General Grievous Hello There Battlefront 2

"Well, how-do-you-do there." James Arnold Taylor introduces himself – in-character of class – with the iconic Obi-Wan Kenobi line.

The occasion?

James and his co-star Matthew Wood are dorsum in the studio together, reprising their roles as arch-nemeses Obi-Wan Kenobi and General Grievous in Star Wars™ Battlefront™ II.

Leading upward to their characters' clashes in game, we had the opportunity to ask them both a few questions about their roles and personal Star Wars™ journeys.

How Matthew Woods Became General Grievous

Journey is, by the mode, an appropriate word describing Matthew Forest'southward history of working with Lucasfilm.

Matthew has been with the company since the age of 17, starting out equally a video game tester. "I saw a job for Quality Assurance Technician in Nicasio on this local message board – and I thought, well, information technology's either Lucasfilm or a dairy farm! I had washed some research to find out where Skywalker Ranch was, and it was in the same area where I lived."

"Through a little social engineering science, I ended up finding out the fax number of Lucasfilm. This was 1989, and my dad had a fax machine, and so I faxed a résumé of all the video games I played. That'due south basically what I sent them."

Matthew Wood recording his General Grievous for Star Wars Battlefront Ii. Matthew likewise does the technical mail service-processing of Grievous' vox.

That was enough to land Matthew an interview, and eventually, a job at Lucasfilm'southward division for video games, fittingly named Lucasfilm Games (later LucasArts) at the time. "It was a total dream job!"

Since and so it has just continued. He developed his career into undertaking highly technical sound piece of work. Today, Matthew is the Supervising Sound Editor at Skywalker Sound, the sound sectionalization of Lucasfilm. Just early, he also knew that he wanted to act.

"The aforementioned equipment that I use to make audio effects, I employ to do vocalism acting. I got a lot of opportunity early working on a show chosen The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. And then I just built upwards a résumé from various projects that I worked on. It was a fashion to kind of satiate that role of my brain, besides as the technical side."

Then, in 2005's Star Wars™: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith™ and The Clone Wars series, he stepped into the shoes of General Grievous, using both his voice and creative post-processing skills to bring the grapheme to life.

Talking nearly the popularity of Full general Grievous amid fans, Matthew says, "I've been working on Star Wars for virtually 30 years now. It does have this ability to transcend in popular civilisation. To have something that was created 13 years ago still resonate for folks is humbling."

Matthew mentions that Full general Grievous has, together with his curvation-nemesis, sort of grown over the years – especially in the memes.

"I think virtually that come to me say: 'Hello at that place' (referencing the barrack between Obi-Wan and Grievous) – that's the kickoff thing I hear from them! I love being office of the vernacular, it's super exciting!" Matthew says.

The Legacy of James Arnold Taylor's Obi-Wan Kenobi

James Arnold Taylor has, of course, said that very line thousands of times. He'due south the actor who's played Obi-Wan Kenobi the longest, most notably throughout The Clone Wars animated series.

"It is probably the greatest laurels for me as an histrion, to take gotten to play this character for and then many years. And in so many iterations! The tv set show, video games, toys, a pic . . . Information technology's ane of those 'pinch me moments' in my life, because I notwithstanding kind of wake up some days and go, 'I . . . I get to be Obi-Wan Kenobi?' It'south fantastic!"

"And so uncivilized." James Arnold Taylor delivers some classic Obi-Wan Kenobi lines – and some written specifically for Star Wars Battlefront Two.

James explains that his performance is a bit of a mix betwixt the Ewan McGregor (prequel trilogy) and Alec Guinness (original trilogy) portrayals of the character.

"I really felt that, for me to pay homage to both of these incredible actors that have played him, I needed to combine a lilliputian Ewan McGregor and a picayune 'These aren't the droids you're looking for,'" James explains, irresolute his vox to i reminiscent of Guinness' classic act.

"Yous combine a bit of both and you get my Clone Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Even so, that doesn't stop him sneaking in a little bit of James in his Obi-Wan every bit well.

"George Lucas gave us the permission years agone, saying, 'Make these characters your own'. You tin can hear it in the excitement, certainly, because I'm withal a bit of a nerd excited to be doing this!"

While recording voice lines for Star Wars Battlefront II – although James has made Obi-Wan his ain – he couldn't aid but to slip more into Ewan McGregor's performance sometimes. Especially for the lines made famous in the prequel films.

"Then, when information technology's a Clone Wars line, I get a little more into my Obi-Wan. So, you might hear a lilliputian mixture of both. But I definitely cannot deny that the power of Ewan McGregor's functioning as Obi-Wan Kenobi is influencing mine."

Bringing the Voices of Obi-Wan Kenobi and General Grievous to Star Wars Battlefront Two

So, what are some of the duo's vocalism lines in Star Wars Battlefront II? You lot tin can experience what General Grievous has to say by booting upward the game today, but our Community Transmission on Hero Voices also gives a peek of what's in store for both him and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Grievous is funny, because I'd love to exist able to practise all his lines in one session, but I would probably end upwards bleeding out of my throat," Matthew says, continuing, "He goes upward to 11 actually quickly. Considering that character, when we originally put him together with George Lucas, he wanted him to exist armed forces drill sergeant. Very vengeful. He certainly has had something in his past that's been weaponized by Count Dooku, to make him then mean of the Jedi."

"You must realize, you are doomed." General Grievous and Obi-Wan Kenobi facing off on Geonosis in Star Wars Battlefront II.

"And so as far as on a technical level, George also liked Bela Lugosi and that Eastern European kind of talking. So, I mashed that together to brand my functioning."

Having worked on Star Wars for then long, it's nonetheless special for Matthew to see General Grievous coming to life in Star Wars Battlefront 2.

"I e'er love revisiting characters from the Clone Wars era, because I feel like there are and then many stories to be told! Now, we take the ability to really set foot into General Grievous' shoes and see how he operates in existent-fourth dimension. That'due south actually exciting to me, to be able to portray the graphic symbol in such a way! I'm a gamer myself, so I can't await to run across how all this pans out with what the squad has created."

When we asked James virtually how information technology feels like to step into the voice-over both and becoming Obi-Wan Kenobi again in Star Wars Battlefront Ii, he says, "It really is like riding a bike with this graphic symbol now. After nigh xviii years of playing him, you just fall into those places. Of course, the writing is so great, because it feels like Star Wars, and so it'south really pretty easy to just become in in that location."

"I've been working in Star Wars games for 17 plus years now," James says, continuing, "And the style they've inverse and grown as such is exciting. Because this at present, is the image of what we all expected or saw in our heads, and now it'due south hither."

General Grievous* is available in Star Wars Battlefront Ii today, and Obi-Wan Kenobi* is set to arrive on November 28 along with the Battle of Geonosis Update**.

–Daniel Steinholtz (Follow Daniel on Twitter @dsteinholtz) with help from Nina Dobner

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*New heroes are available for Credits earned in-game
**All updates require Star Wars™ Battlefront™ II on applicable platform (sold separately), all game updates, internet connection, EA business relationship, and, for console players, Xbox Live Aureate or PlayStation Plus membership (each sold separately)

Source: https://www.ea.com/games/starwars/battlefront/star-wars-battlefront-2/news/james-arnold-taylor-matthew-wood-interview

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