David Hayter

David Bryan Hayter (born February 6, 1969) is a Canadian-American actor, voice actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is well known as the English-language voice actor for Solid Snake and Naked Snake in the Metal Gear video game series. He also co-wrote the films X-Men, X2, and Watchmen, and was awarded the Saturn Award for Best Writing in 2000 for his work on X-Men.

David Hayter
Hayter in May 2014
Born (1969-02-06) February 6, 1969
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Other namesSean Barker
OccupationActor, voice actor, screenwriter, director, producer
Years active1979–present

Early life

Hayter was born to Canadian parents in Santa Monica, California, on February 6, 1969. He started acting at the age of nine. He spent most of his childhood living around the world, and moved to Kobe at the age of 15, graduating from its international Canadian Academy in 1987. After this, he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for two years until transferring to Ryerson University in Toronto. He stayed there until the age of 20, when he moved to Hollywood.[1]

Career

Early acting career

Hayter did some live acting in the early 1990s, most notably in an episode of the sitcom Major Dad, but soon became more interested in voice acting and later landed the role of Captain America in the popular 1994 Spider-Man animated series.[2] He also provided the voice of Arsène Lupin III in the English version of the anime film The Castle of Cagliostro and the voice of Tamahome in the English version of the anime series Fushigi Yūgi. He also starred in the 1994, straight-to-video movie, Guyver: Dark Hero, as the protagonist, Sean Barker (a role he took over from the previous actor, Jack Armstrong); Hayter has since gone-on to use the character's name as an alias in various work credits.

Metal Gear series
Hayter at the September 21, 2006 Video Games Live in Los Angeles, California

Hayter began providing the English voice of Metal Gear series protagonist Solid Snake in the 1998 video game Metal Gear Solid, which also served as the series's transition from 2D to 3D. Hayter would go on to play Solid Snake and his predecessor Naked Snake throughout all the succeeding installments (including spinoffs, re-releases and adaptations) up to and including Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker in 2010. Hayter also has an extended live-action cameo as himself in one of the fictional TV programs prior to the start of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008); where he wears the "Solid Eye", the technologically advanced eye patch that Snake wears throughout the game. Outside the Metal Gear series, Hayter also voiced Snake in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008).

His work with the Metal Gear series has also led Hayter to do voice work in other video game projects such as Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem and Star Wars: The Old Republic. He cited the series as an influence on his screenwriting, stating that "Kojima and I have different styles," "but I've certainly learned things from him, especially about ambiguity and telling a story without giving all the answers."[3]

Hayter is one of the few Metal Gear actors to have played and completed the games he's voiced in.[4] According to an interview with Paul Eiding, Hayter gave up half of his own paycheck in order to bring back the cast of the original Metal Gear Solid for the 2004 remake Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.

Following the announcement of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain in the 2013 Game Developers Conference, Hayter announced that he was not asked to reprise the role of Snake for this entry.[5] This was later confirmed when Konami announced that Kiefer Sutherland would be the voice of Snake during E3 the same year.[6] Hayter has since revealed in an interview that he had to re-audition for the role suggesting that the series' creator Hideo Kojima was already considering recasting the part much earlier, with Kurt Russell (Snake Plissken in Escape from New York and Escape from L.A.) having been allegedly offered the role during the development of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.[7]

After Kojima's departure from Konami following the release of The Phantom Pain, Hayter would reprise the role of Snake in a Metal Gear Solid-themed advertisement for the 2016 Ford Focus SE aired in 2016.[8] In 2018, Hayter provided Snake's voice in two video games: Super Bomberman R (which added two playable characters based on both Solid Snake and Naked Snake in an update) and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.[9]

Filmmaking

In 2000, he wrote the screenplay for the movie version of X-Men, for which he was awarded the 2000 Saturn Award for Best Writing,[10] and then went on to co-write the screenplay for its sequel X2 with writing team Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris. Shortly after his work on X-Men, Hayter was hired to write and direct a project based on the heroine Black Widow.[11] However, due to the limited success of similar themed films featuring female vigilante protagonists at the time, Marvel withdrew their offer to Hayter stating, "We don’t think it’s time to do this movie". Hayter's daughter Natasha, born whilst he was writing the Black Widow script, is named after the titular character.[12]

Hayter also wrote an adaptation of the graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore and David Gibbons. Noted for being a harsh critic of translations of his works to film, Moore said of the script "David Hayter's screenplay was as close as I could imagine anyone getting to [a film version of] Watchmen. That said, I shan't be going to see it. My book is a comic book. Not a movie, not a novel. A comic book. It's been made in a certain way, and designed to be read a certain way."[13] Hayter and writer Alex Tse shared credit on the finished screenplay. Tse drew "the best elements" from two of the project's previous drafts written by screenwriter Hayter.[14] The script did not keep the contemporary atmosphere that Hayter created, but instead returned to the original Cold War setting of the Watchmen comic.[15] Warner Bros. was amenable to the 1980s setting, and the director also added a title montage sequence to introduce the audience to the events of alternate history United States in that time period.[16]

On September 7, 2012, it was announced that Hayter would pen the screen adaptation Caught Stealing, and would star Patrick Wilson and Alec Baldwin.[17]

On September 13, 2012, Hayter began filming on his directorial debut, Wolves.[18]

On July 8, 2013, Hayter was hired by Lakeshore Entertainment to write the film The Sword, based on the Image Comics series.[19]

On August 7, 2013, it was announced Hayter was developing a television show on Fox tentatively titled World War III, about a fiction global conflict that chronicles "a perfect storm of world events places us in the center of a global battle which may bring the world as we know it to an end." Hayter will be writing the series' story bible and pilot episode, as well as producing and serving as showrunner.[20]

On September 28, 2018, Hayter announced he was co-writing and producing the upcoming Netflix series Warrior Nun, based on the 1994 comic book series Warrior Nun Areala, with Simon Barry serving as series creator and showrunner. [21] Season 1 debuted on Netflix on July 2, 2020.

2019 Idolmaster Cinderella Girls general election

In late April 2019, non-Japanese fans of the Cinderella Girls sub-series of Bandai Namco Entertainment's Idolmaster franchise started pairing the then-unvoiced Brazilian character Natalia with Solid Snake.[22] On 22 April 2019, Canadian YouTuber Mahado, a fan of the series, released a video in which Hayter reprised his role as Solid Snake to urge players to vote for Natalia in the 2019 Cinderella Girls general election, with audio by PepsiJohnny and Japanese subtitles by ThePascalPama.[23] The campaign involved both players in[24] and outside Japan, and at the end of September 2019, Natalia placed 9th in the overall preliminary rankings (3rd in Passion idol rankings) in the election[25] and finally got a voice actress in the form of Teru Ikata.[26][27][28]

Filmography

Anime (English dubbing)
YearTitleRoleNotes
1994MoldiverHiroshi Ozora
1996Rakusho! Hyper DollReporteras Sean Barker
They Were ElevenDoricas Soldam IVas Sean Barker
1997Street Fighter II VAdditional Voicesas Sean Barker
Black JackLeslie Harrisas Sean Barker
1998–2000Fushigi YûgiTamahome / Taka Sukunami / Yoshuias Sean Barker
1998Giant Robo: The AnimationShoji Genas Sean Barker
Yu Yu Hakusho: The MovieKuramaas Sean Barker
1999Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the PocketBernard Wisemanas Sean Barker[29]
2000The Castle of CagliostroArsène Lupin IIIas Sean Barker
2000–01Dual! Parallel Trouble AdventureAdditional Voices

Animation
YearTitleRoleNotes
1996–97Spider-ManCaptain AmericaTV series; 8 episodes
2012Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic NovelSolid SnakeMotion comic adaptations of the Metal Gear Solid graphic novels included as extra content in Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection
Metal Gear Solid 2: Digital Graphic Novel
2019Khonjin HouseWeb series; Episode "Infiltrator 2"

Video games
YearTitleRoleNotes
1998Metal Gear SolidSolid SnakeEnglish dub
2001Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of LibertySolid Snake / Iroquois PliskinEnglish dub
2002Eternal Darkness: Sanity's RequiemRoman Legionnaire 1 / Roman Legionnaire 2 / Angkor Thom Guard
2004Metal Gear Solid: The Twin SnakesSolid SnakeEnglish dub
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake EaterNaked SnakeEnglish dub
2005Metal Gear Acid 2SnakeEnglish dub
2006Metal Gear Solid: Portable OpsNaked SnakeEnglish dub
2008Super Smash Bros. BrawlSnakeEnglish dub
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the PatriotsSolid Snake / Old SnakeEnglish dub; Also has a live-action cameo playing himself.
2010Metal Gear Solid: Peace WalkerNaked Snake / Big BossEnglish dub
2011Star Wars: The Old RepublicJedi Knight Male[30]
2013Marvel HeroesWinter Soldier
2013-15RépubliqueDaniel Zager
2014Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty!Mudokons
2015Dragon Age: InquisitionLieutenant RennThe Descent DLC
2016The Long DarkJeremiah
Deponia DoomsdayOld Rufus
2018Super Bomberman RSolid Snake Bomber / Naked Snake BomberEnglish dub; Characters added in the Ver. 2.1 update patch, released on June 27, 2018
Super Smash Bros. UltimateSolid Snake[31]English dub; Re-uses voice clips from Super Smash Bros. Brawl
2019Bloodstained: Ritual of the NightZangetsu, Narrator
2020Phantom: Covert OpsGeneral Nikolai Zhurov
TBASteamdolls - Order of ChaosThe Whisper

Live action
Year Film Director Writer Producer Notes
1998 Burn No No Yes Unreleased on home media. Uploaded on David Hayter's Youtube channel on May 2, 2019.[32]
2000 X-Men No Yes No
2002 Lost in Oz No Yes Yes TV movie
The Scorpion King No Yes No
2003 X2 No Yes No
2009 Watchmen No Yes No
2010 Chasm Yes Yes No Short film
2014 Wolves Yes Yes No Directorial debut
2015 A Christmas Horror Story No No Executive
2020 Warrior Nun No Yes Supervising Producer
TBA Untitled Voltron live-action film No Yes No

Acting roles
Year Film Role Notes
1993 Major Dad Misha Sarotsky Episode: "From Russia with Like"
1994 Guyver: Dark Hero Sean Barker
Long Shadows Ed's secretary TV movie
1996 The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century Voice Episodes: "Stalemate" and "Total War"
1997 Drive Cop #1
1998 Burn Tom Rice
2000 Wild on the Set Narrator TV series
X-Men Museum Cop
2014 Devil's Mile Toby McTeague
2016-present The Flash King Shark 4 episodes
Voice only

Webshow
Year Webshow Role Notes
2009 Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'? Episode: "The Sons of Big Boss"
Voice only
2017 The Jimquisition Episode: "Slay to Pay"
Voice only
2018 Boundary Break Solid Snake Episode: "Metal Gear Solid"[33]
gollark: "Decentralized ecosystem": LiNUX.
gollark: <@151391317740486657>
gollark: In fact, there's already a one-way game→skynet relay.
gollark: Or skynet.
gollark: Hi!

References
  1. Crew, TWiG. "TWiG – David Hayter Special Interview".
  2. "A chat with Solid Snake: David Hayter on Marvel Heroes, voice acting, and if video game movies will ever be good". PCGamesN.
  3. Fitch, Andrew (May 7, 2008). "Anime Expo: David Hayter Critical of Some MGS Moments". 1UP.com. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  4. "UK PSP". Archived from the original on January 17, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2006.
  5. Narcisse, Evan (March 27, 2013). "Beloved Solid Snake Voice Actor Says He Wasn't Asked to Be in Metal Gear Solid V". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  6. Goldfarb, Andrew (June 6, 2013). "Kiefer Sutherland Playing Snake in Metal Gear Solid V". IGN. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  7. Carson, Ben (March 25, 2016). "The Inside Story Of Recording Metal Gear Solid". Game Informer. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  8. "David Hayter reprises Metal Gear Solid role in Ford commercials". Eurogamer.net. April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  9. Hilliard, Kyle. "David Hayter Is Voicing Snake For His Return In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate". Game Informer. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  10. "Past Saturn Awards". The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Archived from the original on February 9, 2010.
  11. "Could Marvel revive Black Widow film?". July 21, 2014.
  12. McMillan, Graeme (February 28, 2010). "How Aeon Flux Killed Black Widow and Made Iron Man 2 the Movie it is Today". i09.
  13. Jensen, Jeff (October 21, 2005). "Watchmen: An Oral History". Entertainment Weekly.
  14. Gregory Ellwood (July 18, 2006). "World awaits Watchmen". Variety. Retrieved September 23, 2006.
  15. "Exclusive: Zack Snyder talks Watchmen". Empire. October 5, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2006.
  16. Patrick Lee (November 9, 2006). "Snyder: Watchmen Remains True". Sci Fi Wire. Archived from the original on September 1, 2007. Retrieved November 9, 2006.
  17. McClintock, Pamela (September 7, 2012). "The Hollywood Reporter". Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  18. "Dark Horizons". Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  19. Sneider, Jeff (July 8, 2013). "'Watchmen' Writer David Hayter to Adapt 'The Sword' for Lakeshore". The Wrap. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  20. Marnell, Blair. "Fox Starts 'World War III' With David Hayter". Crave Online. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  21. Hayter, David (September 28, 2018). "I am so proud... To finally announce this secret, badass show I've been co-writing. WARRIOR NUN". Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  22. Jacob Parker-Dalton (24 April 2019). "Solid Snake Infiltrates 8th 'iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls' Election". Otaquest. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  23. Mahado (22 April 2019). "Natalia Cinderella Girls Promo". YouTube. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  24. tsundere4u (22 April 2019). "スネークのコスプレをするナターリア。「Can you hear what I'm saying?」 #第8回シンデレラガール総選挙 #ナターリアを世界でイチバンに". Twitter. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  25. ぅしゃで (20 May 2019). "第8回シンデレラガール総選挙結果発表". Niconico. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  26. Deresute/デレステ ENG (30 September 2019). "Here's a preview of Natalia's voice!". Twitter. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  27. "E1 Ent., Hayter's Dark Hero Partner on Push TV Series". Animation World Network. January 1, 2020.
  28. "Destructoid interview: David Hayter". Destructoid.com. January 15, 2020.
  29. "Buried Treasure - Gundam 0080".
  30. BioWare (December 20, 2011). Star Wars: The Old Republic. Electronic Arts, LucasArts. Scene: closing credits, 9:50 in, English Cast.
  31. Hayter, David (2018-06-12). "Tweet". @DavidBHayter. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  32. "Burn (1998)". Youtube. May 2, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  33. "Off Camera Secrets | Metal Gear Solid - Boundary Break Ft. David Hayter". YouTube. Shesez. January 5, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
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