The voice of Duke Nukem doesn't believe film actors should be taking jobs from professional voice actors.
Jon St. John, best known for his portrayal of the hypermasculine beefhead who most recently starred in Duke Nukem Forever, had a few words to say about film actors who muscle in on the turf of his chosen profession.
"Film actors do not need voice acting roles in video games, or commercial projects," he said to Dave Oshry on Kotaku. "These roles are for voice actors not Hollywood celebrities, and when you consider the amount of money they make for each and every film project, it is unfair to those of us who struggle to make ends meet in our chosen profession.
"I have trained and worked hard for nearly 30 years as a voice actor, and when a film star lands a role in either a game or commercial project they earn far more than I do, even though I am also SAG-AFTRA union member. How is that fair? I don't appreciate them taking work from me and my fellow VA's."
It goes without saying that film actors deserve a chance to do voice acting work, provided that they're capable of playing the roles and delivering good performances. Rather than question their talent, the real question should be whether they deserve to be paid significantly more than professional voice actors based on their names alone.
After all, talented voice actors like Elias Toufexis (Deus Ex: Human Revolution), Jack Black (Brutal Legend) and Nolan North (Uncharted, Spec Ops: The Line) find plenty of work in film as well as videogames—so it's unfair to draw the line at film acting.
