You never just give up on family and neither has Telltale’s favorite family man. Voice actor extraordinaire Gavin Hammon was kind enough to chat with us about just how far The Walking Dead‘s Kenny has come since his second chance at life. Was it all for nothing? You can read our thoughts on the matter.
Hammon, known everywhere from additional voices in 2005’s Batman Begins and 2012’s Hitman Absolution to The Wolf Among Us‘s Beast, has been “talking fer stuff” since 2004. Whether his characters are sporting a fine ‘stache (or hair in plenty of other places), Hammon reveals just the kind of guy that’s behind Lee and Clementine’s most complicated ally.
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What was your experience with The Walking Dead before working Telltale’s series? Were you a fan of the graphic novel or the TV show?
When we received the audition packets, the first season of the show had just aired and I think everybody watched that, so I was familiar with the tone of the show. I also worked in a comic shop for about 10 years and a coworker had forced me to read the first few trades, which I really dug. I think I went back and reviewed the show and the comic while prepping for the audition too, just to make sure my tone made sense…
In your own words, what kind of man is Kenny?
Well, he’s a changed man, for sure. At the top of the first season, he’s got a lot to live for and a lot to lose. So initially there’s humor to him and a lightheartedness in those first few encounters. As he starts to lose everything, he’s defined by his anger and he becomes more and more broken. It was a real pleasure to get to perform a character that undergoes that kind of transformation.
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, was there any inspiration behind voicing Kenny’s Southern twang?
Nothing specific, just a healthy appreciation for a southern accent. In the specs, Kenny was supposed to be southern, and I naturally jump at those chances. I think if my wife would let me me, I’d talk with a southern accent all the time…
It’s been said that Kenny’s death in Season 1 was originally less open ended. How did the idea to bring him back from his “extremely clear” death come to be?
Yep, initially we had very clear death audio, character reactions acknowledging his death, etc. I honestly don’t know why that was changed, only that it was made to be more ambiguous, and we recorded pick ups for 105 that captured that.
By season 2, Kenny’s already in a relationship with a woman, Sarita, some time after the death of his wife and son. Do you believe he really loved her?
Sure, I believe he loved Sarita, he’s a resilient guy and had been through a lot by the end of season 1. Finding another person to care about is a natural, human reaction to loss. Kenny finds himself in a dark place by episode 3 of season 2.
What do you think is going through is head committing, what fans say, is a cold-blooded murder?
I think he genuinely thought Carver was always going to be a threat to someone. After the beating Kenny takes from Carver, he channels all that rage that’s been steeping in him at right Carver. But there’s nothing cold blooded about that killing, it’s as hot blooded as could possibly be.
In the midst of it all, there’s Clementine. What would you say is the kind of relationship between the two of them?
I think Kenny’s like an uncle figure to her, as opposed to Lee’s father figure. Kenny feels compelled to protect Clem, but his pain makes him unsteady, unpredictable, and in some ways, threatening. While I don’t think he could ever hurt Clem, he can certainly make decisions that endanger her.
At No Going Back’s end, Clementine’s finally forced to make a choice between Kenny and Jane. Who would you choose in her position?
I can’t really distance myself from my involvement in the game, so I imagine I would choose to look away, then probably shoot Kenny. I dunno, I might want to hear how the speech at the wall turned out. Like I said, it’s difficult to separate myself from the game, which also makes it hard for me to play things I work on…
What was it like working with the old and new members of season 2’s voice cast?
Well, we rarely actually work together, but it’s nice to hear feeders from Scott Porter and Michael Madsen. There are only a few of us that worked on Season 1 in the second season, I really wish there were more because many of them are close friends of mine. I’m glad Melissa is in there though, she’s a phenomenally talented actor and one of my best friends.
Any voice actors you’d love to work with in the future, gaming or otherwise?
We work in isolation on interactive projects almost exclusively, so I never really think about working with other VAs, honesty–usually I find out who’s in it after the fact. I suppose on an animation project, I’d love to work with Melissa, Phil Lamarr, Maurice Lemarche, Billy West.
On a final note, if you were in a zombie apocalypse tomorrow, what would be your weapon of choice
Crossbow, of course.
Ah, I have to agree.
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Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Season 2 is available on Playstation 4, Xbox One, PS3, Playstation Vita, Xbox 360, Windows for PC, Mac OSX, Android, iOS, Kindle Fire HDX.