These Are the Distinguished Voices of Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the sort of game that requires top-tier voice talent to work, so Bethesda Softworks has pulled out all the stops, recruiting a cast comprised of three Academy Award nominees, several highly recognizable science fiction actors, and the wife of ZeniMax Media CEO Robert A. Altman.

Bethesda sure knows how to pull together a cast, don’t they? With Skyrim featuring more than 70 different voice actors speaking more than 60,000 lines of dialogue, finding the right voice for the right role must have been a monumental task, except for maybe the role of Nord hero Gormlaith Golden-Hilt. She’s voiced by Lynda Carter, the actress (and singer?) once known as TV’s Wonder Woman and currently Mrs. Robert A. Altman. She’s a veteran of The Elder Scrolls, having carried roles in Oblivion and Morrowind before it.

That means she scores top billing, along with the likes of Max Von Sydow, also known as Ming the Merciless. The distinguished actor will be taking on the role of Esbern, an agent of the Blades that teaches the player how to battle the evil of Alduin, the World Eater. Or Christopher Plummer, who plays a powerful Greybeard monk elder named Arngeir. They’ve even managed to secure Tony Award winner Joan Allen, making her video game debut as Delphine, another of the last surviving members of the Blades.

Even the “also includes” list is impressive, with Battlestar Galactica‘s Michael Hogan, Vladimir Kulich from The 13th Warrior, Babylon 5‘s Claudia Christian, and a host of other, less press release worthy voice talent.

I’d still buy the game if Bethesda had the entire thing voiced by Mrs. McCreary’s fourth grade English class, but it’s nice to see them making the extra effort.

You can contact Michael Fahey, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.