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Commander Shepard’s Actor Accidentally Immortalized One Mass Effect Race as Steve Buscemi
Mark Meer, the voice of male Commander Shepard, says an early demonstration helped shape how the Mass Effect alien races sound. His first salarian was a Steve Buscemi impression, and the cadence carried through the series. Jennifer Hale, who voiced female Shepard, said Meer helped define the sound of every species and set the tone for Shepard’s performance.
Meer had worked with BioWare since recording a single line for Baldur’s Gate 2, later voicing characters in other games, including Carth Onasi in the Knights of the Old Republic demo. BioWare asked him to demonstrate alien voices while Mass Effect was still in concept development, then invited him to audition for Shepard; he thought he would return to voicing aliens. He and Hale recorded separately, with BioWare asking them to keep the timing of each line the same.
In short
- Meer’s salarian voice began as a Steve Buscemi impression.
- His early recordings helped shape Mass Effect’s alien voices.
- He expected to voice aliens, but landed the role of Shepard.
Explained simply
Mass Effect is a science-fiction role-playing game series made by BioWare. Players follow Commander Shepard, a human officer whose choices shape events across a future in which humans and several alien species share the galaxy.
Mark Meer voiced the male version of Shepard, while Jennifer Hale voiced the female version. Before auditioning for Shepard, Meer was asked to demonstrate voices for the game’s alien characters, including the salarians, a species known for its quick speech.
The two actors recorded Shepard’s dialogue separately, keeping to the same timing so either performance could fit the game. Their work helped establish how the characters sounded, giving players a consistent voice for the story’s different versions of Shepard and alien species.
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