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The Powerful Women of Warcraft Voice Actor Panel

by - 6 years ago

The panel was hosted by Andrea Toyias Senior Casting and VO director. The panel was dedicated to Pierre Debs, from the screen actors guild, who tragically passed away this year. The panel contained Laura Bailey who voices Jaina Proudmoore, Elle Newlands who voices Moira Thaurissan, Debi Mae West who voices Maiev Shadowsong, Misty Lee who voices Lady Liadrin, Salli Saffioti who voices Thalyssra, Mara Junot who voices Alleria Windrunner, Patty Mattson who voices Sylvanas Windrunner and the lead narrative designer Steve Danuser.

The panel started with Andrea asking Laura what it was like to voice Jaina and be with a character for such a long time. Laura stated that it has been really interesting to see all the facets of Jaina’s personality unfold and her arc as a character throughout the years. Laura was asked about what she loves most about the character and said “She’s not afraid to show who she really is and she isn’t afraid of her power” There were some jokes about what Jaina will be doing in the next expansion but no real details were given.

Next up Elle was asked what it’s been like voicing Moira. Elle said she finds it funny to see people say things like “Her fake accent is so hard to take” when she’s actually a native of Scotland. She went on to say she was pretty new to voice acting but felt an immediate connection to Moira who was so powerful. She said a lot of the women she voices are strong Scottish women so, she draws inspiration from the ideals passed down from her Grandmother. Andrea asked Elle what she connects with the most in Moira  and Elle said: “The idea of trying to find the balance between your feminity and being a woman who has to put herself out there in the world.”

Debi who voices Maiev was next and commented that she has been doing Maiev for a very long time and when she started Maiev had an Irish accent. She also said Maiev is an interesting character to voice because she almost has to clench and reach down inside of her voice to get that level of intensity.

Misty was asked about what it’s been like to be Liadrin. Misty said she finds it incredibly inspiring that Liadrin chose the light and renounced the darkness because: “We all have a choice and sometimes things happen to us that we don’t want or didn’t ask for and it’s not what happens to us but what we do about it.” Misty when on to deliver a strong message about pushing through the hardships of life and how she brings that to the character Liadrin.

The new character Thalyssra is voiced by Salli and she was asked how it was voicing a character that has had such a tough road. Salli mentions it really tapped into her own personal journey of having a tough upbringing. She really admired Thalyssra vision and her ability to stick to it by summoning her strength. There is also some excitement because Thalyssra will be part of the allied races The Nightborn so there will be plenty of more time for Thalyssra to shine. The panel also talked about as voice actors sometimes you have to go to a really dark place to understand the emotion needed to deliver some of the dialogue needed for World of Warcraft.

The panel then shifted to Mora who voices Alleria Windrunner. Mara is a long time Blizzard fan who discovered Diablo 10 years ago. She described the best thing about Alleria is her ability to tap into the void.  She also spoke about suffering from clinical depression and how she used her experience of pushing through that and becoming a reluctant leader to really channel Alleria.

Patty was last up on the panel and she voices Sylvanas Windrunner. She talks about really loving the chance to voice that dark focused personality Sylvanas carries with her in everything she does. She went on to say about her ability to connect with Sylvanas that being a child of domestic abuse she was able to understand the ability to fight and push through that.

The panel as a whole was very inspirational and ended with the actors reading lines in their characters voices. If you have the Virtual Ticket I highly recommend checking this panel.


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JR Cook

JR has been writing for fan sites since 2000 and has been involved with Blizzard Exclusive fansites since 2003. JR was also a co-host for 6 years on the Hearthstone podcast Well Met! He helped co-found BlizzPro in 2013.


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