Diego Baldoin – The Voice of Ezio Auditore

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Carlo Prisco
26 April 2023
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Reading Time: 4 minutes

Diego Baldoin – The Voice of Ezio Auditore
Diego Baldoin, a theatrical actor you know as Isaac in Dead Space 2, Emile in Halo: Reach, Ghost in CoD: Modern Warfare 2, Tai in Gears of War 2, King Logan in Fable III, Bartholomew in the Assassin’s Creed saga , but the voice with which we will best vonognize him is Ezio Auditore in Assassin’s Creed Revelation.

I must say that as a good fan and collector of AC it was an honor to meet the great voice actor who gave the voice to Ezio ( which moreover is his natural voice ) in short perfect interpretation .

Below the interview he did at Vigamus and his interpretation of Ezio :

Excerpt from the interview by MondoXbox

What should someone who wanted to take the same path do?

Diego Baldoin: It’s hard to believe but I started almost by accident! Ever since I was a child, I have always had an unbridled passion for voices; I would get lost listening to them and be fascinated by them. Even today, when watching a movie, it happens that I have to rewatch scenes because, by dint of paying attention to the voice, I miss key lines! I started studying acting for fun: I wanted to try something new, fascinating, to explore a world far away from me, and I really didn’t think I could become an actor and voice actor. I was privileged to have excellent teachers, and a couple of lucky encounters did the rest.

As others of my colleagues have said in the past, those who want to take this path absolutely must understand that a certain natural predisposition is not enough. One must study, prepare, observe good professionals , try to “steal” their secrets and learn how to act. Dubbing, even in the video game field, requires skills; the “good voice” alone is not enough. In short, nothing is improvised!

What does a video game dubbing session consist of? How does it take place?

Diego Baldoin: Contrary to popular belief, video game dubbing lacks the video part. It is doubled “off the books,” as they say. The only reference, other than the dubbing director’s directions, is the original audio track. The advantage over traditional dubbing lies in the speed (without seeing the video you record much faster), but there is a major limitation: you record in the “dark,” and the inability to see the scene sometimes makes the actor’s acting poorly matched with what actually happens in the game.

Let’s talk a bit about the world of video game dubbing: we often witness productions of fluctuating quality, without ever reaching sublime levels. And this is despite the fact that Italy has one of the best, if not the best, dubbing industry in the world. What do you think are the main problems of video game dubbing in Italy?

Diego Baldoin: Just the ones I was explaining earlier. It is fair to criticize if you are not satisfied with the work, and it is equally fair for the voice actors to accept the judgment. However, one has to be honest and always take into account the conditions under which actors express themselves. It is not easy to perfectly impersonate a character if you do not know the plot, the situation, or if you simply do not see the scene. Sometimes more than dubbing, it is about imagining, and I assure you that this very thing shows how good Italian dubbers are. After all, we should not forget that they are the same ones who lend their voices to the great foreign actors and whom everyone unanimously recognizes as the exponents of the best school, the Italian school precisely. I hope that describing the dynamics of videludic dubbing will lead to greater understanding of and trust in homegrown actors.

In fact, we can often see episodes of video game characters whose voices do not convey real emotions or do not particularly fit the situation, as if the actor does not know the context of what he or she is saying. Do they not inform you about the scene you are to perform by providing all the details?

Diego Baldoin: Yes, the directors are aware of the limitations of this way of working and help the actors, but often they don’t know much about it either. The point is that you can have all the details you need, but if you don’t see the scene, it’s still like shooting blind. You know the direction but don’t have the crosshairs perfectly aimed. Often it goes well but sometimes, unfortunately, it is blatantly wrong.

U.S. producers often employ prominent actors for the original dubbing of their titles; in Italy, however, it is very rare to see well-known voices at work on video games. Do you think it depends only on an economic problem, or are there other reasons?

Diego Baldoin: I do not know in detail the reality of U.S. dubbing, however, I believe that, as you said, the reason is mainly economic. In any case, it is always better to rely on experienced voice actors, as is the case with us, rather than on name actors who lend themselves to dubbing without having the actual ability or the slightest idea of what this is.

Diego Baldoin – The Voice of Ezio Auditore

Carlo Prisco

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