Sometimes society needs a wake-up call to confront encroaching tyranny head on. A person who kindles the fire of freedom and liberty. A person who moves us to action with his face and voice. John Helldiver did that for us in Helldivers 2. He warned us about the threat worms, bots and squids pose to our families and the super-Earth itself.
Craig Lee Thomas' outstanding performance in Helldivers 2's opening sequence not only captures the threat we face in the game, but also brilliantly sets the satirical and exaggerated tone. Thomas' performance endeared him to the community, earning him the title 'John Helldiver'. So how did he become a Super Earth legend?
Creating John Helldiver
As part of the game's second anniversary celebration, Arrowhead released a behind-the-scenes video featuring Thomas and how he became a spokesperson for Managed Democracy. Joining former head writer Russ Nickel, Thomas spoke about creating characters, capturing the game's satirical tone, and the casting process.
“From my first audition, I read about what I could do as an actor and was excited about a lot of things,” Thomas said. “But this one in particular struck me as soon as I read it. Oh, I really, really, really want to do that.“
Nickel talked about how quickly casting happened after finishing the script. “The casting was crazy,” he said. “I wrote the entire script, but it got messed up and we didn’t hear anything for a while. But then I found out that we would be filming within a week. Actually, I didn't do any casting at all. “I was just going to use a Swedish-based actor, and he was absolutely brilliant, and I thought, This guy will be John Helldiver! At the time, I had no idea that was his name. You can't just get good people. For example, we The funniest person we can find.”
Thomas said he received an email from his agent at 10 a.m. on a random Tuesday with very little turnaround time. So he pestered his wife to film an audition tape, which was also released on video. It looks a bit more serious, but you can get a glimpse of what the final version will look like in it. Of course, the version we all like is much more hammy.
“Within a few days, I received a self-tape from Craig Lee Thomas, who plays John Helldiver,” Nickel added. “He's perfect. I love him. He's such a good person!” Thomas had no idea how quickly it would all happen. That very afternoon, he was told he was in the top three, and the next day he was told he had been given the role and that filming would begin on Sunday.
In the video, the production process and motion capture process of the final intro sequence were revealed, and it was even mentioned that no one could stop laughing at Thomas' unconventional performance.
- released
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February 8, 2024
- ESRB
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Adults 17+ / Blood and gore, intense violence, in-game purchases, user interaction
- developer
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Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- publisher
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Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
