Assembly Speakers - 13 January
Neil Newbon, director and producer
On Monday, 13 January, we were lucky to have actor, director and producer Neil Newbon as our assembly speaker. He has been working as an actor for 28 years and in games for 15 years, doing a range of things including advertisements, voiceovers, creature work and, most notably, motion and performance capture. He is most famous for his role as Astarion in the game Baldur’s Gate 3, for which he won the Game Award for ‘Best Performance’ in 2023, as well as roles in other games such as Resident Evil and Detroit Become Human.
To start, he presented a showreel highlighting some of his recognisable roles and work in motion capture. He then went on to tell us about his journey from school to acting, which started by joining the National Youth Theatre at around age 15. He encouraged any aspiring actors to join groups or organisations such as this, as it is beneficial to start from a young age.
This led to him gaining an agent and a variety of roles in television and theatre, saying many do not necessarily need major academic qualifications to enter the field, the most valuable asset being experience. However, he still recommended having qualifications in another sphere as a means for survival if acting opportunities dry up, as they commonly do. Neil Newbon himself struggled with this, almost facing bankruptcy at one point until he discovered the possibilities of acting in the gaming industry.
This has allowed him to be steadily employed ever since, now being a well acclaimed actor, directing, as well as producing and delivering specialist training in motion and performance capture.
