Interview Questions for XIII Voice Talent: David Duchovny

Q1: What made you interested in getting involved in a videogame project?

David Duchovny: It seemed like a wonderful challenge to perform on an interactive media such as videogaming. You not only have someone moving your character’s body parts, but also controlling what choices the character makes. That’s totally new for me.

Q2: Compared to television and film acting, what are the major differences to voice acting for a video game?

David Duchovny: Games, by nature, have more plot options and non-linear qualities than TV and film. Therefore, an actor is forced to retain his character throughout the recording session in spite of discontinuous and sometime mysterious dialogue. And don’t forget I didn’t know everything about the other characters, so the end result will be a surprise to me.

Q3: What do you think of XIII?

David Duchovny: What strikes me is that XIII looks like a movie. The shot making is movie like, which is kind of fun – the kind of playful action movie shot making is pretty, is pretty good. What’s also great about this game is its style and interesting story-line.

Q4: XIII centers around a large government conspiracy, you worked on a television show famous for exploring conspiracies. Why do you think people are so interested in conspiracies?

David Duchovny: I think people enjoy conspiracies just because they, first of all they enjoy mystery, but I also think everybody likes to think that there’s one final answer that they’re going to uncover at the end of it. Rather than just chaos and happenstance.

Q5: How much of the game's mysterious plot were you able to figure out from your voice-acting sessions alone?

David Duchovny: Ubi Soft has sworn me to secrecy about some key details, but here is what I can tell you. Basically, the story is about my character, XIII, who is accused of killing the president, and is being hunted by both the FBI and a group called the Twenty. XIII has complete amnesia which makes things extra precarious. Two characters Major Jones and General Carrington help him out to unravel a larger government conspiracy.

No one is who they seem in this game making you think twice before trusting characters in the game.

Q6: What else are you working on these days?

David Duchovny: I am currently shooting a movie called Connie and Carla do LA with Nia Vardolos and Toni Collette. They play women posing as men dressed as women. They’re kind of on the lam, and hiding out, they love musical theatre so they’re drag queens performing in a musical review. I am also starring and directing in a movie I wrote called House of D, which also stars Robin Williams and my wife, Tea Leoni. It’s the first movie that I am directing.

Thank you for taking the time

David Duchovny: It was my pleasure

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