Grand Theft: Actors Stiffed on Video Game Work

by Jordan Yerman | May 22, 2008 at 09:31 am

150 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

Since this is real life, the voice- and motion-capture artist who played the lead in Grand Theft Auto IV can't just grab a Ferrari and a shotgun, crash along the sidewalk and into RockStar headquarters, and demand money... the system in place is a bit more complicated than that.

As video games continue to rack up massive amounts of money, actors' unions haven't yet negotiated a pay scale commensurate with those profits, though negotiations between those unions and entertainemnt industry execs are taking place this summer; such a stipulation will most likely be on the unions' agenda.

His face still isn’t famous, but Mr. Hollick’s voice and gait have moved into the pop culture firmament recently as those of Niko Bellic, the sardonic, textured Balkan criminal at the heart of Grand Theft Auto IV, the acclaimed gangster fantasy that has become the fastest-selling game to date. Produced by Rockstar Games and its corporate parent, Take-Two Interactive Software, the game has generated at least $600 million in sales over the last three weeks.

Yet even as “Saturday Night Live” has spoofed the Niko character, even as Mr. Hollick’s voice has been heard in tens of millions of homes in advertisements broadcast during “American Idol” and the N.B.A. playoffs, even as fans have flocked to his MySpace page, his triumph has been bittersweet.

That’s because Mr. Hollick was paid only about $100,000 over roughly 15 months between late 2006 and early this year for all of his voice acting and motion-capture work on the game, with zero royalties or residuals in sight, he said.