“From Hangover to Hero: Troy Baker’s Wild Weekend Inspires His Indiana Jones Role”
Troy Baker is portraying the beloved archaeologist in the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and the tale of how he ultimately secured the role is quite a story.
“I can share with you the incorrect way to approach it, and all the elements that I thought would help me, only to discover they did not,” Baker explains. “Every experience is a fresh one for me. ‘What’s your method?’ I really don’t have one. The only thing I can say is that I aim to be ready but never practice.”
If you have seen the documentary about the creation of The Last of Us, you probably recall the moment it shows behind-the-scenes footage of Joel, portrayed by Baker, during his daughter’s death scene. He transitions from screams and cries to gently weeping, and that’s the authenticity that made it into the game. It’s a perfect example of being spontaneous rather than rehearsed.
“It drives my scene partner insane because I don’t act as if I have everything figured out,” Baker admits. “It’s like playing jazz every single time.” For Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Baker initially attempted to prepare by watching the original Indy films and listening to John Williams’ soundtrack, but it didn’t resonate with him.
When he arrived back on set Monday, instead of watching films beforehand and tuning into the soundtrack, he opted to listen to Chopin instead. “I showed up, and Tom looked at me expecting either some motivational speech or a cautionary note,” Baker recalls. “He simply told me, ‘trust that it’ll be there.’ That’s when I understood that Indiana Jones doesn’t wake up daily reminding himself that he’s Indiana Jones. He simply navigates through his day.”
This epiphany enabled Baker to immerse himself in the role. Luckily for him, he had to persuade Bethesda chief Todd Howard that he was indeed the one for the job. Howard originally was dead set against Baker taking on the role of Indy.
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The game releases on December 6, and if you’re interested in a sneak peek, check out our Indiana Jones and the Great Circle hands-on preview.
I’m Issy, a freelancer who you might occasionally spot over here covering news on GamesRadar. I’ve always had a passion for playing games, but I discovered my ability to write about them during my Film and TV studies at the University of Warwick while contributing to the student publication, The Boar. After university, I worked at TheGamer before leading the news section at Dot Esports. You can now find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more outlets.