With gaming becoming more and more advanced over the years, the expectation of having a good presentation over the years has gone up with it. The same can be said about voice acting in video games, which used to be a rarity in games before the 1990s, which can now make or break a game based on performance.

Since voice acting has become so prevalent in games, developers are going to want to track down the best in the business to bring out the best in their characters. Despite this though, there are some characters who could not be more different in personality or voice but share the same voice actor. Here are some instances of characters that are surprisingly voiced by the same person.

Updated on April 2, 2024, by Dennis Moiseyev: The most well-known voice actors working in the game industry today continue to lend their talents to a greater variety of characters and video games that truly showcase an impressive range. Some of your most famous and iconic characters can happen to share a voice actor with another surprising character you may not have known about.

With all the games that have come out since this article was last written, there are plenty more examples to highlight.

15 Geralt And Agent Robert Nightingale - Doug Cockle

The Witcher Series And Alan Wake 2

You probably didn't expect to see Doug Cockle in any other role other than The Witcher's Geralt when it comes to video games, but he does have more to offer. He's been in the worlds of Baldur's Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 in 2023 alone, though his character's involvement with the latter game is more central to the story.

The beginning of Alan Wake 2 has you play as Cockle's Agent Robert Nightingale, returning from the first game fresh out of Cauldron Lake, and he becomes a jumpscare menace and boss throughout the early part of the game. His voice is raspier, scarier, and much less pleasing to hear than that of Geralt's, who would be a wonderful audiobook narrator.

14 Karl Heisenberg And Astarion - Neil Newbon

Resident Evil Village And Baldur's Gate 3

If you were to play Resident Evil Village after playing Baldur's Gate 3, Neil Newbon's voice in Karl Heisenberg might be much easier to hear. These characters couldn't be more different from one another, but Newbon's vocal tone is clearly present in both, especially how they laugh. However, Heisenberg has more of an American accent with a gruff and slightly deeper voice that's a mix of Keanu Reeves and Nic Cage.

Astarion is very dramatic in his speech and has a lot of playfulness with his voice with the way some of his dialogue goes, which also won the actor a well-deserved Game Award for Best Performance. Neil Newbon becomes completely unrecognizable as Karl Heisenberg when the boss transformation occurs.

13 Nadine Ross And Polina Petrova - Laura Bailey

Uncharted 4, Legacy Of Thieves, And Call Of Duty: Vanguard

Laura Bailey is most famously known for voicing prominent PlayStation protagonists Mary Jane Watson in Marvel's Spider-Man series as well as Abby Anderson in The Last of Us Part 2, but she's also great with accents. Just look at the performances she was able to achieve with Uncharted's Nadine Ross and Call of Duty's Polina Petrova.

Nadine Ross is an excellent character of South African descent created for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, who's an opportunistic and deceitful Shoreline mercenary working for Drake's enemy, Rafe Adler, while Polina Petrova is a female Russian sniper from COD: Vanguard based on real-life sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the Soviet Army's 'Lady Death.'

12 Mark Jefferson And Reiko - Derek Phillips

Life Is Strange And Mortal Kombat 1

Derek Phillips isn't the biggest voice actor in gaming around, but he's voiced some noteworthy characters already, like Abby's dad Jerry in The Last of Us Part 2, pilot Wade Jackson in COD: Vanguard, and Lord Pendleton in Dishonored. But where you really can witness his range, by far, is Mark Jefferson from Life is Strange and Reiko from Mortal Kombat 1.

While both serve as the antagonists in the story of their respective games, Mark Jefferson is a chill photography teacher (before you find out his true nature and involvement with Rachel Amber's murder) and Reiko is an enraged fighter, with a voice that carries a hint of a British accent and is extremely rough-sounding, almost like a growl.

11 Arthur Morgan And Jack Leary - Roger Clark

Red Dead Redemption 2 And Fort Solis

Roger Clark is a voice actor best known for the iconic character Arthur Morgan, the protagonist of Red Dead Redemption 2, but he's since been in another game as a totally different kind of protagonist. 2023's episodic narrative sci-fi game Fort Solis sees Clark as Jack Leary, an engineer on Mars needing to solve a disappearance at a mining station, and he's also joined by Troy Baker and TV's Julia Brown.

Other than one protagonist being a cowboy in an outlaw gang during the Wild West era of US history and the other being stationed at a Mars settlement in the far future of 2080, Arthur Morgan's and Jack Leary's accents are totally different. Arthur has that deep Southern drawl, while Jack has more of that natural Irish accent from Clark.

10 Joel Miller And Pagan Min - Troy Baker

The Last Of Us Part 1 And 2, Far Cry 4

Troy Baker is one of the most well-known voice actors in the industry today, so much so that most who know his work will be able to identify his voice. However, these two characters have such different accents that most probably would not be able to tell that they are the same person.

Though they do have some common ground with having high body counts, Joel does so out of survival while Min does it to assert dominance. The fact Baker can play two separate characters so believably really goes to show his range.

9 Edward Richtofen And The Guardian's Ghost - Nolan North

Call Of Duty Series, Destiny

Another well-known and well-respected voice actor in the industry, Nolan North has an incredible range that is apparent in these two roles.

Richtofen is the lovable, fearless, and outrageous Nazi character that appears in Call of Duty's zombie modes, while the Guardian's Ghost is ever cautious and more grounded. While they may sound a bit similar, North gives his all to both characters, making them all the more memorable.

8 Urdnot Grunt And Sub Zero - Steve Blum

Mass Effect 2 And 3, Mortal Kombat X

Steve Blum has voiced a number of characters in cartoons, anime, and video games alike and has a distinctive gruff voice. While this same gruffness can be found in Sub Zero, the disciplined and collected fighter and leader of the Lin Kuei. The same cannot be said though for Grunt who is always aching for a fight and lacks the discipline Sub Zero has.

Most would not be able to tell Blum voices Grunt due to his voice pitch being lowered. Nevertheless, Blum's experience shines through with his portrayal of each character.

7 Ezio Auditore And Sonic The Hedgehog - Roger Craig Smith

Assassin's Creed Series And Sonic Games

The Assassin's Creed and Sonic games could not be more different in turns of tone and style. But they do have one thing in common, Roger Craig Smith has voiced the protagonists of each game at some point.

Sonic is the face of Sega and epitomizes too cool for school while Ezio is perhaps Assassin's Creed's best character but would find Sonic too cocky for his own good. The fact they are both voiced by the same person makes it all the more strange.

6 Goku And Lucario - Sean Schemmel

Dragon Ball Series And Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Perhaps the best-known and most loved anime hero of all time, Goku has been voiced by Schemmel for the English dub for the Dragon Ball anime and a number of games as well. Goku has been requested to be a fighter in Super Smash Bros. for years now but there is already a connection that most might have missed.

That connection is that Schemmel voices Lucario in Smash's fourth and fifth installments. Lucario's voice is gruffer sounding than Goku's, hence why most would not be able to tell the difference.

5 Handsome Jack And Perfect Cell - Dameon Clarke

Borderlands 2 And Dragon Ball Series

Sticking with Dragon Ball, Cell, specifically his perfect form, is one of the franchise's most iconic villains and it would not be a proper Dragon Ball game if he is not included. Handsome Jack on the other hand is another iconic villain in his respective series and has a lot in common with Cell in terms of personality.

The two sound completely different but are both voiced by the same person Dameon Clarke.

4 Spyro The Dragon And Spongebob Squarepants - Tom Kenny

Spyro And Spongebob Games

The mascot of Nickelodeon has appeared in a number of games over the years, some good and some bad, in which he was voiced by Tom Kenney. Coincidentally Tom Kenney helped voice one of the mascots for the first PlayStation, that being Spyro the dragon in Spyros 2, 3, Enter the Dragonfly, and the Reignited Trilogy.

Spongebob has a somewhat high and joyous tone to his voice while Spyro has a slightly deeper, slightly raspy voice to make him sound cool. Either way, both voices Kenney provides is bound to make both kids and adults alike fall in love with them.

3 Pete The Cat And Urdnot Wrex - Jim Cummings

Kingdom Hearts Series And Mass Effect 2 And 3

Jim Cummings has voiced a number of Disney characters over the years but he is perhaps best known to Kingdom Hearts fans for voicing Pete the cat, Maleficent's loyal servant. However, Cummings also provides the voice for the more commanding and brash Urdnot Wrex, who is the leader of Clan Urdnot in Mass Effect should Wrex die.

Cummings may have a distinct voice, but much like with Steve Blum, it is hard to tell he is also Pete since his voice is pitched low to sound like krogan. Either way, the man gives an overall underrated performance to both characters.

2 Brynjolf And The Medic - Robin Atkin Downes

Skyrim And Team Fortress 2

Brynjolf, the person who introduces the Dragonborn to the Thieves Guild, and the mad healer of Team Fortress 2, the Medic are actually both voiced English actor Robin Atkin Downes.

Brynjolf's calm and collected demeanor with a Norse accent is in stark contrast with Medic's mad German scientist. Downes may not be as well known as Troy Baker or Nolan North, but the fact he can pull off these two characters so well really goes to show how good his range as a voice actor is.

1 Mario And Paarthurnax - Charles Martinet

Mario Games And Skyrim

Charles Martinet may not be a name most people know, but chances are you know him as the voice of Mario, one of the faces of Nintendo. Who would think that the Italian plumber shares the same voice actor as the dragon at the top of the Throat of the World in Skyrim, Paarthurnax?

Though the two could not sound any more different from each other, they do have some things in common like their bravery for instance. Mario is always willing to risk his life to save Peach while Paarthurnax is willing to betray his people to free humanity of their enslavement. Martinet deserves a lot of praise for his commitment to both roles.