In a new episode of Nightdive's Deep Dive podcast releasing later today, legendary voice actor Stephen Russell spoke about his experience portraying the protagonist of the Thief series, Garrett. We also got final confirmation of something Nightdive had been teasing for awhile: Russell will be reprising the role in the new Shattered Mirror expansion coming with the Thief remaster on December 3.

I don't think I realized before this interview that Thief was Russell's very first videogame role. Before working with Looking Glass, he had experience in theater, radio and "medical reads" where he had to pronounce complex disease names in an even, doctorly cadence.

Russell said that he felt able to let loose for the first time as Garrett, channeling Clint Eastwood to nail the rogue's singular noirish rasp. Russell hadn't been much into games, with his main frame of reference being simple arcade and educational fare, so he was struck when he first saw an early build of Thief, still remembering "the incredible claustrophobia they had created."

Recalling the creative ferment of Looking Glass in the '90s, Russell said that he had "never seen so many sleep-deprived people in [his] life." He also affectionately recalled the studio's habit of pulling devs out of their office chairs to fill out games' VO roles alongside the professionals: "Having got my start as an actor in community theater, it felt very familiar," Russell quipped. "You're not painting the sets today, today you're playing the lead role!"

Even after a long career appearing in the likes of Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and Dishonored, Russell still counts Garrett as one of his favorite roles, and said that playing both the protagonist (Garrett) and antagonist (Father Karras) in Thief 2⁠—and having so few people realize he was voicing Karras⁠—remains one of his proudest acting achievements.

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