Rob Wiethoff

Robert Allen Wiethoff (born September 15, 1976) is an American former actor and voice actor. Wiethoff is best known for providing the voice and motion capture for John Marston in the 2010 video game Red Dead Redemption, its expansion Undead Nightmare, and the 2018 prequel Red Dead Redemption 2.

Rob Wiethoff
Wiethoff at the 2019 Great Philadelphia Comic Con
Born
Robert Allen Wiethoff

(1976-09-15) September 15, 1976
Seymour, Indiana, U.S
Alma materIndiana University
OccupationActor, voice actor
Years active2006–2018
Known forPortraying John Marston in the Red Dead Redemption series
Spouse(s)
Tayler Wiethoff
(
m. 2011)
Children2
Signature

Early life

Wiethoff was born on September 15, 1976 in Seymour, Indiana.[1] His father was a doctor. Wiethoff attended Indiana University and completed a degree in general studies.[2]

Career

While attending Indiana University, Wiethoff dated a woman who later moved to Los Angeles. He visited there for a week and was convinced by many people that they could get him acting roles in films, and he moved shortly after. However, all of the promises that he was given about the film roles were never true, and Wiethoff was left working as a bartender.[2] He did not receive many jobs in acting, other than a few small roles in small films and television advertisements.[3]

In December 2008, Wiethoff was travelling home when he received a call from his agent, telling him that he had an audition for an "untitled video game project". He completed the audition feeling discouraged that he was not going to be given the role. However, a few days later, he received news that he had won the role, and shooting began in January 2009.[4] The project was ultimately titled Red Dead Redemption, developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. For the game, Wiethoff provided the voice and motion capture for the main playable protagonist John Marston, a former outlaw. Most of the game's story takes place in 1911, during the twilight of the American frontier.

Wiethoff's role in Red Dead Redemption received widespread critical acclaim. In 2013, he placed fourth in Game Informer's top 10 best video game voice actors, with a comment that he "[nailed] it."[5] He was also placed second in Complex's top 25 greatest voice acting performances in video games, stating that he "[ended] his performance with undeniable bravado."[6] Wiethoff was also nominated for, and won, several awards for his performance in the game.[7][8]

Despite enjoying his experience working on Red Dead Redemption,[9] Wiethoff has not since pursued acting, only securing a few roles. He says that he is more focused on raising his children and supporting his family.[2]

In August 2013, it was announced that Wiethoff would be the voice of Lazarus in the interactive radio drama Codename Cygnus, developed by Reactive Studios. The episode featuring Wiethoff was released in September 2013.[10][11][12]

Wiethoff left Los Angeles and "walked away" from the industry in 2013.[13] Despite that, he reprised his role as a younger Marston for the 2018 video game Red Dead Redemption 2, a prequel to the original. His voice and motion capture work were done between 2014 and 2018.

Personal life
Rob Wiethoff with his wife Tayler in 2015

Wiethoff met his wife Tayler in Los Angeles during development of Red Dead Redemption. Once the game was released, the couple decided to move back to Wiethoff's hometown of Seymour, Indiana to raise their twin boys. They were born prematurely at approximately 28 weeks, which led to them requiring extensive medical attention following their birth.[2]

Outside of acting, Wiethoff does construction work.[13]

Filmography

Video games
Year Title Role Notes
2010Red Dead RedemptionJohn Marston
Undead NightmareStandalone expansion for Red Dead Redemption
2018Red Dead Redemption 2
Other
Year Title Role Notes
2013Codename CygnusLazarusInteractive radio drama for iOS and Android[14]

Film
Year Title Role Notes
200616 BlocksCourt Officer[15]Credited as "Rob Weithoff"
2009The OutsideTurk[16]Also producer
2010Red Dead Redemption: The Man from BlackwaterJohn Marston[17]Machinima short film made from video game footage
2011Double TapDetective Fitzgerald[18]

Awards and nominations
Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2010 Red Dead Redemption Spike Video Game Award for Best Performance by a Human Male Nominated [7][19]
National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Award for Outstanding Performance in a Drama, Lead Won [20]
2011 Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Award for Outstanding Character Performance Won [8][21]

References
  1. Internet Movie Database. "Rob Wiethoff". Amazon. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  2. Stafford, Patrick (June 19, 2013). "What happened to John Marston". Polygon. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  3. Plunkett, Luke (July 30, 2010). "The Men And Women Behind Gaming's Most Iconic Characters". Kotaku. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  4. Sources that refer to the auditions for Red Dead Redemption include:
  5. Presler, Mike (July 6, 2013). "Ten of the best video game voices of this generation". Game Informer. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  6. Hester, Larry (April 14, 2013). "The 25 Greatest Voice Acting Performances In Video Games". Complex. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  7. McElroy, Griffin (November 17, 2010). "Spike VGA Nominations are in, appropriately preposterous". Joystiq. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  8. "Awards Category Details (Outstanding Character Performance)". Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  9. Robinson, Brittany (February 6, 2012). "Spawny0908 Interviews Rob Wiethoff Voice of John Marston!!!". Red Dead Redemption Fanatic's Saloon. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  10. Makuch, Eddie (August 7, 2013). "Red Dead Redemption voice actor joins iOS game". GameSpot. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  11. Suszek, Mike (August 7, 2013). "Voice of John Marston joins Codename Cygnus radio drama app". Joystiq. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  12. Reactive Studios (July 18, 2013). "Codename Cygnus - an Interactive Radio Drama for iOS by Reactive Studios". Kickstarter. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  13. Stafford, Patrick (October 22, 2013). "What happened to John Marston". Polygon. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  14. "Codename Cygnus". Reactive Studios. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  15. Internet Movie Database. "16 Blocks (2006) - Full cast and crew". Amazon. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  16. Internet Movie Database. "The Outside (2009) - Full cast and crew". Amazon. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  17. Internet Movie Database. "Red Dead Redemption: The Man from Blackwater (2010) - Full cast and crew". Amazon. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  18. Internet Movie Database. "Double Tap (2011) - Full cast and crew". Amazon. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  19. Chester, Nick (November 17, 2010). "Nominees for Spike Video Game Awards 2010 revealed". Destructoid. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  20. "2010 Awards – National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Corporation". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  21. Sliwinski, Alexander (February 11, 2011). "Mass Effect 2 wins GOTY, RPG and storytelling awards at DICE 2011". Joystiq. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
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