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Nolan North

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Nolan North
North in 2019
Born (1970-10-31) October 31, 1970 (age 54)
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actor, voice actor
Years active1997–present
Spouse
Jill Murray
​
(m. 1999)​
Children2
Signature

Nolan North (born October 31, 1970)[1] is an American actor best known for his voice acting roles.

After his breakthrough role as Dr. Chris Ramsey on the ABC soap opera Port Charles in 1997, North moved into voice acting when the show ended in 2003 and has since become best known for his video game roles as Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series, Desmond Miles in the Assassin's Creed series, Merasmus in Team Fortress 2, the Prince in Prince of Persia, Dr. Edward Richtofen in the Call of Duty franchise, Deadpool in various Marvel Comics media, the Penguin in the Batman: Arkham franchise, Captain Martin Walker in Spec Ops: The Line, David in The Last of Us, himself as one of the voices for the player character in Saints Row IV, Tony Stark in Marvel's Avengers, and Ghost in the Destiny video game series.

In animation, North voices Smokescreen on Transformers: Prime, Superboy on Young Justice, and the titular character in Blaze and the Monster Machines.

Early life

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North was born in New Haven, Connecticut.[2] He was raised in Warwick, Rhode Island, where he attended and played baseball at Bishop Hendricken High School.[3] He majored in journalism with a baseball scholarship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,[4][5] and spent the next year working as a reporter in New Jersey before moving to New York City to pursue a career in stand-up comedy and acting.[4]

Career

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North eventually relocated to Los Angeles, where he was cast as Dr. Chris Ramsey in the General Hospital spin-off series Port Charles in 1997.[5] He worked as a voice actor on a few video games during this time, and began to focus on this career path following the cancellation of Port Charles in 2003.[5]

One of North's most notable voice roles came in 2007, when he voiced and performed motion capture for the protagonist Nathan Drake in the video game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Since then, he has continued to portray the character in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009), Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (2011), and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2016),[6] as well as the PlayStation Vita exclusive Uncharted: Golden Abyss (2012). In an interview with The Guardian, he said his time as Drake requires "a lot of imagination" because "motion capture is basically theatre in spandex; there's minimal props, and you need a willingness to make an ass of yourself".[7] For his role as Drake, he has twice been nominated at the Spike Video Game Awards in the "Best Performance by a Human Male" category.[8]

North's other notable video game voice roles include the Prince in Prince of Persia and Desmond Miles in the Assassin's Creed series. He also voiced Vossler in Final Fantasy XII, Eradan in Lord of the Rings: War in the North, the male Jedi Consular in Star Wars: The Old Republic and its following expansions, David in The Last of Us, Dr. Edward Richtofen in the "Zombies" mode of the Call of Duty series, Brawl in Transformers: War for Cybertron, and Ghost Rider in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, as well as Shadow Demon, Lycan, Lone Druid, Brewmaster, Gyrocopter, Ogre Magi, Meepo, Earth Spirit, Troll Warlord, and the Keeper of the Light in Dota 2. He voices various Team Fortress 2 characters such as the Engineer (partially), Merasmus, Redmond Mann, Blutarch Mann, Zepheniah Mann, and the Bombinomicon. He also replaced Peter Dinklage as the voice of the Ghost in Destiny: The Taken King, and additionally re-recorded all of Dinklage's lines from the base game Destiny. He continues to voice the character in subsequent releases. Following the release of Destiny 2: Forsaken, he portrayed not only Ghost but also took over the role of Cayde-6 from Nathan Fillion.[9]

In the 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness, North made one of his few increasingly rare live-action appearances since becoming a voice actor. Director J. J. Abrams had cited North's performance as Drake in the decision to cast him as a starship helmsman, as he and his son are fans of the Uncharted series.[10] In a May 2012 interview, North said, "[Abrams is] a huge fan of gaming and he was telling me how people just don't understand [the medium] yet, but they're going to catch up. They don't understand how amazing this technology is and it doesn't get the respect it deserves, but if it keeps making the money it makes you're going to see more and more people converted. I mean, Gary Oldman, one of the greatest actors on the planet, did Call of Duty. He wouldn't have done it 10 years ago. It's a new age dawning, and I'm just really proud to be part of it."[10]

North's animation roles include the voices of Cyclops in Wolverine and the X-Men, Snow Job in G.I. Joe: Renegades, Raphael in TMNT, both Superboy and Superman in Young Justice, and Smokescreen in Transformers: Prime. He has also voiced Blaze in Blaze and the Monster Machines since 2014. He was honored at a special event hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts during the 2018 EA Expo, where he was given a special award for "outstanding contribution to performance in games".[11]

In April 2018, North began hosting Retro Replay with fellow voice actor and frequent co-star Troy Baker. The show, which featured the two playing games in which they were involved while giving behind-the-scenes commentary on the making of the games, partnered with Rooster Teeth in April 2019.[12] Baker left Retro Replay in April 2020, due to an apparent disagreement on the future direction of the show.[13] The following month, North announced that the show was ending its partnership with Rooster Teeth.[14] He had a brief cameo in the 2022 Uncharted film adaptation and also narrated the audiobook edition.[15] In 2024, he appeared as Gene Campbell in the Peacock television series Hysteria!.[16]

Personal life

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North married his Port Charles co-star Jill Murray on June 4, 1999.[4] They have two children together.[4][17]

Filmography

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Main article: Nolan North filmography

Accolades

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Nolan North has received multiple awards and nominations for his work in the Uncharted series (2007–2016), as well as other video games including Deadpool (2013), The Last of Us (2013), Assassin's Creed II (2009) and the television shows Young Justice (2010–present) and Transformers: Prime (2010–2013).[18]

The Game Awards
Year Nominated work Category Result
2016 Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Best Performance Won
British Academy Games Awards
Year Nominated work Category Result
2012 Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Best Performer Nominated
2013 Uncharted: Golden Abyss Nominated
2017 Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Nominated
2018 Nolan North Special Award Won
D.I.C.E. Awards
Year Nominated work Category Result
2010 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance Nominated
2012 Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance Nominated
2017 Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Outstanding Achievement in Character Nominated
Spike Video Game Awards
Year Nominated work Category Result
2009 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Best Voice Nominated
2011 Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Best Performance by a Human Male Nominated
Behind the Voice Actors Awards
Year Nominated work Category Result
2012 Nolan North Voice Actor of the Year Nominated
Voice Actor of the Year, People's Choice Won
Best Male Vocal Performance in a Video Game Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Nominated
2013 Nolan North Voice Actor of the Year Nominated
Young Justice Best Male Lead Vocal Performance in a Television Series, Action/Drama Nominated
Transformers: Prime Best Male Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Supporting Role, Action/Drama Nominated
2014 Nolan North Voice Actor of the Year Nominated
Deadpool Best Male Lead Vocal Performance in a Video Game Nominated
The Last of Us Best Male Vocal Performance in a Video Game in a Supporting Role Nominated
Best Male Vocal Performance in a Video Game in a Supporting Role, People's Choice Won
2015 Nolan North Voice Actor of the Year Nominated
2017 Nominated
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Best Male Lead Vocal Performance in a Video Game Won

References

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  1. ^ Nolan North and Troy Baker aren't Scared in the Scary Silent HiIl. CouchSoup. October 31, 2019. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ "FamilySearch". familysearch.org. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  3. ^ North, Nolan [@nolan_north] (June 16, 2015). ""@SoSofieFatale: @nolan_north did you go to high school in RI by chance?" Yep! Bishop Hendricken" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b c d "Soap Central bio". Soap Central. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c Blake Snow (January 14, 2010). "The man behind Nathan Drake". Gamepro. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  6. ^ "PSX 2014: Uncharted 4 Gameplay Shows Off New Mechanics – IGN". IGN. December 6, 2014. Archived from the original on December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  7. ^ Quirk, Justin (November 5, 2011). "Nathan Drake: unmasked". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  8. ^ Keyes, Rob (December 10, 2011). "2011 Spike Video Game Awards: Complete Winners List". Game Rant. Archived from the original on February 7, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  9. ^ Kain, Erik (July 17, 2018). "Nathan Fillion Isn't Voicing Cayde-6 In Destiny 2's 'Forsaken' DLC". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Dutton, Fred (May 21, 2012). "Nolan North wins part in Star Trek 2 off the back of Uncharted". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  11. ^ "BAFTA to Honour Nolan North with Special Award". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. May 11, 2018. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  12. ^ Oller, Jacob (April 24, 2019). "Exclusive: Nolan North and Troy Baker take 'convention circuit'-born Retro Replay to Rooster Teeth". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  13. ^ Hirsilä, Markus (April 23, 2020). "Troy Baker has left Retro Replay". Gamereactor UK. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  14. ^ North, Nolan (May 7, 2020). Nolan North Live From Quarantine!. Retro Replay. Event occurs at 2:02. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  15. ^ Moreau, Jordan (February 9, 2022). "'Uncharted' Audio Book to Be Narrated by Voice Actor Nolan North (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  16. ^ Petski, Denise (February 28, 2024). "Garret Dillahunt, Nolan North, Elijah Richardson Among 6 Cast In Peacock's Satanic Panic Thriller Series 'Hysteria!'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  17. ^ "The Hidden King: Meet Nolan North, the Biggest Voice in Video Games". September 15, 2015. Archived from the original on June 6, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  18. ^ "Nolan North – Awards". IMDb. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
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