Roger Craig Smith Discusses Sonic, Dying Light and AI

Roger Craig Smith recently sat down with Rhiannon Bevan, a contributor for TheGamer, via Zoom for an interview. The current voice of Sonic the Hedgehog discussed his history as Sonic’s voice actor, along with his reprisal as Dying Light protagonist Kyle Crane in Dying Light: The Beast. Smith also discussed his experience with the Sonic fandom via social media and the state of the voice acting profession in the era of generative AI.

Mr. Smith Refuses to Poke the Sonic Fandom Nest

Rhiannon Bevan begins her interview with Smith by noting that he won’t disclose his favorite ship in the Sonic series. The most famous ship in the Sonic series is SonAmy, the name for pairing Sonic with Amy Rose.

When Sega emailed him that he got the role of Sonic, Roger Craig Smith was unprepared. He said to Bevan, “All of a sudden, I was hearing all these emails coming in. I was getting people going, ‘What is happening? You sound too old.’” Bevan notes that this was Smith’s initial exposure to one of the most infamous fandoms in media – the Sonic fandom. 

Smith said that if he posted a picture of a bird on his social media, he’d get responses about what Sonic wouldn’t do or what Sonic could do. He said, “No matter what I say, people will still say ‘Sonic wouldn’t do that’. If I take a picture of a bird and post the picture of the bird on my social media, because that’s a hobby of mine, I get people going, ‘I didn’t know Sonic likes eagles.’”

Zombie Craig Smith

Regarding Kyle Crane, Roger Craig Smith was surprised, because Crane became a zombie in Dying Light: The Following. The game’s developer and publisher, Techland, informed Smith that they wanted him to return for Dying Light: The Beast.

Even though Crane is now a zombie, Smith and Techland worked hard to make sure that zombie Crane’s voice doesn’t disappoint fans. “This version of Kyle is taking place sometime later, and has been so horrifically treated,” he said, “We were trying to find when to start peppering in little bits of that previous Kyle as he starts to feel better, as he starts to regain some of his humanity, even though it’s been robbed from him and he’s just been in survival mode.”

Roger Craig Smith on AI

On the topic of AI, particularly generative AI, Smith feels that AI won’t take his job. “I find it to be like any new technology. There’s going to be people who use it for really amazing things, and there’s going to be people who use it for less than amazing things,” he said. “I chuckle at things like AI parody songs and things like that.”

Smith said,  “It’s an incredible production tool. It can really help keep budgets in line. It can be a very effective tool for making and streamlining the creative process, but at the end of the day, I don’t think as human beings we want to consume things that are purely being done by just something that somebody hits enter on.”

Smith suggests that fellow voice actors do things that AI can’t easily replicate. He said, “We have to make choices that AI wouldn’t necessarily make. And isn’t that going to bolster our industry in some ways and force us to get better than this thing that can only create – and I use hardcore air quotes with that – based upon that which has already been done by other creative human beings?”

Roger Craig Smith voiced characters such as Batman, Captain America, Ezio from Assassin’s Creed, Chris Redfield and Thomas from Regular Show. He was also the announcer on TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress. Rhiannon Bevan is TheGamer’s Deputy News Lead and Chief Reporter. She is also a diehard Sonic fan, nicknamed “Sonic Freak” by colleagues at the gaming news outlet.