First off, they don’t outry deny that Troy Baker turned down the role because Gearbox wouldn’t hire union voice actors. Eddings said that he had been bullied and physically assaulted by his former boss Pitchford. I’m not mad. I’ve been waiting for this call. Video Game: Borderlands 3 Franchise: Borderlands Final Fantasy 15 voice actor Ray Chase will be playing Rhys in Borderlands 3, replacing Troy Baker who originated the role in Tales from the Borderlands. Earlier this year, Borderlands fans were devastated to learn that actor Troy Baker would not be reprising his role as Rhys in Borderlands 3. “No, it was simply a matter of [Gearbox] wouldn’t go union,” Baker said. @SilverTuna014, Matthew Byrd is a freelance writer and entertainment enthusiast living in Brooklyn. As a talent-owned and talent-led organization, Gearbox enthusiastically works to ensure our pay and working conditions meet or exceed union standards. Max Mittelman will voice Troy Calypso in Borderlands 3, Tyreen's twin brother. Second, a statement from the SAG-AFTRA seemingly suggests that Gearbox wouldn’t sign a deal to unionize the Borderlands 3 voice acting team. Borderlands 3; Voice actor Troy Baker claims Gearbox refused union talent for Borderlands 3 (Updated) LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 06: Troy Baker attends the 2016 BAFTA Games Awards at Tobacco Dock on April ... [+] 6, 2017 in London, England. “Which I said, ‘Absolutely.’ And then they made it impossible for me to do the role. Elisa Melendez lends her voice to the other main Borderlands 3 villain, Tyreen Calypso, and this role marks her first as an actor. Troy Baker: I didn't voice Rhys in Borderlands 3 because Gearbox "wouldn't go union" ... Kotaku), revealing it tried to sign a deal with Gearbox for voice actors working on Borderlands 3 … Baker claimed at the time that wasn’t necessarily the truth, and Pitchford later suggested that he’d only heard that Baker turned down the role. © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford quarreled on Twitter with the voice actors Troy Baker (Rhys) and David Eddings (Claptrap) about the reasons for which both were not retained to voice their former character again. 6, 2017 in London, England. It had nothing to do with money, it had nothing to do with money. For those who don’t know, this controversy began when Troy Baker stated that his decision to not appear in Borderlands 3 was largely based on Gearbox’s union hiring policies. Troy Baker, the prolific voice actor who has played such characters as The Last of Us' Joel, claims Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford is wrong about him turning down Borderlands 3 role. When he's not exploring the culture of video games, he's wishing he had a…, sending private investigators to people’s houses, pretty good game that honestly may have been released a few years too late, Tales From the Borderlands Leaked Trailer Hints at Remaster and Sequel, Borderlands 3: Gearbox CEO and Claptrap Voice Actor Feud Over Pay, Halo 4 Was Almost Made by Borderlands Developer Gearbox, Introducing A Brand New FREE Quarterly Magazine From Den of Geek, Magic: The Gathering - The Legend of the Black Lotus Continues, Borderlands 3: Gearbox Responds to Troy Baker Union Voice Actor Controversy. They never, because they would never move from that position. They were like, ‘Do you want to do this?’ And I said, ‘Yes’. Tales from the Borderlands voice actor Troy Baker is apparently not reprising his role as Rhys.From the announcement trailer shown off at PAX East during the … He voiced the Borderlands character Rhys in Tales from the Borderlands. Baker, who has lent his voice talent to numerous video games but is perhaps best know for his role as Joel in The Last of Us, is affiliated with SAG-AFTRA. They also don’t really try to argue that they actively hire union voice actors. Max Mittelman is the voice of Troy Calypso in Borderlands 3, and Soma Saito is the Japanese voice. Gearbox is a Texas company and is bound by Texas law – which means that a person cannot be denied employment because of membership or non-membership in a labour union or other labour organisation.”. You may opt-out by. Troy was given a prosthetic right arm and … Troy Edward Baker (born April 1, 1976) is an American voice actor and musician. VG247 noted that in an interview with Baker, the actor was “openly disappointed” about the decision. voiced by Zehra Fazal and 1 other. There was a bit of drama a few months back when it was revealed that Baker wouldn’t be reprising his role as Rhys in Borderlands 3 despite the fact that the character was set to return to the franchise in some form or fashion. In this FPS/RPG, Troy and Tyreen Calypso learn of other Vaults beyond the planet Pandora, and form a violent cult named the "Children of the Vault" to gain possession of them, … “Troy is an exceptional talent and we were disappointed that he declined to partner on Borderlands 3 after being offered the part,” reads a statement from Gearbox. I write about career and labor topics in the video game industry. 6, 2017 in London, England. There’s a couple of important things to note about that statement. Something completely new! (Photo by John Phillips/John Phillips/Getty Images). Aside from the game’s voice actor woes and sending private investigators to people’s houses, there were also reports of Pitchford being abusive towards former co-workers. Troy Baker is one of the most prolific voice actors in games, and his credits include Rhys from Telltale’s beloved Tales from the Borderlands series. voiced by Marissa Lenti and 1 other. Voice actor Troy Baker revealed that he didn’t reprise his role of Rhys in Borderlands 3 due because Gearbox “wouldn’t go union,” according to an interview with VG247 released on Monday. Gearbox claims they can not discriminate against hiring an actor over their union affiliation, but it’s very hard to prove whether or not they wouldn’t hire someone for that reason in private and publically declare another reason for their decision. We always knew going into it, that this was going to be the thing. “So they came to me, and they were like, ‘Do you want to do this?’,” Baker said. I'd argue this is the side of unions that people dislike. You can find her writing at Variety, Polygon, Rock Paper Shotgun, The Mary Sue, Game Informer Magazine, and other publications. Final Fantasy 15 voice actor Ray Chase will be playing Rhys in Borderlands 3, replacing Troy Baker who originated the role in Tales from the Borderlands. Amara. Of course, Borderlands 3 has been no stranger to controversy. Voice actor Troy Baker revealed that he didn’t reprise his role of Rhys in Borderlands 3 due because Gearbox “wouldn’t go union,” according to an interview with VG247 released on Monday. Troy Baker is one of the best-known voice actors in the gaming industry; he voiced Joel in The Last of Us, Booker DeWitt in Bioshock Infinite, and Sam Drake in Uncharted 4, among dozens of other roles. Gearbox is a Texas company and is bound by Texas law – which means that a person cannot be denied employment because of membership or non-membership in a labor union or other labor organization. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. “We applaud any member who stands up for workplace fairness and the integrity of their creative work,” reads a statement from the SAG-AFTRA released to Kotaku. voiced by SungWon Cho and 1 other. Baker expressed previously, at Supanova Melbourne that he wanted to play Rhys again, as he felt that it was important to have the actors who originate roles reprise them. Union SAG-AFTRA said Gearbox ‘refused’ a union agreement that would allow voice actor Troy Baker to reprise his role as Rhys Strongfork in Borderlands 3. At some point during their childhood, the two were surgically separated. Follow her on Twitter @LizLanierWrites. Gearbox has responded to voice actor Troy Baker’s claim that the studio wouldn’t hire union voice actors for Borderlands 3. “No, it was simply a matter of they wouldn’t go union,” Baker told VG24/7 when asked to clarify why he didn’t appear in Gearbox’s latest. Prolific voice actor Troy Baker played Rhys in Tales from the Borderlands. We attempted to sign Gearbox to a union agreement. They were going to take these characters, and put them from the Tales from the Borderlands series from Telltale, into Borderlands proper. Troy Calypso is voiced by Max Mittelman in Borderlands 3 Confirmed on Twitter by Max himself. Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. We wish him the best and hope he knows the offer to collaborate with him still stands. 'Borderlands 3' Drops Voice Actor For Fan-Favorite Character. Voice actor Troy Baker has raised new concerns regarding why he didn't reprise his role in Borderlands 3. (Photo by John Phillips/John Phillips/Getty Images) Getty. Liz Lanier is a journalist and MFA candidate currently living in Minnesota. Update: Gearbox sent the following statement to IGN in response to Baker's claim:"Troy is an exceptional talent and we were disappointed that he declined to partner on Borderlands 3 after being offered the part. “No, it was simply a matter of they wouldn’t go union,” says Baker in an interview with VG247 “I can’t do a non-union gig. By Tyler Fischer - April 8, 2019 05:46 pm EDT. Borderlands voice actor Troy Baker has said he didn’t reprise his role of Rhys in Borderlands 3 because developer Gearbox “wouldn’t go union”. They just simply would not go about doing it the way that we needed it to be done. Directed by Paul Sage. UPDATE: Gearbox reached out with a comment after publication of this story on Monday clarifying that it cannot deny employment based on union membership and confirming that it did offer the role of Rhys to Baker. FL4K. Pitchford added that, “Fortunately, with how Rhys appears in the game, I don’t think it actually matters at all.”. The combined statements from these three parties seemingly suggest that, at the very least, there were not union voice actors working on Borderlands 3 and that Gearbox was not willing to sign a union agreement for the game. “And I can’t do a non-union gig. 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I reached out to Gearbox for comment, but did not receive a response. https://www.onlysp.com/troy-baker-rhys-borderlands-3-randy-pitchford-exclusive-interview/ So, either Troy Baker is lying or someone at Gearbox is lying. He also tweeted that he wanted to reprise the role when fans speculated about his potential casting in Borderlands 3.This was in contrast to what Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford expressed about the matter, in which he stated via Twitter that Baker had turned down the role. Rhys voice actor Troy Baker sheds more light on his absence in Borderlands 3, saying that he wanted to work, but Gearbox "wouldn't go union." Matthew Byrd | Troy Baker Won’t be Voicing Borderlands 3 Rhys. Moze. For those who don’t know, Baker previously voiced the character Rhys in Tales from the Borderlands. Due to his sister being born a Siren, her status was transferred over to him, thus becoming a Siren by proxy. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. He was born as the parasitic twin of his sister Tyreen, meaning he was less developed, and was born attached to her. With Chris Hardwick, Ice-T, Penn & Teller, SungWon Cho. At the time, Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford suggested that the reason why Baker didn’t appear in the game was that Baker turned down the role. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Baker further stated that it all came down to union matters, and not due to scheduling conflicts or other concerns. Gearbox has responded to voice actor Troy Baker’s claim that the studio wouldn’t hire union voice actors for Borderlands 3. Unfortunately, it was a misleading statement. Zane Flynt. We wish him the best and hope he knows the offer to collaborate with him still stands. They refused and disengaged from those talks.”. 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