They’ve died hundreds of times. They can switch between old ladies and teenage boys without even blinking. They probably have their tonsils insured. They’re voiceover artists, and, without them, our most memorable gaming avatars would have about as much personality as a silicon wafer. But who are these people? Are they highly skilled vocal gymnasts, able to scale the heights of any character a writer can throw at them...or failed screen actors looking for a quick buck in a recording studio? We decided to find out by taking five of the most iconic characters around and showing you the people who have ways of making them talk.

MASTER CHIEF

Game: Halo series
Type of character: Calm, quiet, and wryly cynical soldier
Best quote: “Relax. I’d rather not piss this thing off.”
Actor: Steve Downes Other work: DJ (WDRV, Chicago)
Biography: Downes is a popular Chicago-based DJ who famously doesn’t like games. Other than the Halo games, his only other experience of voicing a videogame character was for the rather obscure PC RPG Septerra Core (1999). The voice-acting director on that game was Martin O’Donnell, who went on to do the same for Halo (besides composing its brilliant score), which is how Downes got the job of bringing Master Chief to life. Now that you know what Steve does for a living, we pretty much guarantee you’ll never be able to hear the Chief say “I need a weapon,” without expecting him to follow it up with “…and now here’s Jennifer with an update on traffic!”

IVY

Game: Soulcalibur series
Type of character: Whip-cracking seductress
Best quote: “Well, aren’t we cheeky? This’ll be fun.”
Actor: Lani Minella
Other work: Sonic Adventure 2 (voice), Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 (voice)
Biography: Minella is a veteran voiceover actress who has specialized in videogames — over 450 of ’em, in fact. Aside from everyone’s favorite bouncy-chested disciplinarian, she was also the voice director for every 3D Sonic game before Shadow the Hedgehog. She can perform in four different octaves and almost any accent — seriously, check out her incredible demo reel at http://audiogodz.com. She’s mastered more than voices, though — she’s also, by her own assessment, “one of the most convincing emoters of deaths, attacks, and pain sounds in the biz.”

DANTE

Game: Devil May Cry series
Type of character: Cool gun-slinging demon
Best quote: “This is what I live for! And I’m absolutely crazy about it!”
Actor: Reuben Langdon
Other work: The Medallion (stunt double), Martial Law (stuntman)
Biography: Though he didn’t play the voice role for the first two games, stuntman Langdon is a rarity — he not only plays the voice of Dante, but also provides the motion-capture moves. Langdon trained with Japanese stunt teams before moving to the U.S., where he hooked up with Jackie Chan for his Hollywood work.

FAITH

Game: Mirror’s Edge
Type of character: Cool, unflappable free-runner
Best quote: “We exist on the edge between the glass and the reality — the mirror’s edge.”
Actor: Jules De Jongh
Other work: Grim (actress)
Biography: De Jongh is an American actress (born in California) who moved to the UK. Since her arrival, she’s worked on numerous TV shows and even has a radio show on BBC Berkshire. Early in her career, she appeared in a low-budget British horror movie called Grim, which was reviewed by one horror fan as follows: “If you’re ever given a choice between putting this one in your DVD player or putting it [sideways] in your rectum, pick the rectum. It’ll be a lot less painful.”

ALYX

Game: Half-Life 2
Type of character: Highly intelligent, tech-savvy, tough-as-nails girl next door…with a gun.
Best quote: “Think it’s dead? Maybe you should whack it with the crowbar just in case.”
Actor: Merle Dandridge
Other work: Angel (actor), NCIS (actor)
Biography: Dandridge got her Half-Life 2 role through the usual audition process, but what’s unusual is the amount of latitude she was given to make the character her own. Only a fool would argue that her cute yet feisty performance isn’t one of the main reasons that gamers have taken to Alyx, and Merle’s custom creation is often voted one of the best female characters in gaming.