Before becoming an actor, Liam McIntyre was an assistant manager at EB Games whose duties included inspecting trade-ins and selling the latest releases.
asserted
duties → become → releases
Twenty years later, he's back selling games but there's one small difference behind his throwback return: it's his face on the cover of the PlayStation 5 game Marvel's Wolverine.
asserted
it → sell → game
"I don't think I believed it for three years," McIntyre tells ABC Arts.
asserted
McIntyre → think → Arts
As an avid gamer (and recent Pro Jank Footy enthusiast) and X-Men fan who grew up watching the cartoons, this represented a dream role.
asserted
this → grow → role
"I filmed three-quarters of the game going, 'you're sure I'm Wolverine?'"
asserted
I → film → game
When he was invited to audition for "Rough Guy John", an angry man with razor-sharp knives jutting out from his knuckles, he didn't need Wolverine's superhuman senses to sniff out that he was actually auditioning to star in Insomniac Games's latest superhero blockbuster.
asserted
he → invite → blockbuster
Marvel's Wolverine promises a more grounded, violent and combat-driven experience than the developer's quippy, webspinning Spider-Man series.
asserted
Wolverine → promise → series
McIntyre's background in ferocious gladiatorial combat in the Spartacus: Vengeance TV series was an advantage for recording Wolverine's animalistic grunts, terse dialogue and ferocious roars in a Burbank motion-capture studio.
asserted
background → record → studio
"I don't know why I keep being picked to be these gruff, angry loners who wield violence to help people," McIntyre says.
asserted
McIntyre → know → people
"What's that say about me?
asserted
that → say → me
Wolverine's world
McIntyre has moved into voice acting in recent years, but the relentless scrutiny of providing both a comic icon's face and voice reminds him of his early theatre career at venues like Melbourne's White Whale Theatre.
asserted
scrutiny → move → Theatre
And you never know which one they're going to pick," he says.
asserted
he → know → one
The experience reminds him of sparse and intimate "black box theatre" venues; he had to use his imagination while performing in a tight Lycra suit dotted with reflective balls.
asserted
he → remind → balls
As the line between Hollywood and big budget video games narrow, McIntyre faces the same unusual challenges as Marvel A-listers when he pretends to crawl through burning buildings, decapitate The Hand's crimson-cloaked ninjas, or jump out of a plane sticking two middle claws up at his feral rival Sabretooth.
asserted
he → narrow → rival
"You've got this giant helmet on, so if you try to hug someone you try not to Velcro onto them, which ruins the sound, and try not to clank into each other, which ruins the footage," says McIntyre.
asserted
McIntyre → get → footage
"But I always think about regular film and television; you're still pretending there isn't a wall of cameramen and lights."
"You're used to removing segments of the reality you're in so you can act."
Why Australians play Wolverine best
Fourteen years ago, when McIntyre was asked for his favourite actor he immediately replied "Hugh Jackman".
asserted
he → think → Jackman
Now he's the second Australian to play a starring role synonymous with the Sydneysider superstar.
asserted
he → play → superstar
McIntyre feels unfazed by the pressure that comes with following a beloved predecessor in a storied role; his American TV breakthrough followed the tragic death of original lead Andy Whitfield.
asserted
breakthrough → feel → Whitfield
He carries the same lessons for Wolverine.
asserted
He → carry → Wolverine
He resists the temptation to imitate, to copy how Jackman clenches his jaw, furrows his brow, or holds his claws up like a boxer (Jackman's stance was inspired by watching Mike Tyson title fights).
asserted
stance → resist → fights
I wouldn't want to copy him," McIntyre says of Jackman.
asserted
McIntyre → want → Jackman
Instead, he's drawing from beyond Hollywood, including Chris Claremont's famous run on the Marvel comics series and Cal Dodd's Clint Eastwood-influenced vocal delivery on X-Men: The Animated Series.
asserted
he → draw → Men
Despite the illustrious competition, between McIntyre and Jackman there's a strong argument that Australians make the best Wolverines.
asserted
Australians → be → Wolverines
"I don't think you have to be Australian to be Wolverine.
asserted
you → think → ?
But it helps!" McIntyre says.
asserted
McIntyre → help → ?
"The Australian ethos, gruff, earthy, don't seek the plaudits, tall poppy syndrome, all align with the way Wolverine is.
asserted
Wolverine → seek → way
He keeps his head down.
asserted
He → keep → head
The cycle of violence
Wolverine's barely suppressed rage is one characteristic neither Australia or Canada would claim.
uncertain
Australia → suppress → violence
Yet Wolverine's anger is a core element of the game, with an aggressive rage system where collecting kills is rewarded with increasingly powerful attacks and graphic slaughter.
asserted
collecting → collect → attacks
This emphasis created an odd situation familiar to any video game voice actor: the need to record an extraordinary quantity of agonising screams, roars and grunts.
asserted
emphasis → create → screams
McIntyre hoped to space out these strenuous non-verbal sessions.
asserted
McIntyre → hop → sessions
That didn't happen.
asserted
That → happen → ?
"There was one day where it [the day's recording runsheet] was 'Grunts, angry.'
asserted
it → be → ?
" remembers McIntyre, who made it through with herbal remedies and some surprisingly effective vocal exercises using a straw.
asserted
who → remember → straw
"This is the most acting I'll do in my life,' he says.
asserted
he → do → life
A longer, broader story than the movies
Once his voice was restored to its deep and sonorous pitch, McIntyre can be grateful for opportunities that come with the game's extended run time.
asserted
that → restore → time
Players get 15 to 20 hours to uncover the core dichotomy of a character caught between two selves: an animal who can fall prey to his worst instincts, and a man who desperately hopes to be better than the lonely screw-up he so often is.
asserted
he → get → up
"I love this rare opportunity to tell this longer, broader story," McIntyre says.
asserted
McIntyre → love → story
"It's got so much detail and time with the character to really explore that.
asserted
It → get → that
You don't always get that, even in a movie."
asserted
You → get → movie
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia