After the success of the Jak and Daxter game series, illustrious studio Naughty Dog upped the ante with 2007’s Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, a PlayStation-exclusive action-adventure game which went on to receive numerous well-regarded sequels across what became a highly successful media property which, as of 2022, also consists of a film adaptation starring Tom Holland, Matt Damon and Antonio Banderas.
During MCM Comic Con London X EGX, I got the chance to be part of a press group interview with the stars of the Uncharted titles, namely the legendary Nolan North, who played protagonist Nathan Drake, Emily Rose, who portrayed Elena Fisher and Richard McGonagle, who took on the role of Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan, during which the trio was asked about the biggest technical changes throughout their time reprising these characters, whether the novelty of being part of this franchise is beginning to wear off and more:
What was your biggest technical and performance change in going from the first Uncharted all the way to Uncharted 4?
Nolan North: Facial. For the first three games, they actually hand-animated all of our facial expressions. But, for the fourth game, they actually had these helmets rinsed with lights and make-up dots.
Emily Rose: And, one other thing is that for the first game [we had] all of the props. Real jeeps, real huge massive planes…by the end [of the series], it was barebones!
Nolan North: For the first Uncharted, they brought in a jeep, the jeep that you see [in the game] — was it light blue? They actually rolled one in and planted it…and we had to jump into it, which was uncomfortable. For Uncharted 2, they built the same kind of jeep out of blocks of wood and then added the chairs. For Uncharted 3, we had just four chairs. By Uncharted 4, that same jeep was literally just two chairs and a tennis ball attached to a pipe so we can shift ‘gears’. As an actor, you kind of wanted the Jeep back.
Emily Rose: Fly in the jeep! [laughs]
Nolan North: This table that we’re now sitting at is nicer than the ‘Jeep’ that we got in 4.
How do you feel that motion capture has changed since your start with the Uncharted franchise?
Emily Rose: What Naughty Dog and Sony were doing early on was so groundbreaking. It was at the vanguard of what was happening, right? And so, what was neat, from the voice-over side of it, is that it allowed us to be a part of that and build it into something. Now, it’s gotten built to where big, huge stars want to be a part of that. T
o be able to morph with technology, to be able to watch something grow, to be able to have art and innovation meet and to be able to be part of that…it’s incredible! I hope what doesn’t happen is that we lose the humanity [in making games] because I think that that’s what made Uncharted and other games in this genre so amazing.
Richard McGonagle: It’s like the difference between AI and reality…
Emily Rose: That’s what I was saying without saying it! [laughs]
Nolan North: To answer your question specifically…I got to meet Andy Serkis recently. I’ve always been a big fan of his and used to use his quote: “It’s acting just like any other acting except we wear digital makeup”. I think that this is brilliant. And the funny thing is that just about everybody who worked on Uncharted in a mocap suit started in the theatre. Some of our best people, not to play to the crowd, were British actors: Graham McTavish was so good as Lazarević in 2 that they also made him Cutter in 3 and Rosalind Ayres, who played Marlowe, was a wonderful actress. She was my favourite villain!
What’s interesting is that if you took that data today of any of these games, you could put it in a theatre or make it a film, just like Avatar! We shot on the same type of stages [with the] same equipment! In fact, the cameras for Uncharted 3 were Robert Zemeckis’ cameras from shooting The Polar Express with Tom Hanks. But, I mean, I don’t think I’m smart enough to understand the technology, but I do understand that we were, ages ago, kind of pioneers in the gaming industry of doing that.
Uncharted was really one of the first narrative-driven games that really kind of showed where that could go…one of the things that was so great about Uncharted, which the technology afforded us, is that, just like with an on-camera job, we had the ability to read the script but then play off something.
Emily Rose: But Amy [Hennig] wasn’t super precious about it. As a game director, she knew where she was going; she could captain the ship, and she wasn’t going to budge on things that didn’t need to budge. She wanted a human and collaborative element to be part of Uncharted. And, I think that’s what allows audiences to connect to the game: they can see themselves in the mess and improvisation and stuff.
Nolan North: We were groundbreakers! [laughs]
Richard McGonagle: She [Amy] said that right from the start. She said: “If you guys have any ideas as you’re going through this or as we’re rehearsing and shooting, do it, and if we like it, we’ll keep it!”
Nolan North: Can you imagine the stuff they threw out? Ooh! That’s a whole other game!
Richard McGonagle: It’s a good thing they did! [laughs]
You’ve come to probably hundreds of events over the years by now. Have you ever been surprised by anyone that comes up to you and tells you something about Uncharted or has it started to lose its novelty?
Nolan North: I think we’re just so grateful and blessed to have been part of something that’s become so huge. I joke about it, but I have now travelled the world more than Nathan Drake has because of Nathan Drake. We went to Jordan for a treasure hunt with Sony…I had a publicity thing where, over the course of just a couple of days, I had to go to London, Oslo, Berlin, Madrid and Paris. It was amazing!
Emily Rose: We did not take it for granted, I’m telling you! This was a moment in time, lightning in a bottle, where a recent UCLA graduate got to read lines and got to book a job because of that. Now, because of how big the industry is, the calibre I would have had to have at that moment to get into a room like that…I don’t take that for granted. Uncharted has been such a gift.
To follow up on this, do you worry about the next generation of talent? Do you think that they might not have this kind of opportunity, or do they just have different opportunities now?
Nolan North: I think that they have more [opportunities]. When I started, I was given an opportunity to do voice-over [for a game]. But, everyone wanted to do cartoons and animation. Because they’d get residual money and all that. Anyway, when I got into gaming voice-over, it was a lot of “grenade!” and “get down!” – yell for four hours, and that’s it! And I actually used to laugh, and I used to think: “I’m more part of sound design than the story.”
But then, I was starting to get a reputation for yelling for four hours and not complaining about it. So, I did a bunch of games…which makes it always great to come to one of these Comic Cons cause someone came to me with a copy of SWAT 4! I forgot about this one, you know? Anyway, I knock on wood sometimes because I was so lucky to be getting a reputation of someone who doesn’t complain, but then, all of a sudden, games moved into being more narrative-driven with titles such as Assassin’s Creed and Uncharted…I was at the right place at the right time.
Emily Rose: I think it’s definitely different…I do think that the opportunities have changed since everyone now has a film studio in their pocket…it’s just that you really have to have so much time to create and create the content, as you know so that it kind of cuts through the noise. So, I think that if someone is tenacious and they work hard, they can create an opportunity, for sure.
How has the Uncharted movie changed, if at all, how you view the characters you portray in the games?
Richard McGonagle: We’re better! [laughs]
Nolan North: Nothing’s really changed…I think we all understand how films are made: it’s a business. A movie with Emily, Richard and Nolan doesn’t get made.
Emily Rose: Well, it should! [laughs]
Nolan North: You know, what I really liked about the film is the fact that they said, “We need to make our own thing.” They purposely did not want to encroach on the games we made because they viewed them as films themselves. Anyway, they did not want a Nathan Drake who looked like the character in the game.
Richard McGonagle: They obviously didn’t want a Sully!
Nolan North: But you got a cat, and I thought that was cool! No, but they said: “Where was Nathan Drake in his 20s?” And so, they can take their own artistic liberties…I get it, business-wise, how it works.
Emily Rose: I was just happy it was bringing a new audience to the games…there is a whole group of people that wouldn’t have access to the games, so if they could go see this movie and see this whole world of this younger Indiana Jones-like and we could reinvent it, then that helps them come to the game.
Nolan North: One of the cool things about the Comic Cons and the different fans that we get to meet is that I can meet somebody, a big fan, and their son, 13 or 14, not even yet born when the first Uncharted came out, but he’s dressed up as Nathan Drake. And it’s one of those moments where I remember, when I had my kids, how much I couldn’t wait to show them Raiders of the Lost Ark.
And now, people are doing the same thing [with Uncharted]. Especially as a parent, to see that there is a legacy and the fact that we get to create something that so many people, all over the world, have really embraced…I never could have dreamed that big when I was a kid! And…the fact that we’re still here and everyone is asking us questions…it’s great!
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection is out now on PlayStation 5 and PC.
