Neil Christie Newbon (born 14 August 1977) is an English actor known for voicing Elijah Kamski and Gavin Reed in Detroit: Become Human, Nicholai Ginovaef and Karl Heisenberg in Resident Evil, Zeon in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3, for which he won the Game Award for Best Performance.

Neil Newbon
Newbon in March 2024
Born14 August 1977 (1977-08-14) (age 47)
Birmingham, England
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
Spouses
China Moo-Young
(m. 2012; div. 2015)
Saleta Losada
(m. 2023)
Children1
RelativesGary Newbon (father)

Early life

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Neil Christie Newbon[1] was born in Birmingham on 14 August 1977,[1] the son of sports presenter Gary Newbon.[1] He is of Scottish descent on his mother's side and Belarusian descent on his father's side.[1] His sister Claire is a journalist, while his twin brother Laurence is a cameraman.[2] He played football as a teenager, usually as a goalkeeper.[1]

Career

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In 1998, Newbon appeared in the BBC Two comedy series Goodness Gracious Me as James, a waiter in the show's notable "Going for an English" sketch. He has appeared in numerous films. He voiced a tank driver in Jackboots on Whitehall. He starred in the music videos for the Now Voyager Mix of "You Got the Love" by The Source and Candi Staton in 2006 and "Kingdom of Rust" by Doves in 2009.[3] In 2012, he joined the cast of the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks as Simon Walker.[4]

Since 2012, Newbon has provided the voice and motion capture for numerous video game characters, including Elijah Kamski and Gavin Reed in Detroit: Become Human, Nicholai Ginovaef in Resident Evil 3, Karl Heisenberg in Resident Evil Village, and Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3. For his performance as Astarion, he won Best Performance at the 2023 Game Awards, as well as the Golden Joystick for Best Supporting Performer.[5][6]

Newbon is a co-founder of the training facility Performance Captured Academy, which offers courses on motion capture for aspiring actors.[7][8]

Personal life

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Newbon married film director China Moo-Young in October 2012, and they had one daughter together before divorcing in 2015. He confirmed that he was in a relationship with his Performance Captured Academy co-founder Saleta Losada in 2018, and they were married in June 2023.[9][10]

Newbon has trained in various martial arts for over 16 years, including kung fu (in the styles Crane, Shaolin, Snake, and Tiger), kickboxing, judo, and Wadō-ryū karate.[1]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2001 The Discovery of Heaven Quinten
2006 The Last Drop Cpl. Rhys Powell
2006 Are You Ready for Love? Rob
2008 Beyond the Rave Nikolai Direct-to-video
2010 Jackboots on Whitehall Tank Driver Voice
2014 Extinction Rob
2016 Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV Petra Fortis Voice
English dub
Also motion capture for Nyx Ulric

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1993 Chris Cross Garrett Episode: "Saturday Night"
1997 Wycliffe Rob Tyzack Episode: "Close to Home"
1998 Goodness Gracious Me James Uncredited
1 episode
1998–2007 The Bill Ian Robbins, Dominic Mileham, Gavin Sullivan, Billy Peters 7 episodes
1999 Dalziel and Pascoe ET Episode: "Time to Go"
2000 Rhona Art Model Episode: "The Happy Jeans"
2000 Queen of Swords Anton Episode: "The Witness"
2002 Stranded Ernst Robinson Television film
2002 As If Seb 2 episodes
2003 The Afternoon Play Malcolm Haye Episode: "Turkish Delight"
2003–04 Dream Team Luke Davenport 19 episodes
2009 Holby City Gavin Sheldon Episode: "Take Her Breath Away"
2009 Henry VIII: The Mind of a Tyrant Lord Mounjoy, Culpepper's Inquisitor 2 episodes
2009 New Tricks Justin Milburn Episode: "Blood Is Thicker Than Water"
2009, 2014 Doctors Kenny Foulton, Michael Faulks 2 episodes
2010 I Shouldn't Be Alive Steve Callahan Episode: "76 Days Adrift"
2012–13 Hollyoaks Simon Walker 63 episodes
2012 Hollyoaks Later 4 episodes
2015 Residue Osbourne, Keller's Aide 3 episodes
2016 Locked Up Abroad Matthew VanDyke Episode: "Gaddafi's American Prisoner"
2017 Casualty Father Anthony Bridge 1 episode

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2012 The Secret World John Galahad, Thutmose, Father Lucian, Adrian Zorlescu
2014 Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Motion capture
2015 Until Dawn
2017 Spacelords Additional Voices
2017 Elite Dangerous [citation needed] Commander James Jameson
2017 Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier Bryn, Mikey, Additional Voices
2018 Detroit: Become Human Elijah Kamski, Gavin Reed[11] Also motion capture [citation needed]
2018 Strange Brigade Motion capture
2018 Forza Horizon 4
2019 We Happy Few Nick Lightbearer Lightbearer DLC
2020 Resident Evil 3 Nicholai Ginovaef[12] Also motion capture for Brad Vickers, Nemesis and Robert Kendo[citation needed]
2020 Resident Evil: Resistance Also motion capture[citation needed]
2020 Beyond a Steel Sky Alonso
2021 OnlyCans: Thirst Date Shize™ Liquorliscious, Shize™ Sunset Molasses Also voice direction
2021 Resident Evil Village Karl Heisenberg[12] Also motion capture[citation needed]
Also Shadows of Rose DLC
2022 Star Wars: The Old Republic Cyborg, Additional Voices Legacy of the Sith and Disorder DLC
2022 Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Zeon[12]
2023 Deliver Us Mars Isaac[13]
2023 Final Fantasy XVI Additional Voices[12]
2023 Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion Also motion capture
2023 Warframe Fibonacci[14]
2024 Fallout: London Barry the Boat[15]
2024 Vampire Survivors Dracula[16] Ode to Castlevania DLC

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2023 Golden Joystick Awards Best Supporting Performer Baldur's Gate 3 Won [6]
The Game Awards Best Performance Won [17]
2024 New York Game Awards Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game Nominated [18][19]
D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement in Character Nominated [20][21]
British Academy Games Awards Performer in a Leading Role Nominated [22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Neil Newbon - Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Neil Newbon : Actor". UK screen. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  3. ^ "Neil Newbon Videos". NME.
  4. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (8 May 2012). "'Hollyoaks' newcomer Neil Newbon talks Walker role - interview". Digital Spy. (Hearst Magazines UK). Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  5. ^ "All The Game Awards 2023 Winners Revealed". GameSpot. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b Gardner, Matt (11 November 2023). "2023 Golden Joystick Awards: 'Baldur's Gate 3' Wins GOTY, 6 More". Forbes. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  7. ^ Performance Captured Academy @ Quantic Dream, retrieved 15 October 2023
  8. ^ "Performance Captured Academy I UK". Performance Captured. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Instagram Post".
  10. ^ "Wedding Post".
  11. ^ "Neil Newbon on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d "Neil Newbon (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  13. ^ 16 Quickfire Questions With Neil Newbon | Deliver Us Mars, retrieved 26 September 2023
  14. ^ Neil Newbon - gathering party for BG3. (2023, December 7). Something fishy is going on...I had the extreme privilege of working with @digitalextremes @playwarframe in their new update #WhispersInTheWallsTune in to #thegameawards tomorrow for more#Fibonacci pic.twitter.com/wg40anicrn. Twitter. https://twitter.com/NeilNewbon/status/1732621847089606869
  15. ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (21 March 2024). "Baldur's Gate 3 Star Joins Cast of Fallout: London Mod". IGN. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  16. ^ Sarin, Kaar (2 November 2024). "After 3 years and over 30 updates, Vampire Survivors finally has vampires - and even Baldur's Gate 3's Astarion actor is here as Dracula". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Best Performance". The Game Awards. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  18. ^ McEvoy, Sophie (5 January 2024). "Baldur's Gate 3 leads New York Games Awards 2024 nominations". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  19. ^ McEvoy, Sophie (24 January 2024). "Baldur's Gate 3 wins big at New York Game Awards 2024". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  20. ^ "27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Finalist". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  21. ^ "2024 Awards Category Details Outstanding Achievement in Character". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  22. ^ "20th BAFTA Games Awards: The Nominations". BAFTA. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
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