Solid Snake voice actor David Hayter throws shade at Hideo Kojima

Publish date: 2022-10-20

Hideo Kojima surprised many when he announced that he'd recast the voice of Metal Gear Solid protagonist Snake with Kiefer Sutherland in MGS5 after nearly two decades of David Hayter providing the role.

Hayter understandably wasn't too happy with being replaced and he's made his feelings about the legendary director known by stating in a GameInformer podcast that it's unlikely he'll work with Kojima again.

"I think he handled it pretty badly and I've got no particular love for Kojima," Hayter said. "I respect him and I think he's a brilliant game maker. I don't know him as a person, [but] as a businessman I was not impressed. So no, I don't feel any need to go back and work with him again."

As it turns out, Kojima had been trying to replace Hayter for years. The voice actor noted that he had to re-audition for MGS3 and 4 and that he heard that Kojima sought out Kurt Russell for MGS3, but the Escape From New York actor passed on it.

"I never felt like he was a particularly big fan of mine," Hayter lamented. "I was kinda hoping that Konami would bring me back now that he was gone."

When asked if he would play MGS5: The Phantom Pain, Hayter said, "Yeah. That'll be 60 hours of humiliation that I can't wait to get to."

"So no, I haven't played the latest two iterations, because it's just too painful."

Hayter clarified that this sort of thing is par for the course in showbiz. "It's horrible and it's humiliating, but I work in Hollywood and I'm a screenwriter, so I get fired from every job I get. That's just the nature of the business," he said.

Despite this bad experience with Kojima, Hayter stated that he's still very happy with his work on the Metal Gear series.

"I genuinely feel that the run that I had as Snake was remarkable. If you get that once in your career that's amazing. So I'm very happy with that."

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