Konami reveals Kiefer Sutherland as new voice of Snake in Metal Gear Solid 5

Konami has announced the voice actor that will be taking up the mantle of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain protagonist Big Boss. The new voice for Big Boss will be provided by Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, who is well known for his role as 24’s protagonist, Jack Bauer.

“The themes are a little different from previous games in the series,” Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima said of Sutherland’s casting. “We’re taking on some heavy subjects, like race and revenge. As a result, I wanted Snake to have a more subdued performance expressed through subtle facial movements and tone of voice, rather than words.”

Say hello to Jack Bauer… erm.. I mean Big Boss

According to Kojima, The Phantom Pain takes place in 1984, and he wanted an actor who could “genuinely convey” Snake as he would look and sound in his late 40s. In the game, Naked Snake, aka Big Boss, will be 49 years old.

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“It’s different from anything we’ve done before,” Kojima said. “I felt that he was the perfect fit, in terms of age and performance,” Kojima added.

“It’s an honor to be able to play this character,” Sutherland said. "[Snake] has an unbelievable legacy. I’m not a gamer and I even knew about this game. I was certainly keenly aware of the legacy of [Metal Gear] and the success of these games."

Sutherland is taking over the role from the previous voice actor—David Hayter. Hayter had announced back in March over Twitter that he will not be reprising his iconic role as Snake. He has been the only person to voice Snake – Solid as well as Naked – ever since the characters were given voices.