The prank that revealed who Matthew Mercer was voicing in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

[@anonymousnate678]

The fact they left him hanging for 9 months is so diabolical lol

[@dormantlime215]

It's diabolic for sure lol but it was also likely a policy thing- companies try to keep casting for certain high profile characters very quiet until they absolutely have to start feeding the information out. And depending on how many other folks they had under consideration, it can be a time consuming process even just to pick between them if you have multiple solid candidates.

[@Shadowkey392]

That was probably unintentional.

[@bobafett006]

I couldn’t do that to voice actors 😢

[@highdefinition450]

me with job interviews lol

[@MochiruSan]

They were waiting for the pranks gestation period to end 😂

[@Trebolf]

I didn't know about the Young Boy part of the prank. That's really funny that they made him do a high pitched voice for a fake character LOL

[@bryanwoods3373]

My head cannon is that it's just one of the more subdued lines from Yuffie. Not that they don't have a plethora of Japanese lines from the game or could just pull something from anywhere. Some sound engineer like "I have this clip from a 70s anime in my folder".

[@thechugg4372]

I mean that's not fake, someone is voicing this boy out there.

[@Kjf365]

The character isn't fake, I distinctly remember a boy in Nibelheim saying that line in the clip lmao.

[@mobbosswithdemonarms]

​@@Kjf365 Did they actually use Matt's voice or was it somebody else?

[@RadimuxCisco]

He is Vincent? Interesting.

[@cam-inf-4w5]

Imagine being hired for an $8/hr job to make ends meet then you get offered a $250/hour job instead as a joke but it's real.

[@SydneyRiot]

Make ends meet? I guess for other folks. Not Matt Mercer.

[@cam-inf-4w5]

@SydneyRiot early on him and marisha had to take many random rolls to pay rent. A lot of voice acting pays like $150 a day and if you took out fees and gas money and off time of not having jobs always lined up thats not very much. Im sure he gets paid handsomely nowadays.

[@-veritas-]

Thankfully, Critical Role has turned him into a millionaire so he doesn’t need to do it for the money anymore.

[@cam-inf-4w5]

@@-veritas- if only we could be so lucky

[@grey8288]

They make a lot of money on CR, but the costs of living are VERY high in their area. And as a business, they try and turn a lot of the income back into growing the business. They're still comparatively young as a company, especially with opening a streaming company (for their sort, they usually don't get out of the negatives for years and then begin to creep up in profit). Matt went in for the background role to get paid, and got to get a substantially better paying role. He's definetly also into it for his own nerdiness, but they're not at the point where CR can be their sole income with how they're running the business and the costs of living their lifestyles (good home, good food, affording a dog, etc).

[@StevenJQuinlan]

You've gotta assume they really like him as a person to bother to put together a prank like that. You don't do that for people you're not fond of

[@P0rk_Sinigang]

For real, that's such a personal and heartfelt thing.

[@waffles8364]

Especially because these sorts of character voice things take a lot of time. So they had to really trust that he didn't have other stuff booked out, and that he genuinely wanted this role.

[@TheComicBookJoker]

IMO, that’s the only good kind of prank, the kind where the punchline is the person being pranked getting something they like or want, but didn’t expect.

[@s.schoen]

@@TheComicBookJokerYes!

[@nemesisnick66]

So you put all the people you like and are really fond of jobs and lively hood in a 9 month limbo of uncertainty?

[@arturogarzanava5821]

The fact that he being THE MATT MERCER, still went to do the job for the little unnamed part, with a big smile and still putting the heart on that little boy voice, tells even a lot more than what we already know about him.

[@DanielMorales-jm3ll]

All VAs do this

[@arturogarzanava5821]

@DanielMorales-jm3ll but they're not Matt Mercer, so doesn't matter here

[@judahforshey1865]

He wasn't THE MATT MERECER yet

[@jessecaalvarez-kuykendall7071]

​@DanielMorales-jm3ll They're talking about the fact that big names in VO often stop taking smaller roles or put less effort into them if they do them at all.

[@rhettmitchell]

Yeah this happens all the time with big voice actors. You don’t always get handed the big roles

[@drakedarkstar5422]

Matt gives 110% even to voicing little boy

[@CrimsonMistress]

Getting pranked into playing Vincent Valentine is insane 😂😂

[@joshuab1707]

So well deserved. Once they confirmed that Advent Children VAs weren't gonna be part of the Remake project, I knew I wanted Mercer as Vincent. So happy for him

[@ronniwalker7112]

The second Vincent popped up in game for me I audibly said, "There's Matt! Finally!" I knew he had to be there somewhere 😊

[@twistedmyth5860]

His voice absolutely fits Vincent Valentine. Even while he was laughing, I was like, "Yeah, that fits"

[@ChargerBulldogs19]

I hope they adjusted his contract so they weren’t paying him “nibelheim boy #3” money for Vincent Valentine

[@danw91]

Aren't voice acting contracts usually per line of dialogue or something? So it'd be fairly easy to set up a proper/fair contract without ruining the prank by just telling him how much he gets payed per line and then just increasing the volume of lines they want him to do.

[@Otinashi]

Big VAs like Matthew Mercer usually have a manager that takes care of the details, they were probably in on it

[@mastod0n1]

​@danw91 or they could offer him a new contract

[@hoid9407]

It's been said elsewhere that his agent and others were in on it. It was all negotiated in advance

[@jacoboblanco1555]

That’s good to know. If I remember correctly this is a common complaint amongst VO actors in games, they don’t often know who they’ll be playing which puts them at a disadvantage when negotiating. Being asked to play Cloud vs Teenager 5 requires radically different preparation, and the value of your contribution to the game is vastly different even if the volume of lines is the same.

[@tattoodude8946]

With a low voice like his, he had to be so confused as to why they would want him to play a bunch of random children! That's hilarious!

[@Champiness]

I love how the reaction isn’t even “Wow cool” it’s like “Why would they go to those lengths” 😂

[@lnfreeman]

This is the correct response

[@Matisyahuwu]

Plot twist: the prank was to just get Matt’s genuine reaction and laugh recorded for a DIFFERENT role and wasn’t for Vince (no but seriously they got a great laugh to use now lol)

[@LukasKain]

Dude still put his all into playing that kid. Humility, man!

[@JustNardo]

That is such an elaborate prank but that would be so awesome to feel in the moment lol

[@yokotarosimp]

cant believe leon kennedy is now vincent valentine, i bet they’ll be best friends lol

[@cynicalnightmare1108]

Also he voices Vecna in dead by daylight

[@JaxenCollins]

First time i saw this short, i thought because he's leon, they were introducing a new member of jill's family

[@stormbard]

Man, he was so young when I first saw him, now his sideburns are going gray… Like mine. We’re getting old! :)

[@JohnSmith-eq5bw]

Okay, but can we talk about how pretty Matt's nail polish is? What an incredible color.

[@HDGamingPlus]

Literally the main reason I clicked!!! I need the name of that polish!!!

[@Razzy-sr4oq]

No. It's bizarre and looks incredibly off-putting.

[@JohnSmith-eq5bw]

It must be exhausting, having such delicate sensibilities. What happens when your cashier has a funny accent or you see a homeless person? Do you have a stroke?

[@TheStiff47]

@@Razzy-sr4oqit’s bizarre.

[@naresca5]

it's magnificent 😮

[@homerman76]

I love how both of them got played in similar ways, just glad it was in a good way 😅

[@markvicferrer]

Must have been an old friend on the other side of the booth.

[@Sashowindfeather]

These two dorks are precious

[@trevorchivers5581]

They saw an opportunity and TOOK IT!!!

[@catarena8031]

They were like "soooo.... no biggie or anything but 👉👈 could you perhaps try, again no biggie... Vincent mf VALENTINE 'S voice lines? Like IMAGINE GETTING SCAMMMED INTO VA'ing VINCENT VALENTINE!!!

[@matotry]

Being worthy as a voice actor that games wanna prank you is crazy Awesome Opossum!

[@raegengwozdz9714]

Dude, that's so freaking cool !! Getting the news 9 months later would've already been crazy enough, but getting it like this !? God I love people sometimes. That was so nice.

[@briegookin2112]

They LOVE him so much they pranked him.

[@catriverotter9527]

AND they filmed it all 🤓 Can we talk about how well he did the high, young voice?!

[@empty_melodies]

Matt’s the _GOAT_

[@brendansoucy2220]

imagine getting a reveal trailer for your job

[@nicklapallo9090]

They're genuine fans, that's wholesome.

[@moonfrog9878]

It’s funny that they knew he’d 100% say yes to the role, cos imagine setting up such a long con prank for him to be like ‘ahhh good one but na I don’t want to do VV’ 🤣

[@jdmoncada8205]

First heard Matt Mercer when he did Tygra in the Thunder Cats reboot. I thought he was *excellent*, and he was very nice on social media when I told him so.

[@Phunky1366]

Damn I don't personally know Matt Mercer but from everything I've heard about him from people that go to cons, critical role and all the philanthropy, and to now hear this leads me to believe his character is damn near unquestionably solid Big respect!

[@blackcatbunchie]

Matt had no idea how these guys are planning this months in advance to mess with him

[@VervaraRozthan]

These guys are precious

[@Sephiroth1992]

He's so likeable 💙💙

[@self.construction.day1]

That is a hilarious way to approach what is essentially a business negotiation.

[@Sanguinus85]

It's crazy, when you're THE voice actor and publisher think 'we have to prank this guy'

[@themrsavantgarde2694]

He's voicing like every other character in every other game I've played so far. Nobody is safe from Matthew Mercer's voice.

[@Elitepear]

“How do you want to do this?”

[@JnEricsonx]

Asked him to sign that for me on my Mighty Nein print. Still need to get Ashley to sign it and it'llbe everyone.

[@Connorthecatsdad]

You know you're beloved in the industry when they prank you with casting choices. Go Matt

[@BudokaiTH]

Get pranked, bro. You playing Vincent Valintine! Lol

[@gragrim]

A+ to whoever pranked Matt 🤣

[@maryhales4595]

Matt deserves all the good things in the world.

[@ShockwaveFPSStudios]

They actually did an Actors On Actors for Final Fantasy voice actors? I wish this happens to the actual Actors On Actors series, by having voice actors in addition to screen actors.

[@Raevynwing]

So awesome. I cant wait.

[@devious_shelf8334]

Smite being a spell now is to protect the paladin from being overshadowed by the barbarian. Berserker Barbarians do the most dpr of any class but Vengeance Paladin is a close 2nd/3rd. If you also allowed barbarians to smite on top of their once per turn frenzy (or whatever it is called now) damage then they would far out perform every class in the game for single target damage. As it stands now the gap between the top 4 damage dealers isn't huge but it would be massive if the you got to stack the paladin's biggest damage boost on top of the Berserker Barbarian.

[@no2pencilman]

One of the things that is so easy to respect Mat for, is he is as much of a fan of these properties as any of us. So when I hear stories like this, (for all that it’s a bit of a mean prank😂) or watch the trailer for tears of the kingdom and hear Ganondorf the first time, I can only imagine the mad, gleeful cackling going on in his heart, and it makes me happy for him. Kinda the same as with Mark Hamill , TBH.

[@bentbliley]

i treat big finish and their short trips as canon and in all hands on deck, we see susan actually accept the call to arms and join the time war. it's not a well written audio novella, but it does tie into the recent susan's war range which sees here partake in the time war

[@dreameater8548]

17:14 k so from left to right, down to up: Dugtrio, Honedge, Litwick, Krookodile, Cacnea, Spheal, Bulbasaur, Drifloon, a Pokeball, Alomomola or Bruxish Idk, Buizel or Floatzel (I think it's Floatzel), Swalot, Ralts and Pikachu

[@Bigngreen]

Imagine being that loved in the VA community that this was how you got asked to play a part?

[@angelpear219]

Okay... so Vala Glarios is the name of the character, her VA (not sure if she sang it but in game this is her) is Damhnait Doyle. Normally have more to say about my #1 game but Ive got no time. If you have questions I'll answer them though. I'm not a 100% expert, but I fairly knowledgeable and dedicated

[@aaronimp4966]

For me it's about even odds that I would instantly slide into character... Or begin making "excited guy 'Woah!'" noises and rmbarrass myself.

[@blackblizzard5771]

Vincent and Clive talking in the same room? I’m freakin’ out man!

[@PeachyPye]

I dont know who this dude is, but i love his nails, and because of his genuine personality, I'm going to go find out who he is and binge watch everything 😅

[@JnEricsonx]

Brace yourself, he's done a LOT.....and then there's Critical Role....

[@apollosukulele]

There's well over 1000 hours of critical role, maybe 2000? And that's him talking for 70% of the time (plus because it's him in person you can still appreciate the nails)

[@PeachyPye]

@JnEricsonx @apollosukulele I don't know what that is, but thank you for the suggestions... I'll check it out 😃

[@mirrakirra]

Woah. Where do I get a bracelet like he has on his right hand?

[@TieflingKumasi]

If they pull together a stunt like this, they like you.

[@cam-inf-4w5]

Not to put gas on the fire but matts voice type IS actually better for seph even though the current seph is great but maybe should have flipped Vince and sephs actors. Sonically. They dropped the ball on that. Matt has many types and tones but when you play to the natural voice you get the most texture range.

[@dyscea]

You only put this much effort into a prank that the prankee would love if you were good friends.

[@obsidiancrow450]

Maybe they just assume that matt mercer assumes he's getting every part he auditions for

[@ingeborgmikkelsen9078]

I love the way Wickham is written, because, objectively, Austen sets him up with some immediate red flags, but we, as the readers, get so caught up in Elizabeth's view and the point of view of Meryton as a whole that there is a great chance we miss them. Another commenter mentioned his sudden pursuing of Miss King upon her recieving her £10.000 inheritance as a moment that should raise suspicion, but I am of the mind that Austen is tipping us off from the start! Wickham is good-looking and he knows it, he turns the eye of every lady he meets, and he is an adept manipulator and observer. In his first proper conversation with Elizabeth he has already picked up on her attraction towards him, he has seen her interacting with Mr. Darcy when they were first introduced, he noticed *her* noticing the cold front between Mr. Darcy and himself, and he has come prepared for persuasion and damage reduction. His focus is on figuring out Elizabeths information, and if possible, sway her to his cause, and Elizabeth is hungry for information(gossip) that might not be proper to share with a stranger. He very carefully susses out information from Elizabeth by asking questions that are a bit to pointed to be general, hinting at the connection between himself and Mr. Darcy, and once he learns of her dislike, and also her prepossession towards Lady Catherine, he spins his tale. I would say it is a bit of a gamble on his part, telling this highly personal and tragic tale to a complete stranger, and not arouse her suspicions about the propriety of it, but I think he sees just how hungry Elizabeth is for it, that he reckons she will do the job herself of smoothing it over in her mind. The fact that he gets the attentiveness of an attractive woman is a boon on top of it all.

[@jkap34]

The fact that Vincent valentine was originality going to be a little boy is the greatest prank ever

[@zackfair711]

The only thing that wasn't elaborate was that they used a powerpoint presentation 😂

[@haziel_0196]

I don’t remember if they did this or not but it be 10x funnier if they used his old Halloween picture when he went as Vincent

[@Sacrengard]

man... i love them both

[@tagreene06]

Matthew Mercer playing Vincent Valentine, brilliant casting

[@themindeclectic9821]

I don't know who Vincent Valentine is but what an unnecessary amount of effort to put into a prank i love it

[@TheComicBookJoker]

A very popular character from Final Fantasy VII. Matt’s voice is perfect for the role.

[@ThizIzTheShiz]

Dude i love that exact color on his nails. It's a nice shiney blue.

[@luthelightbringer3833]

This was either Sam, Laura, or Liam. Or all of the above

[@sleepinghermit7778]

What's it like? What it's like is he didn’t even know!

[@heartofmythril]

If that happened to me, and they gave me the role of Tifa, I would be a puddle. I would be such a mess. Dream come true.

[@RagnaCloud13]

It's a High Noon for Vincent Valentine

[@thornmallow1]

I love that blue mail polish color! It’s brighter than metallic denim, and bolder than classic 1990’s blue.

[@AlbinoWhiteGuy]

They should’ve done it the other way around.

[@Mushrooms_King]

Can someone please tell me what that nail polish color is?

[@ec6565]

I wonder if they’ll do a remake of Dirge of Cerberus too 😗

[@pride_rawr6914]

Matt slaying those nails tbh, pretty nice!

[@Razzy-sr4oq]

disgusting

[@merenwen4495]

@@Razzy-sr4oqimagine being so insecure you feel the need to post replies like this to someone complimenting a guy’s nailpolish. I really hope you’re just trolling, otherwise it’s really really sad.

[@katherinepurvin7802]

​@@merenwen4495There's another comment that complements Matt's polish where he left a similar remark; I think he's trolling

[@meteorwalkergg]

@@katherinepurvin7802 likely just emotionally insecure

[@TheWitchingHour606]

I KNOWWW the colour really suits him!!

[@midgetcb3557]

Love this Natural Six 🤝 Critical Role crossover

[@mssevensins]

Dio was behind the prank

[@JG09101]

Best country band on the planet

[@kyleshaw5186]

The guy opposite Matt, Adam if I recall correctly (Clive from FFXVI), is basically the male version of Lara Croft

[@cadinm1537]

14:21 there is no way i am staying in the hospital at this point. the demon is just gonna dare me to stick my hand in a needle disposal bin or drink blood or eat the contents of a bedpan. i am absolutely not staying anywhere near that many disgusting options 😂

[@jaydayee]

Concentrated awesomeness

[@thribs]

He voices Hit so I can see it.

[@chell807]

MC is gonna look real crazy if he starts blabbing about what happened.

[@battousaicrescent]

that's amazing x'D

[@devinbaer4193]

This is gold

[@jeanine6328]

That’s a great story.

[@16Ravers]

Lmaoooo incredible 😂😂😂

[@aliciawrathford1926]

I want his nail polish

[@geminilius]

ngl, that japanese va sounds like young naruto

[@vincentgingerich]

Cool I have the same first name

[@theyounggamer3315]

That's amazing

[@EmperorTime]

Have you ever noticed how dudes with nails are always going out of their way to show you them? "Look at my nails! I'm a pretty little girl"

[@casthedemon]

Not gonna lie I thought the prank was gonna be how he got those purple nails lmao.

[@dehro]

when half the comments are about Matt's choice of nail varnish, you have to question if this is really 2024

[@NatalieRiffe]

Confused? 🤔

[@scrappydoo7887]

I don't know who either of them are

[@princessblazena]

Look at those baby blues 💙 😍

[@gandalf71729]

What game is it?

[@tinglesrosyrupeeland]

Hell yeah!

[@hannahschrenk7981]

I want to know what he has on his nails because that shade is gorgeous!