How video games and animation work actors like Yuri Lowenthal Bridge

Yuri Lowenthal may be best known for bringing video game characters such as Marvel's Spider-Manis peter parker and Personality 3Its protagonist lives on, but unbeknownst to some, his career extends beyond the world of video games. With iconic roles like Narutois Sasuke Uchiha and Code Geass” Suzaku Kururugi in his bio, Lowenthal is a great example of talent in the industry that has managed to bridge the gap between acting and animation. With his range across tones, adaptability to directing styles and willingness to reprise roles, the actor's repertoire continues to grow as his options are far from limited.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2Yuri Lowenthal isn't the only one to bridge the gap, with actors like Troy Baker, Laura Bailey and Matthew Mercer finding their way into the animation industry, despite being largely recognized for the characters they've voiced and starred in some of gaming's biggest titles. Of course, much of this is due to the skills of actors such as these, but the gaming industry has also transformed in the past two decades in such a way that the gap between video games and animation is becoming ever thinner. As a result, actors who have the talent level of someone like Yuri Lowenthal find it easier to break into the world of anime – or even vice versa if their careers started in animation and have since expanded into games.

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Bridging the ever narrowing chasm

At one point, video game animation and voice work required two different things from actors. In animation, the actor's voice had to be exaggerated and expressive, mainly because the performance itself defines the character's personality, tone and energy. In fact, animators often built characters around their voices, adapting the personality of that character to that of the actor responsible for bringing them to life.

On the other hand, in games, voice acting wasn't always considered a necessity, more like a bonus. For one, most early games didn't even have fully voiced characters, and if they did, it was extremely limited. But even when developers and publishers started paying actors to voice characters in their games, for a long time it was nothing more than text boxes and a host of other silent supporting characters and extras.

Actors with the talent level of someone like Yuri Lowenthal find it easier to break into the world of anime…

It wasn't until the late 1990s that the gaming industry experienced what could be called a “cinematic breakthrough”, when video games began to feature full voice acting in their stories. Games like Solid metal gearbox are a great example of this and is even widely considered to be one of the first games where the voice acting really carried the story and the characters felt like real performances. Later games like Final Fantasy 10 and The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion would develop it even further, with the former having an entire cast of fully voiced characters and the latter featuring an entire world of characters with voices.

It's acting, not voice acting

Over time, voice acting in video games has evolved so significantly that these actors are now viewed as “voice actors” rather than simply “actors”. This is because their performances now require the same energy, expression and naturalistic delivery that is required of anyone doing animation or even film and television. While there are still plenty of games being made today that don't feature voiced characters in any way, the ones that look more cinematic in their presentation are almost expected, as it can be annoying when a character that looks like a real person only speaks through a text box.

Thus, technological advancements in the gaming industry have caused the gap between video games and animation to shrink, giving actors like Yuri Lowenthal the opportunity to exist in both worlds. Well, that and the fact that actors like Lowenthal are immensely talented and therefore valuable to both sides of the aisle. However, a lot of this still depends on what video games are capable of today and what developers and publishers are willing to do for realism and cinematic presentation.

The games caught up to the strengths of the animation

Simply put, actors like Yuri Lowenthal can effectively contribute to both animation and video games, as modern games look more like movies and television than they ever did in the past. But because they look the way they do—and because they're often subject to deep, emotional arcs—they demand a lot more from actors than their voices. That's where performance capture can come in handy, ultimately allowing for a more expressive and compelling display.

Lowenthal really captured the performance Marvel's Spider-Manand that's one of the reasons why many probably couldn't imagine hearing a different voice coming out of Peter Parker's mouth in Spider-Man video game from here. Since actors don't have to stay locked in a recording booth when using performance capture, they can better immerse themselves in the physical expression of their character and show more emotion than they would otherwise be able to. If done well, these characters can end up feeling inseparable from their voices, just like the animation was long before they made it into the game.

Actors like Yuri Lowenthal have the range that both mediums require

But another phenomenon that's starting to happen is when a voice like Yuri Lowenthal's is recognizable enough that his fans can follow him across media, even if they're watching him in something they might not initially care about – like anime. Because Peter Parker is there Marvel's Spider-Manfor example, he may have had such an impact on the player's emotions, they may be more interested in his work outside of video games, and as a result, follow him into that space. Since fans now typically associate a voice with a character's identity in video games, that same identity can carry over into other media and draw fans into the fold.

Actors like Yuri Lowenthal can effectively contribute to both animation and video games, as modern games look more like movies and television than they ever did in the past.

But again, it's not just that the gap between video game acting and animation has narrowed over the years, with actors able to occupy both spaces. These talents still need a scale that can support both mediums, and Yuri Lowenthal is one of them. Sure, Lowenthal has an incredibly distinctive voice that's somewhat easy to spot in a crowd, but over time he's also proven himself to be someone who can handle a variety of roles well.

He can move between dark, brooding intensity, light, energetic humor and grounded vulnerability, seemingly at whim, making him a perfect candidate for a variety of genres, roles and mediums. In other words, there's still a gap between the worlds of video games and animation that actors in both worlds have to navigate, even if the gap isn't as wide as it once was. After all, other talented actors like Matthew Mercer and Laura Bailey are capable of that, and that's why they exist in different mediums.

This overlap has created a space where the same performance can exist across different media without having to completely transform them. Since the games still rely on cinematic storytelling and the animation maintains its premium identity, actors with the right range and adaptability are able to transition between the two with ease. Yuri Lowenthal is one of the clearest examples of this shift, not because he's doing it himself, but because his career reflects how natural this crossover has become. The chasm may still exist in form, but in practice it is no longer something that limits where performance can belong.