Of all the Hollywood stars who have lent their voice talents to the world of video games, Keith David may be the most iconic. After rising to prominence through cult classic masterpieces such as Thing and PlatoonDavid began appearing in interactive media in the late 1990s and over the next two decades cemented a legacy in the medium.
Although his first major game role was as Dekker in the very first one FalloutDavid finally went on a historic run in the late 21st century and early 2010. During this time he appeared in a flurry of well-received plays such as Hello 2often in key roles for which he gave stellar performances.
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arbitrator/ Thel 'Vadam – Halo 2
Starting with one of David's most notable gaming roles, we have Thel 'Vadam, also known as the Arbiter, a character introduced in Hello 2 as the second protagonist. The Arbiter is part of the Sangheili, a race of aliens first introduced as an enemy faction in the first Halo: are known as elites and are exclusively presented as enemies in the game. So putting the player directly in the shoes of one such Elite in the sequel required expert writing and acting to pull off, as the audience had already started to have a negative bias.
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Fortunately, David did a fantastic job portraying this religious fanatic, whose instantly recognizable, rich and deep voice was particularly suited to such a mysterious character. David reprized his role as arbiter in Hello 3 and Halo 5 also.
David Anderson – Mass Effect
To me, this is Keith David's most defining video game role. Introduced in the first Mass Effect as the Normandy's captain, David Anderson quickly relinquishes control of the ship to Shepard, the player character. He continues to mentor Shepard throughout the series.
As with the Arbiter, David portrays this character as serious and honorable, albeit with much more levity; sometimes he gives in and cracks a few jokes. Although he is in all three games, David Anderson's role diminishes slightly as Shepard grows into their position as Specter and galactic hero. Still, he tends to steal any scene he's in, bringing a certain charisma to what could have been a bog standard military archetype.
Julius Little & Self – The Saints Row franchise
Julius Little is the founder of the 3rd Street Saints, the gang the player character belongs to Saints Row franchise. This is another example of David taking the lead in the game, although this time he's a lot more morally gray, ruling with an iron fist and bending his own ethical rules to get what he wants.
According to time Saints Row 4 Julius was released, but David himself was not. Deep Silver brought him back in a suitably meta-absurd way befitting the IP's shift to the ridiculous: he plays himself as the Vice President of the United States, serving alongside the player character who is the President. The play includes some rather pointed jokes about how David reminds the team of Julius and how he decided to enter politics after “conquering” the acting field.
Keith David's next video game role
While the aforementioned performances are certainly David's most memorable and iconic, they are far from the only ones. In fact, the actor has appeared in several other video games, both big and small, both well-received and not-so-well-received.
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Decker – Fallout
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Apollo – Disney's Hades Challenge
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Vhailor- Planescape: Torment
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Lord Vekk- Lords of EverQuest
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barricade – Transformers: The Game
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Dr. Facilier – Disney Princess and the Frog
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Sergeant Foley – Modern Warfare 2
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cat – Coraline
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Psycho Delic – DreamWorks Megamind: Mega Team Unite
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Nick Fury – Marvel Heroes
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Chaos – Dissidia Final Fantasy
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Moloch – Darksiders Genesis
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Spawn – Mortal Kombat 11
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Zavala – Destiny 2: The Final Shape
David made his video game debut Fallout in 1997 where he commanded the scenes through his portrayal of Decker, a complex crime boss of sorts. His work in the CRPG will continue with the brain Planescape Tormentwhere he portrayed the fanatical Justice Vhailor, who the player can either fight or manipulate into becoming an ally. Other original characters include Zavala z Fate 2'with Final shape extension (replacing the late Lance Reddick), Sergeant Foley z Modern Warfare 2and Moloch from Darksiders Genesisalthough the latter character is actually based on a figure from a real religion.
Although it occurs only in Megamind video game, the character Psycho Delic was originally written for the film.
David also reprized his roles as The Cat in Coraline video game, Spawn in Mortal Kombat 11and Apollo in Disney's Hades Challenge—played the same characters in the corresponding movies or, in the case of Spawn, the TV show. The same cannot be said for Barricade, who is merely voiced by David Transformers adaptation of the play. His performance in Dissidia Final Fantasy and Marvel Heroes they're also disposable, which is a shame – Keith David can voice Nick Fury's killer.
