Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale reflect on playing Mass Effect’s Shepard

With Mass Effect: Legendary EditionIn May, the iconic sci-fi trilogy came back to the forefront. While we’re still quite a ways out from any new title in the Mass Effect universe, the old RPGs remain hugely influential on the genre. There’s still plenty to discuss from the original trilogy, including the stellar voice acting. A huge part of the game’s impact comes from Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer, who each portrayed protagonist Commander Shepard.

Depending on the dialogue options players choose, Shepard can be a Paragon, a selfless protector who takes the high ground, or a loose-cannon Renegade who’s OK with cracking some heads together if it means they get results. Shepard can also be a bit of an enigma; each person has their own interpretation. Meer and Hale were challenged to bring the character alive through hours of recorded dialogue.

Polygon spoke with Hale and Meer over Zoom about recording the Mass Effect trilogy and working with the rest of the Normandy’s crew. This interview was edited to be more concise and clear.

Image by BioWare/Electronic Arts

You were surprised at all the possibilities and branches that you saw in Definitive Collection. What was the best way to keep your core character the same across all variables?

Mark Meer:Our directors were a huge part of our success. Caroline Livingstone put in a lot. Mass Effect 2.And 3We were there with them, particularly as the series progressed and the branches became more branchy. Shauna Perry and Susanne Hunka gave us constant context. As Shepards, we saw the big picture more than most people, but that also made it more confusing for us because we weren’t doing this in chronological order. So Caroline was able to say, “Do you remember that scene on Virmire? This happens right after that.“ So they were able to give us context, not only chronologically within the game, but emotionally where Shepard was.

Jennifer HaleIt was Caroline, Susanne and Chris Borders in my case. Ginny McSwain was also involved. Also fundamentally, I think when we crawl into a character, we crawl into a sentient being — that being is who they are. We were ourselves on every given day, but we have a wide range of moods — with coffee, without, sleep, no sleep, pissed off, doing fine. But we’re still the same person inside and that anchors us to what we, as actors, and our directors kept us coming back to.

Some of the routes — especially Renegade — can get pretty spicy. Mark, Mark knows in Mass Effect 1.You can love Ashley, then leave her for the nuclear bomb on Virmire. Is it possible to film scenes in which Shepard punches out reporters or leaves his girlfriend to die.

MeerShepard, a character very special that can be fully voiced in RPG settings. And since there was so much player agency, Shepard could be a by the book, lawful good type to a really loose cannon who, sure, is saving the universe … but not really being very polite about or caring about collateral damage on the way. That was interesting because a character could be anywhere between the two poles. The first path was recorded, and then we went back to do the second. The real challenge I found, and our directors worked with us on this, was making sure we weren’t swinging back and forth between those two poles, because some people do play like that. You might choose an extreme Paragon option and then a Renegade extreme choice. We had to balance it so that Shepard didn’t sound like they were having immense mood swings.

And speaking directly to the Renegade choices — let’s face it, some of them are pretty fun. Paragon players may not be able resist to throw a merc out the window.

Image: BioWare/Electronic Arts

Yes, that’s what I do every time. And I usually bring Jacob with me, because he’s like, ‘Do you have to do that?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I do.’

HaleParagon: What I actually say is Paragon. Renegade, however, is all I want to say.

Meer:Before I address punching the reporter, let me mention that April Banigan (my very best friend) is the one in the story. We’ve known each other for years; her brother was my best man at my wedding. Because we were so familiar with one another, it was easy to make choices like this. Jeff Page plays Conrad Verner, another of my friends. So I felt conflicted when April punched me and Jeff shot Jeff in the foot.

My friend entered the competition. Mass Effect 3Endgame Just Conrad Verner is a valuable war asset.

Meer: That’s beautiful. How’d that go?

It’s not good. Is there a romance that you prefer on Normandy?

Hale I always say, don’t make me pick.

MeerAshley was my Renegade’s love interest, followed by Miranda and Liara in 2. I didn’t show much fidelity, but that’s because I knew my first picks wouldn’t be NPC companion characters in the second one, so I had some inside knowledge of the narrative and that influenced my choices.

Hale There’s so much great dialogue. The Liara and I relationship is one of my favorite. It broke many ground. Fox news was furious, which resulted in phenomenal media coverage. And it’s so silly, looking at it through the lens we see through now. I love that it’s such a non-issue these days, and it was such an issue when we started. My favorite thing about putting my boot in a door is the feeling it gives me. So, that’s a blast. Here are some Garrus items. Thane’s writing in Mass Effect 3It was beautiful and got me through the end. So I’m a little bit partial there. But I’m not picking!

Meer: If I do another playthrough — I probably will at some point because I’m a nerd myself — I have promised Courtney Taylor that I’ll do the Jack romance because having recorded that dialogue, I know it’s a fulfilling romance. It’s not easy, because Jack as a character has gone through severe trauma, but it’s one that’s always appealed to me as well.

Image by BioWare/Electronic Arts

When it comes to lines like, “I’m Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite shop on the Citadel” — what’s it like to see those lines manifest into memes and still live on through different contexts online?

Meer:The Commander Shepard One is a catchphrase that has been teemed up. It’s an in-joke within the game itself. It was more surprising to see something like, “I should go.“ That’s now on official merch! It’s that kind of thing. I don’t think either of us expected that “I should go“ became this de facto catchphrase but … we do say it quite a bit.

Hale Yes, I do. [read of that line] and I was like oh, OK. Oh, it’s here again. We need it … again. Yes. It is. Ok. Okay. We — OK. Yeah, I know, we need it again. It’s here again. It wouldn’t go away.

Meer: That was very nice. We get paid an hourly salary. BioWare could’ve saved money by just having us speak it once, and then reusing it repeatedly. They were gracious enough to have us repeat it each time. So each one has a slightly different tone, so the players don’t get tired of it.

Your friendship is evident. There was much banter about who was the best Shepard or who was more successful in the game. You guys are supportive of each other, but you have different views on the role.

Hale Mark is a man I admire and adore. Mark is a comic genius and a great actor. His wife is amazing too, so he’s a smart man who picks well. So whenever I see that online, I’m like “la la la la laaaa.“ Why make me pick, you know? You can just move on.

Meer: I was a fan of Jennifer’s work before I got this gig. When I was told I’d be the other half of Commander Shepard it was sort of like being told “Oh, yes, you’ll be in this movie — and playing the same role as Meryl Streep.“

Hale Oh, my God. Thank you, but not at all —

Meer: It’s not true! It’s very true! Since the animated days, I have been a huge fan of Justice League and other Justice League related stuff. It was an absolute thrill to be a part of this project.

Image: BioWare/Electronic Arts

Shepard has cool moments like punching people or romancing aliens from around the galaxy … but they also have some really terrible dancing. How was it to make Shepard human through awkward or silly scenes like when trying to romance Ashley with Liara simultaneously? Mass Effect 1.Or trying to love Jacob Mass Effect 3Which?

Meer:Those moments are always delightful to me. It’s so nice to balance the seriousness of a character with some more human moments. The dance in particular — I just found this out during our most recent round of Mass Effect stuff — I’d always been told that the person who did the mocap for the Shepard Shuffle was a special forces person they brought into do the military stuff and they were just asked to do some dancing, and it was used as a placeholder.

This was not true! In fact, it was Mr. Josh Dean, who performed the mocap of the Shepard Shuffle. Mass Effect fans are familiar with him as Jenkins’ voice.

Hale It’s fun to have fun with things like Citadel DLC. Like Mark said, there’s so much that’s hard and heavy with the fate of the galaxy on your shoulders, it’s like hey crew — let’s cut it up a little bit.

Was it fun to hang out with Shepard, or build bonds with crew members when voice acting was an asynchronous process?

Hale: It’s funny. People will sometimes ask you if your act is funny. I’m like, oh no, this is acting on steroids, because we’re actually in there playing with our imaginary friends. We’re alone, and we have a checklist of acting moments — who am I talking to? What is my goal? Is this what just happened? What just happened? Is it a drink? And then frequently for me, I’ll flash-memorize the line. I’ll look at it, I’ll have it, and then I’ll just talk to my imaginary friend.

It’s really fun when I know who’s playing the role because I can picture them in my head. There’s a software BioWare developed, a system called VEDA, and if you weren’t the first one in you could hear the people who had recorded lines already and responded to them. However, 95% of all the times I was the one who came in. Mark, what do you think?

Meer: There were a few situations where I had someone’s performance in my headset when I was doing it. Keith David, for example, we had his performance for Anderson’s death scene, and that was amazing. It was very satisfying. Martin Sheen was with me a few times when I did scenes for the Illusive Man. Although we were Shepards, our tendency was to take the lead, it gave us the ability to establish the tone, and others would follow suit.

Image: BioWare/Electronic Arts

In the years since Mass Effect, I think we’ve seen a lot of main characters inspired by Shepard — the Assassin’s Creeds, Greedfall, etc. How does it feel to be able to watch those ripples spread in other games.

Meer: It’s awesome, it’s a fantastic feeling. It’s what needed to happen and I can’t wait to see where it goes. Shepard, from what I understand, was the very first to be fully voiced as a protagonist. [in a choice-based RPG.] When you’re the first anything, you’re blazing a few trails, and it’s nice to see other folks walk down those trails.

Hale Bro Shep — I call him that, because he’s my bro — was on the box for the first two games. That was it. Mass Effect 3You had the Femshep reversible cover when it came out. Gamestop opened at midnight. Someone dropped the cover and allowed me to sign it. My reaction was one of shock and amazement. After we had finished with the actors, there was more food at tables that included Caroline Livingstone, Mac Waters and Casey Hudson. Casey, who heads the team isn’t one to seek fame, has a very different approach. He’s very much like, “I’m good. I don’t need a lot of attention.“

Someone dropped it on the table and I took it. I stood up on the table and held it over my head, John Cusack style, and say “Casey, thank you.“ It was so moving. That box still makes me feel amazing.

Trailer for The upcoming film Legendary Edition came out — I’ve shared this, but it’s worth repeating — I thought I understood as an open-minded, forward-thinking human being what representation meant to people. And then I had the experience of actually feeling represented, and I was like, “Oh, I take back all those times. I thought I knew something I didn’t know.“ Because I was just sitting at my computer, and I saw the thing and I was bawling. This is a privilege that I am able to enjoy and I can’t believe it.

Meer: It’s a really lovely video. You know what I mean? I love it.

Hale [laughs]Many thanks.