Skyrim: The Main Characters and Their Real-Life Voice Actor, In Photos

It’s easy to play through Skyrim and get so caught up in the surrounding world and lore that one forgets the voice acting that went into the game. While many voice actors lend their talents to more than a number of characters, others are limited to either a handful or simply one. Each of the actors involved do a pretty good job of reeling it in and making the inhabitants of Skyrim feel believable.

That being said, there are some very famous names attached to the project, including some players may find quite surprising. Here’s a breakdown of some of Skyrim’s voice actors, and the characters they portray in the game. If nothing else, it’s guaranteed to change perceptions during the next playthrough.

10 Misc. Voices (Keith Szarabajka)

Keith Szarabajka is responsible for voicing a multitude of Skyrim characters – 33, as a matter of fact. One of his best-known roles is that of Erandur, a former member of a cult dedicated to the worship of Daedric Prince Vaermina. He aids the player in ridding Dawnstar of an evil force in the Walking Nightmare quest.

Outside of Skyrim, Szarabajka is most easily recognized for his role in the iconic Dark Knight as Stephens, a Gotham police officer goaded by the Joker into attacking him in an interrogation room, which gives provides an opportunity for him to escape and detonate a bomb within the precinct.

9 Aela The Huntress (Claudia Christian)

Famed Babylon 5 actress Claudia Christian lent her voice to multiple Skyrim characters, the most famous being Aela the Huntress, a member of the werewolf group known as the Companions. The player can talk to Aela and join the Companions, which means going through a ritual to become a werewolf as well.

Christian has also starred in such shows as Columbo, Matlock, and Relic Hunter, as well as the Steven Seagal film Half Past Dead and The Chase, starring Charlie Sheen. Recently, she’s been lending her talents to more and more video games such as World of Warcraft, Fallout 4, and Diablo III.

8 Paarthurnax (Charles Martinet)

Charles Martinet is one of those actors that has appeared in pretty much everything; a tribute to his versatility as an actor. It isn’t every day that one finds a thespian who has lent his talents to Space Quest 6, and the Michael Douglas thriller The Game. Martinet has also appeared in a number of Nintendo-related video games. In fact, he’s the official voice actor for the character Mario, a job that began when he voiced the little plumber in Super Mario 64.

He played the wise old dragon Paarthurnax, who rejected the power-mad traits of his own kind and fled to the Throat of the World to live out a pacifist life. He assists the player by gifting him with valuable information and wisdom regarding how to end Alduin’s terrible plans for Tamriel.

7 Kodlak Whiteman/Malacath (Michael Donovan)

Michael Donovan’s career as a voice actor is astonishing. He’s lent his voice to such hot animated cartoon series as G.I. Joe, Captain N: The Game Master, and Conan: The Adventurer. On the video game front, Donovan has appeared in World of Warcraft, Lego Star Wars, and Final Fantasy Type-0, to name a few.

He’s best known for his deep, aggressive voice which is perfectly suited to villain roles. That served him well in Skyrim when he voiced two characters, one of which was the antagonistic Daedric Prince Malacath, widely regarded as a demon to the Nords.

6 Azura/Gormlaith Golden-Hilt (Lynda Carter)

Renowned 1980s Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter voiced two characters in Skyrim, the first being Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, a warrior woman who aids the player in ending Alduin’s terror campaign near the end of the game. She also portrayed Azura, a Daedric Prince in female form.

In addition to her role as Wonder Woman, Carter has appeared in Smallville,Law & Order, and Super Troopers. Incidentally, she also lent her voice talents to a previous game in the Elder Scrolls franchise, specifically Morrowind.

5 Ulfric Stormcloak (Vladimir Kulich)

Vladimir Kulich has carved out a comfortable name for himself, having starred in the hit TV series Vikings,Smokin’ Aces, the Buffy spinoff series Angel, and The 13th Warrior, with Antonio Banderas. He also made an appearance in the international hit TV series Highlander, a spinoff of the classic 1986 fantasy film.

Kulich played Ulfric Stormcloak, a patriot of Skyrim who rejects the Empire’s heavy-handed attempts to suppress and control the province. With the power of the Thu’um at his disposal, Ulfric attempted to rally the true Nords of Skyrim behind his banner to strike out and claim sovereignty for his people.

4 General Tullius (Michael Hogan)

Michael Hogan may be unknown to most audiences, but his work is expansive and incredibly unique. He started out in 1978’s High-Ballin’ before moving onto everything from the super-popular Canadian drama series The Littlest Hobo to Smallville,The Outer Limits, and Battlestar Galactica.

Hogan portrayed General Tullius, a brilliant tactician sent to Skyrim to quell the civil war uprising fueled by Ulfric Stormcloak and his resistance to the White-Gold Concordat. He’s depicted as a no-nonsense military man with little taste for politics, instead preferring to shut up and do his job.

3 Delphine (Joan Allen)

Joan Allen is best known to audiences for her role as Eve Archer, the wife of face-swapping supercop Sean Archer in the John Woo hit Face/Off. She also starred in such hits as Pleasantville,the Bourne Supremacy, and the 2008 remake of Death Race, starring Jason Statham.

Her role as Delphine was a crucial one. She represented a side opposed to the Greybeards, who she believed were untrustworthy and unable to stop the Dragon curse plaguing the province of Skyrim. She is considered one of the most important characters in the game and helps the player through a number of quests.

2 Arngeir (Christopher Plummer)

The world recently lost Christopher Plummer, who spent decades as one of the most iconic actors ever to grace the silver screen. Plummer portrayed Arngeir, a member of the mysterious Greybeards who gift the player with invaluable knowledge of Dragon Shouts, and the power to utilize them in battle.

Plummer started his path to fame in 1953, starring in such films as The Sound Of Music, The Return Of The Pink Panther, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Most recently, he starred in the star-studded comedy-thriller Knives Out, before passing away.

1 Esbern (Max Von Sydow)

The late, great Max Von Sydow lent his signature and easily recognizable voice to Skyrim as Esbern, a wise Elder Nord, and the last living member of the Blades, a royal order that protected the various Septim Emperors. Throughout the course of the game, Esbern guides the player on all-things-Dragon related in Skyrim.

Sydow is, of course, best known for his iconic portrayal of Father Lankester Merrin in The Exorcist, as well as various appearances in everything from the landmark HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones to the hilarious Canadian comedy Strange Brew, with Bob and Doug McKenzie.

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