David Hayter, the renowned voice actor famous for his portrayal of Snake in the Metal Gear Solid series, shares a sentiment familiar to many creatives: the desire to refine and improve upon past work. Like many artists, Hayter often reflects on his earlier performances and wishes he could enhance certain aspects. In particular, he has expressed a desire to re-record his lines for the upcoming Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater remake, which has him reminiscing about his two-decade journey in the voice acting industry.
In a candid interview with Inverse, Hayter, along with Lori Alan, who voices The Boss, and Cynthia Harrell, the vocalist behind the game’s iconic music, discussed their experiences during the creation of the original Snake Eater game, released on the PlayStation 2 in 2004. The trio was pleasantly surprised to learn that a remake was in the works and even more shocked that they were invited to participate in the project. Alan mentioned that she had expected to be recast but was thrilled that Konami opted to retain the original voice talent instead.
While Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater will primarily reuse recordings from the original game, both Hayter and Alan took the opportunity to return to the recording booth to update a few lines, specifically for the game’s tutorials. Hayter expressed his enthusiasm for reprising his role as Snake but also voiced a desire to re-record his entire performance, reflecting on how much he has grown as an actor over the last 20 years. “I do feel that I’m a little better of an actor now than I was then,” Hayter explained. He acknowledged that while the original performance was satisfactory, he would have loved to infuse the character with the knowledge and experience he has gained since then.
Despite the limited scope of his involvement in the remake, Hayter remains optimistic about the future of the Metal Gear Solid series. He hopes that the remake signals a revival for the franchise, which has been dormant since the departure of director Hideo Kojima from Konami in 2015, aside from the ill-fated survival game Metal Gear Survive released in 2018. “Anytime they ask me to be Snake, I’m in,” Hayter stated. “It’s the definitive role in my life. It’s so complex and so profound, and there are so many different aspects to both him and Big Boss. So anytime it comes up, I’m down.”
