The Voice Behind Master Chief

Right after the Troy Baker panel being held at EXP Con 2K9, Steve Downes the voice behind Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 from Bungie Studio's top selling HALO series for the Xbox and Xbox 360. Troy asks him some excellent questions and here we get to see Steve Downes describe how he got the role as Master Chief, some of his experiences and his opinion on the cult phenomenon known as HALO.

[@Zadamanim]

1 minute in he has already said more words than the Chief did in the entire halo series.

[@JohnDoe-mv6go]

+Zadamanim You obviously haven't played Halo 4.

[@Zadamanim]

John Doe Everyone knows Halo 3 was the last true Halo game.

[@JohnDoe-mv6go]

Zadamanim What about Reach or ODST?

[@Zadamanim]

John Doe Everyone knows Master Chief is the star. A Halo game without the Chief is like a Street Fighter without Ryu. On a more serious note, Reach might be tied with 3 as my favorite Halo game, though I have more nostalgia for 3. I haven't played ODST but I heard a lot of people didn't like it as much as the others.

[@JohnDoe-mv6go]

Zadamanim ODST is an expansion for Halo 3, and if you judge it as an expansion rather than a stand alone game, it is great, especially considering that most expansions today only give you a couple extra maps for about the same price.

[@darkySp]

I can't believe how his actual, pure and un-modified voice is the exact voice that he uses to voice John... omg

[@idkman7668]

Dark Spartan Ikr,.. You could just close your eyes and see master chief

[@celesteer2544]

You should see Jeff Steitzer's voice (multiplayer announcer), it is insane how pure his voice is.

[@darkySp]

Lately i also saw Michael Madsen, voice actor of one of my all-time favorite characters, Daud. He just brings it down a liiitle bit, and you have Daud, and even if he doesn't do it, it's still more than recognizable

[@HRHooChicken]

This is how he sounds in the new trilogy. In the first 3 Halos i think he did a difference voice. It was more reclusive sounding

[@zapcicz6994]

darkySp Yup he is my fav character in any movie/game ever.

[@SuperPH34R]

It's like master chief is being interviewed.

[@Phoenixlover822]

Cause he was.

[@uncleniz6828]

Drunk Canuck same

[@BrianLyons315]

Yeah. By Joel from The Last Of Us.

[@historyatwar6230]

@@Phoenixlover822 duhhhhhhh

[@anaussie213]

I could see that being masterchiefs face.

[@LucidSoundz]

Just his normal voice sounds sooo cool.

[@Vinz_THE-RAVEN_925]

Lucid Soundz heavily smoke should help

[@wuvvbernardo9353]

Lucid Soundz yeah

[@LCInfantry]

Lucid Soundz Gotta smoke cigarettes

[@anaussie213]

That is his master chief voice quite frankly.

[@mallika6377]

It is cool

[@iD3adMau5]

he is literally just talking normal. wow

[@AlexisAlexander646]

Dylan Westley Wtf... ikr

[@cutdragon7332]

I'm not even paying attention to what he's saying, I'm just drowning in his voice. It's beautiful

[@lightningwolf3903]

me too

[@2fun55]

As soon as he spoke I could only see Master Chief

[@strawb3rrysuccubus]

same

[@anaussie213]

When he says "that's not going to happen" back in halo just from his voice alone you know it's true.

[@seancarter5607]

Imagine master chief in a suit and tie in an interview talking business 😂

[@revdaddy6934]

Sean Carter how'd he get the suit on over the armor?

[@randomtricksvideos]

You told me you were going to wear something nice

[@phantomendgamer]

i'm just imagining an average business-dressed man wearing a cracked master-chief helmet

[@aydenfragoso2701]

Transactee: Sir what are you doing with that briefcase Master Chief: Finishing this transaction

[@Sora_Souda]

Master Chief: I Need A Job.

[@MasteroChieftan]

Joel is interviewing Master Chief Epic

[@sbeer]

***** or booker dewitt

[@InsaneEnergy]

Sbeeer Or Ocelot in MGSV

[@Obsidiul]

InsaneEnergy or the boss in saints row ( well one of his voices )... We can go like this forever ! ;)

[@cameronblack531]

MasteroChieftan its the 2 best games from both consoles

[@BrianLyons315]

Somebody should make an sfm of Joel interviewing The Chief.

[@dauntless_s0ul24]

This man right here He's a legend

[@MxStella]

Step 1: Drink a lot of alcohol, the more the better Step 2: Start smoking Step 3: Congrats, you now have Master Chief's voice

[@TheLalalandloser]

"Omg so worth it."

[@yogengrg7690]

haha true...lol

[@dutchpool7035]

I want his voice, but i care about my health XD

[@jasonvoorhees9848]

DutchPool i want hes voice too

[@S113Productions]

Is that what really happened to him? I didn't watch the whole video, but him smoking cigars made him sound like the badass he is today? WORTH!

[@adamhernandez3750]

this is the longest master chief talked :)

[@wales2k4747]

Imagine a Master Chief face reveal in Halo 6. Master Chief takes off his helmet, revealing the face of Steve Downes.

[@BrianLyons315]

That would be nice.

[@alexwilson9940]

Probably will resemble him

[@anaussie213]

He does look like he suits that voice.

[@nemuelmagno1421]

Master Chief can never be replaced by Spartan Locke. Spartan 2 > Spartan 4 Master Chief extremely greater than Spartan Locke

[@TheHulk1850]

+Nemuel Magno I agree completely!!!!!! Master Chief is gonna destroy Locke!!!!!!!

[@TheHulk1850]

***** Oh well thats okay I just feel hes like a little child compared to john.

[@TheHulk1850]

***** No hard feelings right? I knew master chief wasn't the bad guy right from the beginning, but I think everyone knew that.

[@TheHulk1850]

***** I'm not sure how to respond to that, are you quoting DSP's playthough, whenever phil saw master chief he would say villain!!!!!!

[@TheHulk1850]

***** Villain, theres goes master chief!!!!!!! Villain get him!!!!!!

[@medicyukisuna]

"..with a lot of luck" Unintentional Halo 3 Reference :3

[@Universer2012]

Someone should edit this and put MC's armor over his body and helmet over his face. It would be epic :D

[@walterhuntington7494]

Haha hell yeah that'd be awesome! :D

[@TheTwitchSniper]

I can just imagine the chief (game verso ) sitting there being interviewed by the news of the colonies

[@raptorjesus8522]

hahahaha

[@spore4277]

Primal Chieftain MLG Steve Downes

[@BL4CKR0ZE]

That would make my life ❤

[@sajeelchughtai1765]

I want to see him order a cheeseburger lol

[@eravaash]

"Will you like cheese with that order?" "COORRTTAANNAAA!" "That will be $5.32 at the next window."

[@sajeelchughtai1765]

lmao

[@RuggedCoyote69]

+Ian Andrade lel

[@LordThatch]

Skilled warrior Panda ARBY AND THE CHIEF

[@gameghost2010]

"I Need a Burger!"

[@ASSKETCHUP666]

I wish I could have his voice

[@20021redturle]

Bender Rodriguez Morgan freeman

[@honkstandard]

His voice is pure gold

[@schallmeister100]

So that's his actual voice? Time to look up Cortana

[@xweert711]

Cortana's actual voice actor sounds exactly like Cortana as well.

[@anaussie213]

@@xweert711 she actually looks like cortana as well.

[@MandMs05]

@@anaussie213 That's actually really common in video games, to model the character after the voice actor. I think you'd find most main video game characters look exactly like their actors lol

[@kokohot55]

I'm just imagining Master Chief sitting there doing the interview instead of Steve Downes

[@spartan0x75]

Two of my favorite voice actors together? HOLY MOLY!

[@coler.3674]

Jerry Pon same nigga, but I gotta say I like Troy's voice more only because it sounds so...... dreamy. Yeah that's the word.

[@famtomerc]

ALL I HEAR IS MASTER CHIEF is this guy known for anything else

[@Johnknoll1042]

Yea he dj's a rock radio station in Chicago

[@joshfisher3190]

John Knoll Just retired from 97.1 FM The Drive. That's all I knew him from. Of course I played a little bit of Halo back in the day, but man I had no idea that this guy I heard every morning in Chicago was the voice of the main character from Halo! Crazy. Or maybe I did know that back in the day but forgot.

[@NunofyaFB]

How much to swap vocal chords with him?

[@allninelivez7631]

why didn't he say "I need a weapon" or "Sir... permission to leave the station... to give the Covenant back their bomb..."

[@blueshit199]

So this is how Chief looks like without armor :D

[@reclaimer-ux7wq]

Commander: "master chief defend this station"! Master chief: "sir! I need a weapon" the most epic dialogue!

[@BLACKNEND]

Steve Downes is the man! Nobody will ever replace him.

[@brandonlindley8697]

Joel from TLOU interviewing the Master Chief from Halo....literally two of my most favorite game franchises of all time.

[@Nelis1992]

Its weird hearing the Chief not talking heroic

[@neonsolace2748]

What about talking legendary hahaha

[@Zaiqahal]

Wow, his normal voice sounds very much like Master Chief. I saw it instantly.

[@goku1489]

Joel and chief sitting together

[@Whoami691]

My life is complete.... :D

[@jakobboghora9153]

face reveal

[@ric331]

They have to make master chief look like this man, they just have to!

[@lukebuckner7577]

If they ever show Chief's face, I'm sure it'll be Steve. Mike Colter and Nathan Fillian were scanned to resemble Locke and Buck, so it's more than likely that they'll scan Steve to be the face of the Chief; that is, if they ever even show his full face.

[@irvingbisman384]

i bet anyone $100000 that steve downes is the face

[@mystery785]

Irving Bisman tbh you're actually pretty accurate and they are pretty similar it's just master chief looks a little younger and is bald

[@ChrisRayGun]

Booker DeWitt and fucking MASTER CHIEF!

[@vilnv]

cheap idubbz

[@sparks6477]

so thts his face under the helmet

[@t-dawg5265]

Under the helmet is another helmet.

[@sparks6477]

Deathstroke The Terminator and under tht mask is another

[@angelzubia1226]

he sounds most like the reclaimer

[@thelifeofmavy2703]

Nooooo really?

[@angelzubia1226]

YOLOMAV​ your to slow to understand sarcasm

[@thelifeofmavy2703]

Gator Zubia I was kidding I'm not a dumb ass

[@angelzubia1226]

haha my bad

[@thelifeofmavy2703]

Gator Zubia its ok

[@STFU768]

I can die in peace now

[@MarkWilson-rn8tx]

So cool to see the man who is the Master Chief. Kids lined up around the block in Florida when he stopped by a friends home after the kids found out he voiced Master Chief. I would have stopped by to. Great work Steve. Not many words. But all were memorable! Mark.

[@matthewwoodfield4507]

I wish...I had that voice! OMG that is the greatest voice I have ever heard!

[@stalemayo9526]

If anyone of us Halo fans met him in person and had a conversation with him we would have NerdGasms

[@svyatovrat4071]

He should've put on master chief's armor)

[@danjcollins26]

Now all I need is Kevin Conroy interviewing Steve Downes and my life is complete.

[@reclaimer-ux7wq]

I got goosebumps with his voice! So iconic!

[@Wickidcow1337]

he said halo 2 remake is coming out... KZbin it

[@benjaminrivera117]

I'm here from the future and I can confirm this

[@AverageStoob]

Best voice actor ever

[@Dylan-pz2mz]

+Stoob Him and kevin conroy for batman

[@wolf2109]

+Knight of Arkham the dad from last of us game is pretty good too

[@vasilis6691]

After Mel Blanc, yes

[@camtech1679]

Closing your eyes and listening to him talk makes this sounds amazing. Master Chief having a Q&A about being Master Chief lol

[@dert269]

Imagine hearing this voice when you're a waiter or at the store, "This is Spartan 117... I don't need to pay."

[@iunnor]

"Tell that to the covenant!"

[@adepic7927]

The reason there were no grunts in the meeting is because he killed them.

[@ric331]

This man's voice will go down in history as EPIC!!

[@airplanenut89]

I think it's amazing how Steve Downes looks like how most of us probably imagined how Master Chief would look (at least that's how it was for me). It seems more often that the voice actor doesn't look like the character they're playing but in this case everything matches.

[@SuziQJoestar]

I love his voice

[@danielmurillomunoz1675]

GIVE THAT MAN AN AI!

[@clarkkent6035]

Oh I see you

[@JYHProductions]

"Halo- It's over." "No, I think we're just getting started..." GO MASTER CHIEF

[@joshbrunson5]

I would love to have his voice

[@billyduck1810]

i wish i had his voice

[@user-rt1uk4sf7o]

5:00 mortal kombat reference

[@chakinabox]

2 of the coolest voices in one room! Wish I could have been there :(

[@IL1KE2COMM3NT]

That was quite an adventure you took me on, pband. I'm that much wiser because of it. ;)

[@gordi2070]

"...like a lot of things its luck..." now we all know why chief is so lucky in halo lol

[@psychonaut421]

Cortana always knew.

[@daisydominguez57]

I can also die happly now .)

[@swiftspartan1560]

you lost an eye

[@daisydominguez57]

LOL...I know huh

[@swiftspartan1560]

Daisy Dominguez Thx for +1 my comment um dont know what the +1 does anyway

[@daisydominguez57]

Lol me neither....i guess its just if u like a comment or somethin idk

[@djdetonator23]

I would have been in that line to meet him, I'm not much of a gamer but I love Halo and Master Chief.

[@mcpo117]

Wow two of my favorite VAs together!

[@titanicclub9481]

at least there's no did fanboys in the comments to hate on halo knowing halo one more awards then cod

[@halfply]

Won not one

[@titanicclub9481]

Wonderful

[@Salohkin11]

TitanicCLub517 *Onederful

[@LaDivinaLover]

PTF_Jesusito Won more awards *Than COD. Not then.

[@trintrin3507]

My dad just started working for Bungie a couple of years ago. I wish he got there sooner and see if I could of had any chance to try and meet you

[@conn0rized292]

i can only imagine him sitting in a studio just groaning into a microphone for all the many death sounds.

[@tryit9024]

So this is the man of the voice of my childhood thank you personally sir

[@molonlabe5090]

Septerra Core was the shit! I found it in my dad's collection of old games and started playing in when I was like 10.

[@TenaciousSkaven]

It's good to see that the man behind Chief is an awesome guy.

[@brandonblaze2300]

if you close your eyes you can hear Joel speaking with the Chief ...... beyond epic

[@monstertwitch8678]

steven downes, steve blum, yuri lowenthal, maile flanagan, crispin freeman, voices i can and will not ever forget.

[@MxStella]

I can't believe you just said that. Give that lady a medal!

[@1273poopoo]

Two legendary voice actors speaking

[@sirhurricane4350]

His chill normal voice is master Chief. It's like there interviewing master Chief the character

[@epicgopher]

this was uploaded on my b-day :)

[@PantherMistress88]

Im in love with his voice

[@yosiyyahu.bar.stephen]

I love how the second he starts talking, people start looking around and murmuring like “holy shit, it’s him! It’s Chief!”

[@deltacommand1813]

it sounds so good!

[@ChriosM]

Such an epic interview: Master Chief being interviewed by Logan Thackeray

[@7teen238]

just wanna hear him say "boo" like halo 2 omg memories

[@Minyadagniriel]

omg how awesome is that? To always speak in Master Chief's voice! EPIC!!!!

[@GREiy45]

Who else just closed their eyes and imagined a master chief interview?

[@thejoint25]

Every morning on WDRV in Chicago you can hear him.

[@freedum5]

Kanji Tatsumi/Harima Kenji talking with Master Chief.... Hell yeah to see both men is a dream come true.

[@maxxyang3723]

lmao when steve downes was making those groaning noises at the end, I just pictured Master Chief doing it instead ingame! hahahaa

[@Dagger_323]

Thanks. Your comment helped me a lot. Thank you. :-]

[@kelb9913]

I love master chief

[@D1ZZYDUDE]

The man The myth The legend Is back

[@gregwilliams4926]

Damn, I didn't expect it to be his natural voice.

[@omega458]

two best voice actors ever!

[@luigymanx781]

His voice is like love to my ears.

[@SturmWurm]

I close my eyes and imagine its master chief talking instead

[@Archvile1]

my favorite voice actor!!

[@EPiiCx5587]

this guy could read a phone book and still keep you entertained

[@TheBiggsMafia]

I hear this guy everyday. He's a DJ on a radio station The Drive.

[@Evbuscus1]

I saw this dude at a Comic-Con and he was surprisingly short.

[@Channel-rc6gw]

He has a badass voice I love him

[@Righteousclaim]

I bought the original when it first came out...It was the unique setting and storyline that won me over.

[@icetrey87]

"ODST just came out " "Eeeeeewwww" *heckler is taken out into alley and shot*