Metal Gear Solid is a well-discussed topic here at IndieGala. So is Hideo Kojima, but David Hayter is not. Indeed. I’ve never discussed the voice behind the character. Sure, I did an article about Oscar Isaac a while ago. In fact here it is again. You’re welcome. The man who will very soon portray Solid Snake in the live-action adaptation of the iconic game was nice to explore and discover all over again. And it was a pleasure to write about him as you can imagine. However, David Hayter is still a mystery for me. Well, until now. As I intend to explore the talents and the projects of this artist. And in a solo post dedicated to him and him alone.

David Hayter VS Oscar Isaac

Yes, as you probably know by now, Oscar Isaac is going to portray Solid Snake on the silver screen. And yes, you can check out my Oscar Isaac article yet again here. You’re welcome. But Jordan Vogt-Roberts is the chose director for the job, while Jay Basu and Derek Connolly got the task of making the screenplay.

But David Hayter not only didn’t get the acting job, according to the media from Tinsletown. But he was also passed on for writing the script for the movie. Indeed. Probably one of the best screenwriters in Hollywood submitted his take for the script, but the executives said no thanks. Well, it remains to be seen how this movie will turn out, but this gives me the perfect opportunity to present David Hayter and his career to the IndieGala’s audience. But I believe a word or two about the game series is in order.

David Hayter

Metal Gear Solid Is Awesome!

Unfortunately, he did not reprise his role in the most recent games. Yup, we are talking about Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain and Ground Zeroes (which are also on sale on the IndieGala store). Not to mention, it’s one of our best-sellers, so you’d better hurry up. The offer is not going to last that much longer. But Metal Gear Solid is still going strong even though Hideo Kojima is no longer part of Konami. Or the Metal Gear series which he created back in the late ’80s. But one one more person has been a staple in the series since the late ’90s. David Hayter. And from 1998 to be exact, which was the first time he took over the role of Solid Snake. David provided the English dub voice-over for Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid, and his name is synonyms with the series ever since.

David Hayter’s cameo in X-Men

But Who Is David Hayter?

Well, he’s a multi-faceted and extremely talented artist. First of all, we need to dissect and separate his work into several different areas. But first and foremost, if we’re discussing about his acting career, you should probably know that he started acting at the tender age of 9. But after brief stints in the acting business, David found his passion in a similar field. Voice acting of course. And it’s all thanks to the 1994 Spider-Man animated series.

He was the voice of Captain America, and his career as a voice artist took off from there. And after honing his craft for several years, he got the job of a lifetime. The voice of Solid Snake in the iconic Metal Gear Solid video game. That’s 1998 I’m talking about, and more than 2 decades later, his name and the character of Solid Snake still go hand in hand. He’s made the character his own, and it’s very hard to think of anyone else when you think of Solid Snake.

Great Screenwriter And Director Too

But when I mentioned that David is a great multi-talented artist, I meant it. He’s also a talented screenwriter and he’s responsible for some of your childhood movies. Let’s start with a little movie called X-Men. Yup, he wrote that, and the sequel too. Which in my opinion is way better than the original 2000 movie. The Scorpion King is also in his resume as a writer. And there’s the Zack Snyder’s Watchmen. Oh, boy. Where do I even begin?

Well, he managed to get the approval of Alan Moore, which is saying a lot. Look Moore is known for being a harsh critic of adaptations. But he really liked David’s script for Watchmen. He even said of the script “David Hayter’s screenplay was as close as I could imagine anyone getting to Watchmen.” Unfortunately, his script was ultimately rejected, although unspecified elements of his script were integrated into the final draft. But he does have a screen credit for his writing and appears in the opening credits. Frankly, it’s one of the best movies in Snyder’s filmography, and that’s in no small parts thanks to Hayter’s script. But he’s done some un-produced and unused scripts for plenty of other great movies. From Hulk to Chronicles Of Riddick.

Back in 2014, he tried his hands on directing, and the first feature-length project was Wolves. A horror movie that didn’t get the desired fraction and reception. Hey, he was a rookie director in that project. But you can definitely expect his next project, the live-action remake of Voltron, which he will also direct.

Voice Acting Is His Strongest Suit

Indeed it is. If you take a good look at David’s credits you’ll find the biggest and longest list of credits is in the voice acting section. Regardless it’s an anime, standard animation, or video games. As I mentioned he was a solid Captain America, but in the entire 90’s he dubbed plenty of Japanese anime series. Oh, and did I mentioned that he’s actually fluent in Japanese? He is, and you can also add that to the long list of talents and accomplishments.

But aside from the Metal Gear series, you can find his voice in plenty of other great video games. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem for instance. Next here’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl. And of course Star Wars: The Old Republic, République, Marvel Heroes, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Deponia Doomsday even. Yup. He’s old Rufus in that one. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and Yakuza: Like a Dragon are some of his latest works. But you can expect to hear his voice in Steamdolls – Order of Chaos pretty soon.

solid snake gifs | WiffleGif

Are You A Fan Of David Hayter?

I know I am. But I’d love to hear more about your favorite David Hayer project. Is it his voice acting that you love the most or the writing? Let us know in the comment section.

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