{"id":98209,"date":"2026-11-08T05:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T21:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=98209"},"modified":"2026-11-08T05:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T21:26:08","slug":"commander-shepards-actor-accidentally-immortalized-one-mass-effect-race-as-steve-buscemi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=98209","title":{"rendered":"Commander Shepard\u2019s Actor Accidentally Immortalized One Mass Effect Race as Steve Buscemi"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Mark Meer never planned on saving the universe, but the universe had other plans.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You know Meer from a lengthy association with BioWare\u2019s most popular RPGs. He\u2019s lent his voice to several of the studio\u2019s games, from Neverwinter Nights<\/em> to Jade Empire<\/em>. Most famously, he voiced the male version of Mass Effect\u2019s Commander Shepard, but his work with BioWare dates back to one of the studio\u2019s earliest breakout hits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did one line in Baldur’s Gate 2<\/em>, and then subsequently, BioWare just kept hiring me for every subsequent project leading up to the Mass Effect trilogy,\u201d Meer said.<\/p>\n

In the wake of EA shutting down BioWare, laying off its remaining staff, and canceling Mass Effect: Universe<\/em>, Polygon spoke with Jennifer Hale and Meer, the voices of Mass Effect\u2019s Commander Shepard. They talked about their hopes for the future of Mass Effect, but also looked backward. Both actors recorded for the studio\u2019s Baldur\u2019s Gate games. Meer would play \u201cmonsters and antagonists and that sort of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

They also both had roles in BioWare\u2019s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic<\/em>. Hale notably played Bastila Shan, while Meer voiced Carth Onasi, but only in KOTOR<\/em>\u2019s demo. The role in the full game eventually went to Raphael Sbarge, who, as it happens, ended up playing Kaidan Alenko in Mass Effect. (\u201cBecause he replaced me, that’s why I killed Kaiden on Virmire,\u201d Meer likes to joke.)<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Mass\n <\/picture>Image: BioWare\/EA via Polygon<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

While Mass Effect was still in its concept art stage, he was brought in to aid in a presentation for the developers about how the aliens they were creating might sound. \u201cI don’t know if people realize how instrumental Mark was in defining the sound of every single species in this game,\u201d Hale said, shouting out her friend and fellow Shepard.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what does a typical salarian sound like? What does a typical krogan sound like? That kind of thing,\u201d Meer said. \u201cIt was nice to see some of the advice that I gave or some of the suggestions I made get implemented.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do take credit for the salarians all having the cadence of Steve Buscemi,\u201d Meer added with a laugh. The first salarian he did was essentially a Buscemi impression for a demo, and it stuck.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Mass\n <\/picture>Image: BioWare\/EA<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

While recording all those aliens, BioWare asked Meer if he\u2019d audition for Shepard. \u201cI thought there was absolutely no way I would get it,\u201d Meer said, \u201cwhich is probably good because I was not nervous at all.\u201d He thought it would be \u201cimpossible\u201d for him to land the role, and after auditioning he could \u201cgo back to doing my alien stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, that wasn\u2019t the case. He still did record \u201ca bunch of aliens\u201d for Mass Effect, like the vorcha, but that work was secondary to his role as Shepard. He was thrilled, but also somewhat shocked \u2014 and that shock doubled when he learned he\u2019d be doing the same role as Hale, a titan of the industry. \u201cIt was sort of like being told, \u2018You’ve been cast in this movie in the lead, and Meryl Streep will be playing opposite you playing the same character.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

\u201cGetting to be the lead in one of these was really a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Hale noted that Meer \u201cset the tone\u201d for Shepard by recording the initial couple sessions first. He was in Edmonton with BioWare while Hale recorded her lines in Los Angeles. In the early going, Hale\u2019s LA team would play for her whatever Meer had recorded before she\u2019d tackle her lines. His performance would influence the direction Hale took. She\u2019d record a line multiple ways, including imitating Meer\u2019s performance and then giving her own spin on a line read.<\/p>\n

Eventually they got into a groove and, because of the way schedules work out, Meer wouldn\u2019t always record first. Regardless of who was up, however, BioWare did have a specific request: \u201cThe one thing that they did really stress was you have to take the exact same amount of time to say the line,\u201d Meer said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"commander\n <\/picture>BioWare\/Electronic Arts<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

While Hale isn\u2019t a gamer herself (\u201cI suck at it,\u201d she joked), Meer is a big fan of choice-based RPGs. \u201cGetting to be the lead in one of these was really a dream come true,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The player is given a lot of flexibility in customizing Shepard, and Mass Effect\u2019s Paragon and Renegade morality system allows them even more freedom in creating the hero. \u201cSo we really had to find the core of Shepard. What is the same between Renegade and Paragon?\u201d Meer said.<\/p>\n

He compared a Paragon Shepard to an upstanding Paladin in Dungeons & Dragons, and a Renegade Shepard to a \u201csociopath [who\u2019s] still saving the galaxy, but not being polite or empathetic about it in any way whatsoever.\u201d No matter what, Meer, Hale, and their directors settled on Shepard being a \u201cmilitary officer that’s used to giving commands under pressure and is very professional in that sense,\u201d Meer said.<\/p>\n

Both Paragon and Renegade are worth playing, and both have their moments to shine. However, the freedom of a Renegade Shepard strikes a certain cord with both actors. \u201cI always joke that Paragon’s who I wish I was and Renegade’s what I wish I could say,\u201d Hale said. \u201cI think we all aspire to be Paragon, but sometimes wish we could be Renegade,\u201d Meer added.<\/p>\n

Because of the Paragon and Renegade system \u2014 and because these games are just so damn good \u2014 the community loves jumping back into Mass Effect for a new playthrough, regardless of if they make new choices or roll with the same ones as always.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, next year will be the 20th anniversary of the first Mass Effect game,\u201d Meer said. \u201cThe fact that we are still talking about it, that we still have fans that are so passionate about that universe \u2014 it is impressive and humbling.\u201d<\/p>\n