Feodor Chin is the voice behind some of your favorite characters in video games, movies, and TV shows. Known in the gaming world for his work as Zenyatta from Overwatch, Lee Sin from League of Legends, and as Lord Adachi from Ghost of Tsushima, the actor sat down with us to discuss his latest role: Lord Saito in the new video game Ghost of Yotei.
Interview with Actor Feodor Chin, Voice of Ghost of Yotei’s Lord Saito
You’ve voiced Tekhartha Zenyatta in Overwatch for nearly a decade. The character is a peaceful omnic monk whose ultimate ability is “Transcendence.” How do you maintain the character’s signature calming and wise presence, and has voicing such a grounded figure for so long influenced your real-life perspective or approach?
When I first started voicing Zenyatta, I would occasionally have to remind myself to get into that very calm, very zen headspace after arriving at the studio, especially if LA traffic had been particularly enraging that day!
But over the years, it’s been much easier to find that peaceful, harmonious place.
Now, whenever I have a Zenyatta session, I always look forward to it because I know it’s going to be a very relaxed experience. Especially compared to other video game sessions! And I do like to think that voicing everyone’s favorite robot monk has made me a better person. Or at the very least, a calmer one.
In the Emmy-nominated series Love, Death & Robots, you played the “Shaper” Jade Prime in the episode “Spider Rose,” portraying a villainous role. What is the biggest difference in building a villain’s voice for an animated short – which is a contained narrative, versus a recurring video game antagonist like Lord Saito in Ghost of Yotei, or a massive franchise like League of Legends’ Lee Sin?
Overall, I’d say there isn’t really a difference because no matter the medium, I always approach a role the same way. I ask, what is the story the writers are trying to tell here, and how best can I help tell it? The difference comes from the amount of information I’m given.
For a traditional narrative like an animated short, such as “Spider Rose,” it’s a lot more straightforward because you have the entire script and can see your character’s entire journey and emotional arc. But for a longer, less linear narrative form like Ghost of Yotei, I gotta rely a lot more on the director to guide me through this story, which I may not necessarily know everything about.
Amanda Wyatt, who directed our VO sessions, and Nate Fox, who directed our mocap cinematics, both did an amazing job of putting us in the world of Yotei and really helped to craft these characters you love. Or in the case of Lord Saito, love to hate!
“As an actor, you don’t have to agree with it, but as long as you can understand it, you can play it. To me the most interesting heroes and villains aren’t black and white, they’re numerous shades of grey.” – Feodor Chin
(Photo credit: Diana Ragland)
You’ve worked on long-running titles like Overwatch and League of Legends, and continue to find new roles like Xu Wenwu in Marvel’s What If…? and the title role of “Uncle” Yousuke Shibazaki in Uncle from Another World. What is the most rewarding, and most challenging, aspect of returning to a beloved character over many years?
The most rewarding thing is just knowing that something I’ve worked on has affected people in such a positive way. It’s always gratifying, and I’m just so grateful I get the opportunity to do that. What can be challenging is knowing that once these characters are out in the world, they don’t belong to me anymore, not that they ever really did. They belong to the fans. And these fans are gonna develop their own relationships with them and have their own expectations of them. And because of that, there’s always just a little fear of disappointing them.
Feodor Chin on his roles in the Ghost of Tsushima universe as Lord Adachi in the original game, and as Lord Saito in the standalone sequel Ghost of Yotei
In Ghost of Tsushima you voiced Lord Adachi, an honorable samurai who embodied the strict moral code of Bushido and arguably died because of it. In the sequel, Ghost of Yotei, you play Lord Saito, the central antagonist and leader of the “Yotei Six”. What was the process like for transitioning from portraying a character of high honor to one whose motivations could be described as “senseless” and “villainous,” and how did you find Saito’s core humanity?
The thing you must remember about playing “villains” is that nobody ever thinks they’re the bad guy. They’re doing what they’re doing for a reason, and in their mind it’s perfectly justified.
So as an actor, you just need to find what that justification is.
No spoilers since it’s what opens the game, but for Saito, making “an example” of Atsu and her entire family would prevent further bloodshed. He believed he was actually saving lives. As an actor, you don’t have to agree with it, but as long as you can understand it, you can play it. To me the most interesting heroes and villains aren’t black and white, they’re numerous shades of grey.
Both games feature a specific, grounded tone inspired by Japanese cinema. What key voice techniques or gravitas did you employ to ground these performances, which are distinct from the heightened reality of a game like Overwatch?
The team at Sucker Punch was absolutely inspired by Japanese cinema, specifically Samurai movies, and Japanese culture in general. Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei are very much American valentines to Japanese culture. And while both games are very cinematic and may seem more “grounded,” they are still video games. And for me, as an actor, I believe that video game performances, while always grounded in reality, also need to be just a little “dialed up” because the player is an active participant and needs to be engaged.
Unlike movies or television, where the viewer is passively viewing, in video games, the player is actively involved and often needs to be commanded, instructed, or even incited into action. So, as an actor, your performance requires that kind of energy.
Why should fans of the original Ghost of Tsushima—who remember the tragedy and dishonor that befell Lord Adachi in his death – be excited to face your new villain, Lord Saito in Ghost of Yotei?
I can say unequivocally, if you liked Ghost of Tsushima, you will LOVE Ghost of Yotei. It has everything you loved from the first game and so much more. Including me! But seriously, while it was such an honor and a blessing to work on Ghost of Tsushima, I think I die about a hundred different ways in that game. For me, Ghost of Yotei is really special. Getting to be the “final boss” is a dream come true.
And if you’re not familiar with Erika Ishii’s work, you are in for a TREAT. You will fall in love with Erika’s Atsu. It may be one of the greatest video game performances of all time. It’s a role she was born to play.
Early on, I was helping Sucker Punch with auditions and was reading opposite potential Atsu’s at callbacks, and as soon as Erika walked in the room, we knew she had IT. Then, of course, she killed her audition, and when she left, I turned to the team and said, “I think you got your girl.”
Regarding Feodor Chin’s portrayal of “China” on the Off-Broadway production of KYOTO – a play based on the 1997 Kyoto Protocol regarding climate change – at the Lincoln Center Theater
You’re portraying the role of “China”, one of the nations locked in the high-stakes political thriller based on the real-life 1997 “Kyoto Protocol” conference. Having spent time building characters in the world of Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei where the battles are physical and immediate on screen, what is it like to portray a different kind of life-or-death confrontation that is based on diplomacy, and political pressure in a live theatre setting?
The experience of working on KYOTO has been exhilarating, exhausting, and endlessly educational. In these extremely contentious and divided times, I think this play is especially important and meaningful because it’s about a moment in time when the entire world did manage to come to an agreement. But of course, that was only through great difficulty, tremendous conflict, and more than a few back-room deals.
Nonetheless, I think the story of the Kyoto Protocol can serve as an inspiration as well as a warning to us, today. And working on this play in New York City, the home of the United Nations, has been extra special. I visited the UN myself during our first week of rehearsal, and it was so inspiring and helpful for me in my preparation for the role.
KYOTO dramatizes a real historical moment when world leaders were trying to save the earth through an international treaty to reduce gas emissions that contributed to climate change. For your character “China”, how did you approach the challenge of representing a nation’s perspective and political strategy, rather than a single individual, and how does that affect the rhythm of your performance on stage at Lincoln Center?
In KYOTO, the character of “China” is actually based on the Chinese negotiator at the Kyoto Protocols, a diplomat and scientist named Shukong Zhong.
Widely respected by his colleagues as well as his opponents, Zhong had the difficult task of fighting for the somewhat conflicted interests of a country that knew of and had been devastated by the destructive effects of climate change, but also very much wanted to develop into the industrial powerhouse that we know China to be today.
China in the 1990s was still very much a developing country. But one with tremendous potential and resources. And they did not think it fair that developed nations and major polluters like the United States should expect developing countries such as China to make the same type of reductions in emissions. China wants to protect the environment, but they also want to develop as a country, and it’s difficult to do that without polluting.
Obviously, these are very conflicting motivations, but for an actor, that’s extremely exciting to play.
On Feodor Chin’s creative process as an established actor and writer
In retrospect, when reflecting on your former writing experiences like working on the CBS Diversity Comedy Showcase and the roles you’ve portrayed as an experienced actor, when you receive a script for a new character – what’s the first thing you look for to unlock their unique, creative voice? Is it the character’s backstory, their intent, or their core lines?
My acting coach, the great Larry Moss, always says, “The actor’s job is to serve the story.” So, for me, the first question to ask is “what is the story the writer is trying to tell here?” And then I can see how exactly the character I play fits in the telling of that story.
I find that approaching the work this way can be very freeing and in many ways takes a lot of pressure off you because it can be very anxiety-inducing to “perform,” but if you’re “serving,” you’re just another member of the team, doing your part, getting this job done. I like that.
Because whether it’s a play or a film, or a video game, it’s ALWAYS a collaboration between artists, writers, craftspeople, designers, programmers, and more. And human collaboration, human connection, is what life is all about.
We thank Feodor Chin for taking the time to sit down with us for this fun chat!
You can follow him on Instagram and see him in KYOTO at the Lincoln Center Theater now through November 30th. Consider purchasing Ghost of Yotei and experience his portrayal of Lord Saito firsthand in a playthrough of the spiritual successor to the very popular Ghost of Tsushima!
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, we’d love to hear from you! Also be sure to follow us for more Video Game interviews!
☆ In Asian Spaces
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