A trans actress would be ideal to play the role.
Incidentally, I wonder how old Mae is meant to be, does anyone know?
I kind of assumed she was a peer of Varric's, so that would put her around 40. She also seems to have a sort of big sisterly affection for Dorian, so that also makes me think she is older than he, who is 30 during DAI.
Oh noes! Another 40+ follower/LI! I said this previously, but I would just prefer that they get the person they feel best and not cast a trans person simply because they are trans. Bioware is known for getting top notch vocal talent and their acting among the main characters is usually really good. They don't seem to cast a name or a type, they cast the
sound of the person's voice. Sometimes the VA even switches gears to a different sound, as with both Fenris and Dorian, after casting. If they listen to a transwoman actor or VA and she has the qualities and sound they're looking for, then GREAT (!!), but I don't feel that they should rule out a cis person simply because the character is trans.
And too, you have to consider that this is the benefit of voice acting. We could have had all sorts of trans people voicing characters,
cis characters, all along and we wouldn't know because it's just their voice. A black actor played
Samurai Jack, while a Japanese actor played his nemesis. Indira Varma, half Indian and half Swiss, played Vivienne. John Curry, American, played Zevran and the American male Inquisitor; he has huge range. Sumalee Montano, Asian American, played the American female Inquisitor; she also has a huge range and I've heard her do an Eastern European (Diablo III) accent, along with others.
I thought Jennifer Hale did a great job with Krem.
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Also something to think about is the impression the voice makes on the player and whether they (the devs) want it to be obvious or ambiguous. I've mentioned my experience with Krem before, but I will reiterate. On first meeting, I thought he was an Avaline-type of warrior woman, and one reason was because of the VA, who I heard as clearly female. I happen to prefer a lower range of female voice, so I was unperturbed and gave it no other consideration. I don't play a large body of games, so I didn't recognize Jennifer Hale (I'm sure others did).
Is Bioware going to want to have a more androgynous sound for Mae, or a more male sound that is affected female, or a more clearly female sound? I really have no idea.
Just in an initial Google search, I ran across this forum thread concerning vocal changes for MtF.
This one post struck me as quite interesting.
IMO the biggest difference between identifiably male and female speech is actually the speech patterns and not necessarily just the pitch. This is why some women have low voices but still sound very much like women. And so if you transitioned in your teens, then you would have picked up these speech patterns naturally instead of having to figure them out later in life after decades of talking like a guy.
In the end, I think it will come down to how they want Mae to sound, and the acting chops of whomever they decide on.
Modifié par nightscrawl, 01 juin 2016 - 01:24 .