An essential aspect of video game development is finding the right voice actors and actresses for the characters. A good voice-over artist can ensure that a character's personality and emotions are conveyed convincingly. Without a good voice actor, characters can feel stiff and artificial, making it quite difficult to connect with and relate to them. In the world of video games, a few voice-over artists have managed to make a name for themselves through their ability to consistently deliver amazing performances. Laura Bailey is one of those artists.
Born in Mississippi, Bailey's career as a voice actress began rather early. She landed her first role when she was just 18, and did voice acting for Kid Trunks in Dragon Ball Z. Although she went on to do voice acting for several more anime shows and cartoons including Winx Club, Regular Show, Fruits Basket, and The Powerpuff Girls reboot, some of her best work can be found in the realm of gaming. Thanks to Bailey's phenomenal voice acting, several video game characters have become iconic pop culture figures.
Laura Bailey's Work With PlayStation
Bailey has worked with several PlayStation first-party studios, with some of her roles earning her very prestigious awards. Naughty Dog, a PlayStation studio responsible for some of the most celebrated franchises in gaming, has had a long working relationship with Bailey. The studio is well-known for birthing the Uncharted series which sees players traveling the world, partaking in amazing adventures, and stealing ancient artifacts. Within the Uncharted series, Bailey plays the mercenary Nadine Ross, and in Uncharted 4, Bailey did both voice acting and motion capture for Nadine. She also reprised her role as Nadine in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Voicing Nadine posed a unique challenge for Bailey, as she had to use a South African accent. When commenting on Nadine, Bailey said: "I think she’s one of the most badass people I’ve ever had the honor to play and I’m so proud to have worked on Uncharted 4."
Bailey worked with Naughty Dog again on The Last of Us series. Her role in the first game is minor, but with The Last of Us Part 2, she took center stage as Abby. Although she did great work as Abby's voice actor, she found herself receiving many death threats from gamers who were upset with some of the narrative choices Naughty Dog made. Despite this, she won many awards for her portrayal of Abby including a BAFTA Award for Best Performer in a Leading Role and the Best Performance award at The Game Awards 2020.
Other PlayStation first-party studios that Bailey has worked with include Insomniac, Bend Studio, and Sucker Punch. With Insomniac, she voiced the red-haired Mary-Jane in Spider-Man while with Bend Studio she voiced Lisa Jackson in Days Gone. In Infamous Second Son, she voiced Abigail Walker, also known as Fetch, where she also did motion capture for the role. In Infamous First Light, Abigail takes center stage and players get to enjoy her neon superpowers.
Laura Bailey's Greatest Hits
Bailey's work does not stop with PlayStation, and she has done voice acting for several studios around the world. She has worked with Japanese publisher-developer Atlus many times, doing voice acting for the Persona series, including Persona 3 Portable. In Persona 4 and Persona 4 Golden, she voiced Rise, who is a famous Japanese Idol. She also performed in Catherine and Catherine: Full Body as the titular Catherine, a succubus that seduces Vincent.
Bailey has played multiple roles in the Tales series. In 2008, she voiced Gauche in Tales of Vesperia and Marta Lualdi in Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. Returning to the series in 2012, she voiced Cheria Barnes in Tales of Graces F.
The Final Fantasy series has been greatly enhanced thanks to Bailey's voice acting talents. She voiced characters for several Final Fantasy games, including Cloud of Darkness in Dissidia: Final Fantasy. She voices Cloud of Darkness again in Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy and in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, as well as Serah Farron in Final Fantasy XIII and again in Final Fantasy 13-2,Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13, and World of Final Fantasy Maxima. Bailey also played Belle in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers.
Bailey can also be found in the Marvel universe where she has done voice acting for several Marvel games. She voices Black Widow in multiple games including Marvel's Avengers, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. Bailey is not a Marvel loyalist, however, and does work for DC too as Supergirl in Injustice 2.
Chun-Li is associated with Bailey due to how many times she voiced the muscled fighter. This is notable, as Chun-Li has gained mainstream popularity for her ability to take down the toughest of men. She voices her in Street Fighter 10 Tekken, Street Fighter 10 Tekken Vita, Street Fighter 4, Super Street Fighter 4, Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, and Street Fighter 5.
Bailey's list of voice acting credits is exhaustive, having worked in the industry for two decades now, but other notable roles include Serana in the Skyrim DLC Dawnguard, Miranda Lawson's twin Oriana in Mass Effect 3, Lady Comstock in BioShock Infinite, Call of Duty as the lead Lt. Polina Petrova, several voices in Fallout: New Vegas, Akali in League of Legends, and Fiona in Tales from the Borderlands.
For many, Bailey is better known for her role in Critical Role, which is a web series based on Dungeons & Dragons. In Critical Role, she plays Vex, Jester Lavorre, and Imogen Temult as her main campaign characters. The series has been wildly successful, earning many awards including the Webby Award and the People's Voice Award in 2019. For gamers, it's nearly impossible to play video games without coming across her at least once. Whether it be in the realm of gaming, cartoons, or anime, Laura Bailey's career is far from over.
