The Walking Dead Wiki Interviews/Kiff VandenHeuvel


 * ThatGuyWhoLikesTWD is responsible for this interview, conducted on March 25, 2014.

Cliff VandenHeuvel is the Voice of Walter in The Walking Dead Video Game.

How did you get your role as Walter on The Walking Dead Video Game?

I got the role of Walter the way I get most of my work, I auditioned for it. I was very familiar with The Walking Dead game and in preparation for my audition, I played a couple chapters to really get a strong sense of the tone of the world. And then tried to find the light that Walter brings. The audition script was made up of about contrasting 5 lines of dialog with a brief description of what the context is. I think there was a bit where you first meet him, and then an interaction or two with Clem, and one of the more emotional scenes later on when he finds out happened to Matthew.

What was your favorite line/scene to record?

I really loved the scene where Walter is talking about Steinbeck and literature with Clem and is trying to reenforce his positive thoughts to the world. The situation is so bleak, but I love that Walter is able to see beyond that and that he has hope for humanity, even after there is so much about the world that is completely shot. It's not until he experiences to real personal loss that he has to struggle with his world view and his emotions. Really complex and engaging character to play. Rare.

What was your favorite part about being on the game?

My favorite part about being in this game is two fold: 1) I love the legacy of the Walking Dead, and being part of this world is immensely satisfying. Just the way the fans have reached out to me, or shared compliments to me about my work, as really been humbling and I'm so grateful for that.  And 2) like doing Bioshock: Infinite, the writing is SO GREAT and there is so many wonderful emotions to explore and play with. Outside of video games, a lot of the roles I play are in commercials or smaller parts in TV and films, so to really dig in and go deep in video game work is very artistically satisfying. Love it. And the Telltale Team is just amazing to work with. Julian Kwasneski is a fantastic director and the script is just amazing. Lots of favorite parts about being in the game.

Does Walter have a backstory that we did not learn about In the episode?

I'm sure he does and whatever may be there, I'm not privy to it. The one thing I can tell you with some certainty is that, at one point, before the events in this story, (spoiler) Walter had more hair on his head. But something happened that lead him to losing that hair, and now, when we find him, he is mostly bald. Maybe it fell out as he got older. Maybe, when he was teaching, he just pulled it out. Maybe future episodes with have flashbacks to a Walter with a nice full head of curly locks, but then again, that's just speculation.

Who is your favorite character in the video game?

I love Clem. Just love the character. Melissa is so great in the role and it's really awesome to play a character who gets to interacts with Clem so much. Very cool. I do miss Lee, but I get to see Dave Fennoy at the occasional pool party, so I get my share of him (albeit floating on a raft enjoying the non-zombie infested backyard.) He is the voice of Hulu, so if you miss hearing his dulcet tones, that's one place you can hear Lee with regularity.

Walter was killed by Carver at the end of episode 2, did you like the way he died or do you think should he have lived longer?

Hey, I would have loved Walter to rise up and kick some a$$ Jason Statham style at the end of Episode 2, then hang on until the bitter end and prove that the world can get better. However that's not how the guys saw things going down. Walter is an emotional center to the group, and for him to be killed the way he did, in such a shocking and brutal way, while painful, works really well for the story and the game as a whole. People die every episode and this time, it's the guy I voice. But I died in all the video games I've done (except Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition) so I'm getting used to it.

Would you return to voice any other characters?

That's outside of my control, but I will say that anytime the great folks at Telltale invite me to come play in the worlds they create, I'll be there sleeping outside the recording studio the night before like a Black Friday Doorbuster sale. They are fantastic visionary game developers and it is always a joy to work with the best.

Are you currently working on any other projects?

Yes, I'm in the upcoming films Imagine (with Al Pacino) and Nightcrawler (with Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo). Both of those films come out this year. I've also done some fun work as a character named Rob Fliskin for a company in Scandinavia called Postnord Logistics. The spots are really fun and crazy and if you want to see it, do a google search for Rob Fliskin. Aside from this interview, it's the only thing that will come up. I also teach and direct at The Second City Hollywood and have a show going up in a couple weeks called "Rosemary's Babymama" and if you like sketch comedy and you live in LA, come check it out!