He is Ezio Auditore da Firenze from the Assassin’s Creed series. Chris Redfield from Resident Evil. Kyle Crane from “Dying Light.” This is Rafael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Batman from Arkham Shadow.
He’s Roger Craig Smith, who has voiced dozens of iconic video game characters over the past two decades. But this year, he’s celebrating the 35th anniversary of arguably his biggest role: Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog.
“A day doesn’t go by no matter where you go, and part of the reason for that is because we’re able to have this fan convention circuit now, where you can go out and literally travel around the world and meet people from all over the world who bring you Sonic fan art,” Smith told Variety. “They bring their stories about what that game was and what that character meant to them as a child. And that started to hit me a few years ago when I had someone in their 30s say, ‘Brother, you’re like the voice of my childhood.'” I thought, 30 years old? And all of a sudden you think, “Yes, I have a white beard now.” That’s because they started playing when they were 15 or 16 years old, and I’ve been Sonic’s voice for 16 years now. So I have to pinch myself every day and think, it’s one thing for someone like you to want to talk about what I’ve done for 20 years in a very demanding and challenging industry, it’s another thing to have a career of over 20 years and still stay busy and lightning strikes me over and over again in that regard. But at the same time, I’ve been the voice of some iconic game characters and things that have influenced people over the years, and it’s so surreal. It never gets old. ”
Jen Rosenstein
Jen Rosenstein
Smith notes that with Sega IP at its peak in popularity, with Ben Schwartz voicing Sonic in the Paramount Pictures series and Deven Mack starring in the Netflix animated show, “there has never been a better time” to play the blue hedgehog. And with Sonic turning 35 this year, Smith is working on more than ever. That includes an appearance at the gaming event IGN Live in Los Angeles on June 6-7.
When asked if he planned on joining IGN Live to show off anything related to Sonic’s birthday, Smith said, “All I can say is I’m very excited to be a part of this event.” “It’s a really cool event and I can’t wait to get out there and be a part of the energy that’s in the room and be a part of it in any way that they want. It’s going to be a very, very fun event. I wish I could give you more details and stuff, but I think it’s for IGN to spill the beans. I’m going to play it safe and just go. I’m excited, I can’t wait to come to Los Angeles and be a part of this massive event.” “This would be the worst thing for my job. I would be in violation of my non-disclosure agreement. We have exciting things coming up and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of an event like this. So I’m keeping my mouth shut, but I’d like to keep my interest and excitement as it is.”
what’s that? Don’t know Sonic? Oh, and Smith has the runner-up answer to the question about most impactful role. That’s the narrator of TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress.”
“There’s something very funny about what I do for a living. If you and I are sitting next to each other on a plane and all of a sudden you go out of your way to say, ‘Oh yeah, this is what I do,’ the next question is often, ‘Have you heard anything?'” Smith said. “It depends on your age and your background, right? I’m like, ‘Are you a big gamer? Or do you like anime?'” But overall, if someone hasn’t heard of Sonic the Hedgehog or Kyle Crane or any of the other characters or things I’ve done, it seems like whenever I mention it, someone goes, “Ah!” Or my favorite is the tough guy who always says, “I don’t watch that show, but my girlfriend does,” or my wife, and then five minutes later she’s like, “So, wasn’t there that episode where Grandma gets stuck in the parking lot?” Oh yeah, I haven’t seen it. ”
“Say Yes to the Dress” maintains its relevance by circulating an old clip as a viral video on TikTok, so Smith will happily and proudly claim credit for it, but don’t ask him what he learned from it.
“There are 14 seasons and multiple different series,” Smith said. “There was the Atlanta show and all the different spin-offs that we’ve made. And it was a lot of fun. And I think people still think I know something about wedding dresses. And I can assure you, I don’t know anything about wedding dresses.”
