@AlishN7]

That was lovely. Luke seems like such a fun person to hang out with, and I desperately wanted more of this interview, but I understand it's not easy and it's a privilege to have an actor who is so generous with his time. Thank you Luke, and thank you Marco! I do hope that with two under your belt it might convince som of the other members of the cast to hop in! (Fingers still crossed for René Zagger).

[@MarcoMeatball]

Yes! Thank you! I’m spinning on how to make that happen..

[@AlishN7]

@@MarcoMeatball good luck! We're rooting for you, but also any other cast members appearing on the channel would not go amiss! I love them all to death, the performances have been outstanding across the board.

[@McToaster11]

Surprised the meta question about Zenos mirroring the (Maybe more hardcore) Players thirst for more challenging fights and more satisfiying wins against savage/ultimate clears didnt come up. That really clicked for me during the final confrontation about who Zenos really was the entire time!

[@MarcoMeatball]

🤷🏻‍♂️

[@RockR277]

Luke is such a fun guy, and he really did amazing in the role. Every line from Zenos, especially when he talks to the WoL is just amazing. I also really loved his cameos with Jocat and Pint. I'll admit, I fell off the Zenos train mid ShB. He seemed really underutilized during the middle parts of that expac. But the way they used him in EW was pretty amazing, and subverted my expectations in a really good way. And the performance is a real testament to Luke and the director's abilities, because like he said himself: it's hard to see him as Zenos after hearing his regular mannerisms.

[@cherrydragon3120]

This man has become part of one of the best games in the history of gaming and he plays quite a big role in it too. As much as i hate zenos. Without him we as the player won't grow stronger the way we did. We wouldn't be pushed as hard as we were. And we would not be able to chase after Meteion in endwalker. As much as i despise the man. I had His euphoric pleasure from battling him and beating him to a pulp. Luke Nailed the character and i really hope to see him again, if not as zenos (i hope not) mayhap another character.

[@altaiir541]

Zeno's the rooster is the best meme that ever came out from this community for Zenos

[@That_Aly_Cat]

this was amazing 😍

[@MarcoMeatball]

im really glad you liked it!!!!

[@sijrichters]

I love it!

[@milat9287]

Golfbag of katanas.. That's the best thing I've ever heard

[@stefanielaris2173]

!!! Thank you for putting my question(s) in, Marco! Luke has excellent taste in memes 👌 Keep up the fantastic work. Peter Bramhill was right; you're a great interviewer! It feels like a very comfy atmosphere. I do wonder if perhaps you might be able to interview composers, but I understand that most of the video game music you go over comes from Japan and there'd probably be a few hurdles with that. Now, I'm off to see a Viego video that I apparently missed!

[@MarcoMeatball]

Thank you so much!

[@SlowRkers]

1 Thing people forget or just me is that Zenos is the Grandson of Emet .... boy Family Reunion in the afterlife will be hella Awkward, though i would see Zenos constantly trying to challenge Venat into fights that'll be cool to watch xD

[@Tioko]

My first and strongest impression and memory of Zenos is of course his solo trial in Rhalgr’s Reach. They played the unmistakeable first part of Dancing Mad, aka Kefka’s final battle. That really told me: THIS MAN IS A POWERFUL PSYCHOPATH, BE VERY AFRAID. And during Endwalker, I was always wary when Zenos was onscreen. Like, he could pull of something insane and dangerous at any moment. That’s what’s so scary about psychos, you know? The unpredictability. The inability to understand their mind.

[@OldManInternet]

Loved this interview. It had a lot of interesting insights to not only how Luke viewed the character, and that progression over time, but the VA process in general. Zenos, Estinien, and Emet are my 3 favorite characters in the series. Any chance you plan to have Robert Vernon or Rene Zagger on?

[@MarcoMeatball]

I’ve reached out to Rene’s representation. Hopefully they are interested. I’m going to reach out to Robert as well.

[@shinnixiscool9416]

14:15 he does the slice, he did the spooky slice, the spooky slice, now his swings have some spice.

[@tetraspirit13]

My lord, he is beautiful!

[@falcorolan]

Thank you for this! I've really enjoyed watching your interviews with the VA's of FFXIV. I'm really a big fan of Final Fantasy and the VA's of it esp the FFXIV. Is there any chance in the future that you can have an interview with the twins VA's Colin Ryan and Bethan Walker and with the other VA's? Thank you! ☺️🙏

[@MarcoMeatball]

I asked Bethan but schedule wise it seems to be a bit complicated. I have asked a few others so I'm hoping it can continue happening. I think the more people that watch the more I can show them social proof. :)

[@falcorolan]

Oh thank you! I hope it will. FFXIV fans is always looking forward on this interviews because it really makes us happy. Thank you for making this possible because it is really a big thing for us esp they are not always seen on live interviews. Looking forward! ☺️🙏💙

[@falcorolan]

Sharing this on my social media accounts and friends! They really are happy and like it! ☺️ Do you have any twitter or instagram account? So that I can tag you as well. But thank you again. ☺️

[@MarcoMeatball]

@@falcorolan yup it’s in the about section ❤️❤️❤️