Baldur's Gate 2 - David Warner died aged 80

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The voice of Jon Irenicus in Baldur's Gate 2 and Morpheus in Fallout is dead:

David Warner, voice of Baldur's Gate 2's Jon Irenicus, has died

David Warner, veteran actor of stage and screen who voiced Baldur's Gate 2's iconic villain Jon Irenicus, has died aged 80.

The Shakespearean actor, who the BBC reports (opens in new tab) died of a "cancer-related illness", was best known for his cinematic roles such as Jennings in classic horror film the Omen, and Billy Zane's sidekick in Titanic. He was the Evil Genius in Terry Gilliam's film Time Bandits, and played the roles of Ed Dillinger, Sark, and the Master Control Program in Disney's pioneering CGI movie Tron.

[...]

But Warner's most notable video-game performance came in 2000, when he played Jon Irenicus in Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn. His commanding portrayal of the arrogant elven mage made Irenicus one of the most memorable villains in RPGs, and is one of the key reasons why Baldur's Gate 2 remains such an arresting experience today. Warner returned to the role in 2016 for Siege of Dragonspear, the official expansion to Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition which fills in the gaps between the original game and its sequel.

[...]
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(Found by MAHak)

More information.
 
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Very sad - one of my favourite actors. He was a really great Shakespearean actor, but also took on all kinds of character roles. Anyone who played Evil in Time Bandits and Dr. Necessiter in The Man With Two Brains, is alright with me.

www.theguardian.com

David Warner: a life in pictures

The British actor has died at the age of 80. His long career spanned Shakespeare on stage to Star Trek on screen – here we look back at the highlights
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
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I'm sad he's gone, but honestly I thought he had passed already!
 
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I had barely learned rudimentary English, when I, in my early teens, got swept away by BG 2 and the voice-acting he did with Jon Irenicus was phenomenal. I can still hear some of his one-liners in my mind.

“I cannot be caged!” - Jon Irenicus, before obliterating several Cowled Wizards with some OP spells.
 
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danutz_plusplus said:
It was hair-raisingly good, even if a bit over-the-top.
Click to expand...

I think the two are kind of inseparable. I like the actors that sometimes dial it up to 11, and risk going from naturalistic to being theatrical, and can pull it off.
 
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If you judge games by the quality of their villains - which I do - his voice work certainly helped establish Irenicus as a formiddable character.
 
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"I cannot be caged. I cannot be controlled. Understand this as you die, ever pathetic, ever fools."

Jon Irenicus (Joneleth) is one of my favorite villains, and much of it is down to Warner doing a fantastic job.

Rest in peace.
 
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Time Bandits was the first video I ever rented along with Dawn of the Dead. I watched both movies 3x over that weekend. David Warner was one of the main reasons I fell in love with that movie. RIP
 
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Excellent voice! He was twice lucky: once to have lived a full life and twice for passing early, before the massive troubles on this planet start in earnest.
 
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Definitely one of the best performances in video games I saw during that time.
Cheers to him!
 
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I played the game with german voice-over, so I missed that. I bought the game again on GOG when it was released, so maybe I should try it once again. If only I could find the time for another playthrough...
 
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The passing of a true legend, for sure. I believe I first saw him in Time After Time, then a few years later in some theatre work in DC. What a talent he was.
 
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