Looking Back at Mass Effect: Andromeda — A Conversation with Tom Taylorson

Today at We Are Mass Effect, we had the honor of interviewing Tom Taylorson, the voice actor behind Scott Ryder in Mass Effect: Andromeda. The interview was conducted via email, allowing Tom to respond to the questions at his own pace and in his own words.

We would like to sincerely thank Tom for his kindness and willingness to engage with us from the very beginning, despite not knowing us beforehand.

WE ARE MASS EFFECT: First of all, how are you?

TOM TAYLORSON: Doing well, thank you for asking. 

WaME: To start, I’d love to ask a bit about your career and background as an actor. What first drew you to voice acting, and how has your journey been so far?

TT: My degree is in theater arts, a BFA in Acting. I started out in theater, just wanting to "be an actor". But early on in my career, just a year or so out of school, I found some success in voice over (a video game, in fact) and discovered that commercially (theater doesn't pay well except at the highest levels) voice over was one of the few places I made money. It was also one of the few kinds of acting work I got where I didn't get "No" a lot. I may not have booked the job, but I wasn't told to "go away". One of people I worked with earliest, after a session for Body Glove accessories (for phones, tech) sat me and the person I'd worked with down in the lobby of the studio and asked who we were with (agent wise) and was very forthright in saying "you guys can do this. Push for more. I'll help you if I can." 

Voice Acting had more consistency than other acting work, for me at least. And I really got into it too. I found myself thinking very critically about it, about how to analyze text and perform; just went all in. I stopped pounding the pavement for theater and in fact the last time I was on stage was in 2008. Been working full time as a voice actor since, though really it was the bulk of my money before then as well.

WaME: How do you see the voice acting industry today? Have you noticed any major changes in recent years, especially with the growth of video games and performance capture?

TT: It is as competitive today as ever, maybe more so. It is also more accessible today than ever because of technology and how readily available, and relatively cheap, recording equipment is. When I came out of school, I was aware of it as work, (I used to record episodes of cartoons and pause to look at the acting credits; this is before I was looking at this as a job. I think I knew deep down this was where I belonged, but didn't know it yet or have access to it...), but it wasn't something that jumped out.

Kids today are VERY aware that voice acting is a job and actively pursue it very early on. There are university courses specifically in VO, lots of online opportunities and communities that simply didn't exist when I was young. And yes - many online and in person opportunities to perform in games, indie games, indie animation, audiobooks. But with this also comes IMMENSE competition. This goes hand in hand with immense exploitation as well - you're expected to self direct for everything, you don't audition at/with your agency anymore. You're expected to have expensive equipment with you to audition at all times, often a broadcast quality home studio, and you're not paid for this. In fact, a lot of people are trying to pay you worse than ever before. Worse still - people accept that pay.

WaME: Moving into Mass Effect: Andromeda, how was the casting process for Scott Ryder? Were you familiar with the Mass Effect universe before getting the role?

TT: It was an audition. Just an audition. It was a batch of characters, all with placeholder names. But because of classes I'd taken and I am a pack rat with audition copy - I recognized them as BioWare auditions. (last time I auditioned for them, around Anthem time, they were still using that same format for auditions)

And yes - I was VERY familiar with ME before the job. I'd played the whole original trilogy; spent countless hours reading all the lore and everything in the first game on my 360. I was all in on the games. Fem-shep the whole trilogy, if you're curious.

WaME: Scott Ryder is a very different kind of protagonist compared to Shepard, less experienced, more uncertain. How did you approach shaping that kind of character? Did you ever speak with or take inspiration from actors like Mark Meer or Jennifer Hale during the process?

TT: Never spoke to Mr. Meer or Ms. Hale. I did see Jennifer pass by me as she went to do some work for Blizzard as I was in the waiting room to do a cartoon. I was actually speaking with Phil Lamar (1st and last time I'd seen him. Told him how I loved his work and he moved things to just talking shop.. It was amazing. Amazing guy), and Phil was encouraging me to stay and say hi and "you're awesome' to Jen on her way out. "She'd love it!" he told me. 

I was called in to my session before I could do that. Never saw her again.

Anyway, much of the shaping was done by the writing. I've said often and tell any of the writing team for that game (online, BlueSky and what not...) that their writing made the job easy. The Ryders are written as reluctant heroes and that uncertainty was easy to find and play with. Years later, upon reflection, I think there were aspects of myself that were easy to tap in to. Though much older than the character, I'd been at this a while and knew what I was doing, but I'd also only been in LA for about 3 months when the audition came through and I got the part. I was the new kid in town; probably helped in getting the role - they'd never heard me before! So I was working in places and with people I'd never worked with before, working in ways I'd not worked before. But also - in very intimidating circumstances! I KNEW this world, this project. I knew what I was getting into, the relative size of it, the size of the role. And so, very much like the Ryders, I had to knuckle down, show up, and go to work.

WaME: To what extent did you have the freedom to improvise or add nuance to your lines and performance?

TT: Because of the nature of video game work, there's not a lot of improvisation. You do what's written and work within those lines. Changes to anything have to be noted over and over and then thrown up the chain for approval. When the scripts get to us, they've already been through the wringer of writers, directors, and approval from members of the creative team. You need to do what's written because those are your subtitles too! Gotta have your reads match the subtitles!

So you have to discover moments of creativity and "What's MY version of this?" on and in the lines. 

This is doubly true (though we weren't collaborating on this or discussing it) when you have someone else doing the exact same dialogue as you are. (in the form of Sara) Later on, Fryda (Sara Ryder) and I did talk about hearing each other's work and saying to one another "Oh, I'd NEVER have done it your way". We're just different people and performers with different instincts.

WaME: During the recording process, were there moments where you had to re-record lines due to script changes or shifts in direction?

TT: Late in the recording process (which was on and off over a year and a half; about 54 session ranging from 2-4 hours each) we did revisions of lines from earlier in the process as story beats were smoothed out or we needed to fill in between those major story points. Because of the pace of things and, again, how much else a game is that has nothing to do with dialogue, there wasn't really time for revisions. And if there were - I don't remember them! 

We have a LOT of dialogue to record each day and we just go go go, in the moment, with little thought to bigger picture things in the process.

WaME: There has always been a lot of curiosity around the canceled Quarian Ark DLC, did you ever record anything related to that, or was it never part of your experience?

TT: Nothing was recorded for that. After the game's release, we did some recording to iron out the Scott/Jaal romance, but that was it. The only thing regarding the Quarian Ark I did record was the audio book! Catherynne M. Valenti's "Mass Effect: Annihilation". I had a great time working on that book. Fryda Wolff recorded the other two tie-in novels for Mass Effect: Andromeda.

WaME: Looking back, how would you describe your overall experience working on Andromeda?

TT: Oh, hands down one of the best things I've ever worked on. I had an immense amount of fun working on it, made good friends along the way, learned SO MUCH, and while the opportunities didn't always pan out, it did lead to many other opportunities for work down the line. Still one of my favorite things I've ever worked on in any medium. It was a special and challenging time in my life and I'm forever grateful to have Andromeda be a part of that.

WaME: How do you perceive the game today, with some distance from its release?

TT: I think, like many, the game got a bum rap. It was done dirty by a publisher expecting too much from it, not being fully cooked, forced out the door too early, forced to use corporate's shiny new engine when many of the team didn't know how to work with it and it was NOT suited to the storytelling part of the game. On top of that, it was released to a VERY toxic atmosphere online and elsewhere in the gaming space. It quickly became punching bag of the week for online chuds for views and clicks. Their love of hate sealed the deal. What saddens me is that this would not be the last time I was in a project doomed by online haters picking a game for Punching Bag of The Week: I also worked on Highguard.

Over time though, I've seen a lot of love for the game and its characters, for what it did well, and appreciation from fans for whom it was their game of the moment. A game that helped them, a game that got them through a tough time. There is something to be said for a 7/10 that comes to you in a time of need.  

WaME: The game was surrounded by a lot of discussion and controversy at launch, how did you navigate that on a personal and emotional level?

TT: I was disappointed, obviously. But so much of that had very little to do with me. There's only so much I can control as an actor in a game and much of that hate went to things out of my control. Then again, that hate was directed at other people on the project whom I did and didn't know and I felt terrible for them!! Still do! 

Personally, I was bummed, but moved on quickly. You have to. You're only as good as your last project or audition. So you go out and audition again. Professionally, it helped that I had a big commercial client at that time. Personally/ artistically? It hurt most because I knew that was it - Ryder wouldn't be coming back. I, and others, thought we'd have a good decade of playing with these characters in these spaces. And just like that - Gone. Grateful to have made the connection for the audio book production house I worked with a lot, Blackstone Publishing, to the publishers of the physical tie-in books for Andromeda. That got me and Fryda the opportunity to work on those books and play a little bit more in that place we had so much fun in that was taken away from us.

WaME: Do you have a favorite moment or line from Mass Effect: Andromeda?

TT: Maybe the Liam loyalty mission? The Star Wars quote? That one sticks out because of the reaction it got to a huge live audience when it was first shown years ago. At E3? Or somewhere else? Anyway, if I remember rightly, that line came up on the screen and I knew *exactly* what to do with it (I grew up on OG Star Wars) and I believe what you hear is the first take. And we even had a laugh at the time. 

Aside from that, any time we got to inject humor, because the Ryders could do that as opposed to the Shepards, I loved that. We even got to do it in moments of pain. "OW, ok, don't touch that!" Things like that. They're small moments, but they're moments to put a particular personal stamp on the performance and really separate the Ryders from the Shepards who came before.

WaME: Do you still keep in touch with any of your fellow cast members from the game?

TT: Yes! Some but not all. The director for most of the game, Josh Dean, I've seen off and on. Texted mostly. (he's got young twins now) Our engineer for most of the game, Judy Alice Lee, moved away but has since become MUCH more popular than I've ever been! And deservedly so - she's wonderful and talented as heck. (Melinoe from Hades 2, Luna Snow in Marvel Rivals, Alaune in Octopath Traveler 0).

Fryda Wolff (Sara Ryder) and I were friends long before Andromeda, because we both worked on Octodad: Dadliest Catch years before. We still talk to this day. Vetra's actor, Danielle Rayne, I'm still in touch with. I had the pleasure of ushering her into audio book work and she's doing that now, doing it very well, and I'm ecstatic for her. 

Never got to meet much of the rest of the cast. (many of them are in NY) Many of the writers and other creatives on the game side I still follow and we correspond on social media, especially since they were scattered across the industry when the studio shut down. I still very much credit them with how well my part of the game came out - I'm nothing without their words.

WaME: During the recording process, what kind of direction did you receive? Was it focused purely on performance, or were you also given context regarding the story, worldbuilding, and character motivations? 

TT: Yes to all of them! World building wise, it's funny - at the top, first couple sessions, Caroline Livingstone, director/voice director for the original trilogy, was directing and was telling me about the world, and universe of Mass Effect, and I didn't know if I should "tip my hand" yet, you know? Let her know "Oh, no, Caroline - I'm an absolute nerd and played your original trilogy and I love you guys and your work and I'm so happy to be here and excited and worried about getting fired if this doesn't work out."

So, 3rd session, she's about to tell me what a Krogan looks like, and I stopped her and DID tell her that I know all the things. There was a good tension that left the room, and she goes "Oh, Ok, good! Ok, so this guy's a typical Krogan, right?" and we went from there.

First sessions were getting down the main story beats, your major cut scenes and things like that. The rest of the work is all the in between and quests and other story beats that fill in between the story structure they have written. Everything is very much on the fly from there. We'd address questions as they arose, but everything else is very much saying "Yes, And..." to whatever dialogue comes up. Occasionally we'd have "Ah Hah!" moments where we remembered something tied in to something we recorded earlier in the day or earlier in the project, but other than that - we'd discover it along the way and act/react accordingly. 

WaME: Looking back now, how would you describe your personal connection to Scott Ryder as a character? Did you bring any part of your own personality into the role?

TT: I think I mentioned this earlier, but with hindsight, (I wasn't thinking of this at the time) I think where I was personally and professionally came in to play. I was the new guy in town being thrust into a job that he didn't know he deserved or had earned or was ready for, but I showed up and went to work all the same. That's Scott. Very much so.

I think another aspect would be trying to infuse humor whenever possible is part of things too. Can't be too serious all the time. And, as I often say now a days about my job, - what do I do for a living? How can I possible take most anything too seriously when my job is to read aloud "real good"?

WaME: Would you be open to returning to the Mass Effect universe in the future, especially considering that Andromeda may play some role in the next installment?

TT: I have to quote Rob Paulsen (Animaniacs, Pink and The Brain, TMNT... pretty much my childhood) when asked what his favorite job was - "The next one."  

This is very much mercenary work so I'll happily take whatever shows up. If it happens to be Mass Effect, I'd love it. Years ago, even after the fallout, there were rumblings I'd heard of the Ryders coming back, but after so many years, I doubt it. I joked the other day that we'd come back as collectable audio clips in the next game, if there is a next game. They also may very well want to cleanly remove the Ryders and anything Andromeda because of the reputation and stink surrounding the game. (no matter how ill founded and unearned that stink may be) So maybe we don't come back because of that. I understand. I've been told *numerous* times that "This is gonna be the one, Tom! This one gets you to conventions and all this other stuff!". I heard it with ME: Andromeda, with P5: Strikers. And no. Every time - no. So I hold my breath for nothing now a days. 

And there is something to be said for having already been Ryder - when I came back to record new stuff for the Jaal romance, the director said that they were listening to auditions for their next game (Anthem at that time) and they *really* liked an audition but someone said "...kinda sounds familiar though... who is it?" And they said "It's Tom" and the whole room groaned because they thought they'd found the actor, but hearing it's me, they felt like they couldn't use me. Too soon to Andromeda? Or something more? No idea. I hear the same actors all the time doing the same voice (I'd done accent work for that audition and *ran away* from Ryder voice for it) but they're cast across titles from the same studio, so... no idea why they felt that way, but that's the business.

Short version - I'd totally come back as Scott or anything else. They just gotta ask.

WaME: If Ryder were to return in a future Mass Effect project, how would you like to see the character evolve?

TT: I've always said this, but I'd love for the canon Ryder to have been on the Gil Brodie path. Just the opportunity to explore being The Pathfinder but also being a parent would be great, from a narrative standpoint but also as an actor. This said - now there are A TON of game out there now doing "adventure but you're a Dad!" So maybe we have Sara as a mother for a change? That'd be even better to play with. Maybe work as The Pathfinder wears him down and the humor is gone. Scott/Sara has been ground down by the job and is now more Shepard-like. Or perhaps things have settled and things have gone well. The Angara have helped the Ark species to settle in and their cooperation has been great. No need for The Pathfinder. 

BUT THEN - something happens and The Pathfinder is called back in to service, but they're too old for this, like Fryda and I very much are right now.

That would be fun too.

WaME: Finally, with a Mass Effect series in development at Amazon, what are your thoughts on it? What would you hope to see from an adaptation of this universe?

TT: I am cautiously optimistic. There's a lot of good things to work with in the ME universe. We'll see where they go. I think the Fallout show is a perfect example of what is possible if you trust the creatives to do their thing with your property as a video game house. Give players of the game plenty to Leonardo DiCaprio Points At Screen Meme but more than that - give non-players a world with great characters and dialogue to explore.

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