Adam Howden

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Adam Howden
Born1 July[1]
OccupationActor
Years active2005–present
Agent(s)Brown, Simcocks and Andrews[2]

Adam Howden (/ˈhaʊdən/; born 1 July) is an English actor who has worked in video games, television, theatre, film, and audiobooks.[2]

In video games, Howden's most notable roles are as Shulk in the Xenoblade Chronicles series, Anders in Dragon Age II, Tintin in The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, Pipin in Final Fantasy XIV, and Fenton Paddock in Lost Horizon.[2] In television, he has most notably portrayed Steven Lilwall on the BBC One series New Tricks.[2] Howden has also appeared in, written, and produced short films.[2]

In theatre, Howden has most notably played Stu for a revival of Anthony Neilson's play Stitching at the House of Wolf, and Dickie Greenleaf for the play adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley at New Diorama Theatre, for which Howden received a Best Supporting Male nomination at the 2016 Off West End Theatre Awards.[2][3]

Early life and education[edit]

Howden was fond of acting since his early school years.[4] He chose the subject for his GCSE studies, then his A Levels at the Strode College in 1999.[5] He studied Drama, Film Studies, and English Literature until his 2001 graduation.[4][5]

Howden went on to audition at drama schools for further experience.[5] Eventually, he was accepted at the Drama Centre, a location he appreciated for its welcoming atmosphere and its rich acting pedigree (e.g. Colin Firth, Michael Fassbender).[4][5] He studied alongside other alumni such as Ryan Gage, Rolan Bell, Gwendoline Christie, Jodie McNee, and Joseph MacNab.[6] Howden studied multiple acting techniques,[7] including some involving his voice. He stated, "Working on your voice is very important in all areas of acting, not just voice-overs."[4]

Career[edit]

Following his 2005 graduation,[6] Howden's first TV role was as a student during "Slow Bomb", the finale of the action series Ultimate Force.[2] For that role, Howden took his breaks inside a trailer with Simon Lenagan, another guest-star.[5][8] There, he discussed with Lenagan how he wanted to do voice-over, and Lenagan encouraged him to present his voice reel at Just Voices, a voice-over agency he had co-founded.[5][8][9][10] Howden did so, which started his career in voice-overs,[11] first doing commercials and corporate voice-overs.[2][9][12] He moved on to video games, with additional voices in Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening,[2] then as Fenton Paddock in Lost Horizon,[2] a main role which Howden says he still has "a soft spot for".[9]

BioWare games[edit]

His first roles in the video game industry were as a part of BioWare's Dragon Age franchise. He auditioned for Dragon Age: Origins at the voice studio Side UK, reading and obtaining a couple of roles.[4][13] Directed by Caroline Livingstone,[2] he recorded various voices such as the Ostagar prisoner, which Howden has said he was "quite fond of" and "the first time I'd ever seen myself as a computer sprite."[4] For the Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening add-on, he voiced the Constable Aidan.[4][14]

Howden's breakthrough came in 2011's Dragon Age 2 as Anders.[2] Originally played by Greg Ellis in Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening, BioWare offered Howden the part when Ellis couldn't return for unspecified reasons.[15] Howden recorded with the guidance of Caroline Livingstone,[2] who advised him on Anders's progression, as voice actors do not receive a complete script for secrecy reasons, and checked over his voice tone.[14] Howden listened to Greg Ellis's performance[4] but "followed his instincts" and didn't copy it entirely, claiming that, due to narrative progression, the character "is written quite differently. He maintains a sense of humor but you learn so much more about him in DA2 and you see a much darker side to him."[4]

Howden has stated that he is very proud to have been involved in those projects, praising their diverse storytelling opportunities and branching narration.[14] He credits his role as Anders as a major factor in his rise in popularity, and has mentioned that it was the most frequent character fans asked him to pull out when meeting him.[9][14] Concerning the controversy over Anders's actions in the game, Howden expressed his entire support for him, explaining that he was his actor and, as he learned at his acting lessons, actors must not judge their characters and must deal with their actions.[14] On an episode of the MCMBuzz Podcast, Howden denounced the homophobia some fans exhibited over a gay romance storyline between Anders and Garrett Hawke, the hero of the game.[14] Howden defended the storyline and denied the idea that playing a gay character was difficult for him, citing the fact that he has voiced gay characters before (e.g. Hanschen Rilow in Frank Wedekind's Spring Awakening).[2][16]

Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles and Super Smash Bros)[edit]

After a successful November 2010 audition for an unidentified Nintendo role-playing game, Howden was offered the role of the protagonist, Shulk, in the English dub of Xenoblade Chronicles.[4][13] Thus, his recording, helmed by Justin Villier at Side UK, happened over four straight weeks—as opposed to the Dragon Age and Tintin recordings, which occurred in separate stages set according to their productions' situations.[2][13]

Howden's performance had to correspond to the character's design and the casting director's desires:[4][13] a bold and intelligent young adult who slowly becomes more mature during his quest,[4] with, as Howden was told, "a neutral English voice, not posh sounding, but should sound educated."[13] So Howden applied a tone which, as he says, "is not completely different from my own voice, it's a variation of my own voice. How I was when I was 19, probably!"[13] To ensure his acting corresponded well to Tetsuya Takahashi's intentions, he listened to the Japanese voice track to match the emotion for each scene.[4] The recording team worked with a translator and Nintendo producer to create a faithful localization of the storyline, adjusting the translation as issues arose.[13] For instance, if a character's mouth animation didn't match with the voice actor's performance, the crew would either shorten or lengthen the dialogue while keeping fidelity with the original's intent.[4][13] And if the crew had questions over certain lines or terms, the translator would help them.[4][13]

Howden described it as "a philosophical game. It explores our place in the universe, do we really exist, God, do we make our own fate or are we on a set course, as well as love, revenge, and friendship."[4] He stated that he was proud of Xenoblade and wished the game had gotten more recognition for its merits.[5] His performance was applauded and the entire voice cast earned a "Best Vocal Ensemble in a Video Game" nomination in 2013 at the BTVA Video Game Voice Acting Award.

Howden has reprised his role as Shulk for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014), the Challenge Battle downloadable content (DLC) for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (2017), Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018), Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected (2020), and Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed (2023).[1] He has also voiced other characters in the Xenoblade Chronicles series, including the "Classic" Male Avatar in Xenoblade Chronicles X (2015), the Architect and Tantalese Knights in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (2017), and the Nopon Archsage in the Challenge Battle DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (2022).[1]

Tintin (The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn)[edit]

When Side UK passed video game auditions for the hero's voice, Howden was excited at the idea of performing as Tintin, claiming to have been a fan of the comics from a young age.[14] Although one audition employee expressed doubts that Howden would obtain the role, as the character is sixteen years old and Howden was in his late twenties, Howden obtained the role. This was his third time working with Phil Evans, who had voice-directed him on Lost Horizon and Star Wars: The Old Republic.[2][14]

Howden described the game as a platformer inspired by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's production, stating that "they've taken two of the Tintin books and combined them for the film, and the game sort of follows that story of the film, but will also go on other adventures as well, so that you can do other things."[17] Unlike Xenoblade Chronicles and Dragon Age where he recorded alone in the booth, Howden performed alongside other actors this time.[4][5][14] Among them was Lewis MacLeod,[14] who Howden described as "just so confident and he can just do it. He just turns it on, he can change his voice, turn on a sixpence, and it's brilliant."[18]

Writing interests[edit]

Howden has expressed a love for writing stories, stating it's "a good way to stay sharp when I'm not acting."[4] Among those projects came "Bin Men" and "Dogging",[19][20] two 2011 comedic shorts he shot with Jamie Baughan, a Drama Centre colleague, and the director Sankar Jayaraman, who filmed him in 2010 on "Bubble Burst".[2][6]

Howden has stated that he wishes to someday make a biographical film about his mother's family life in 1960s East Africa and play his grandfather.[21] As he explains, "I've been told so many amazing stories of their time there and having visited there myself I want others to see what a beautiful place it is. It's all in my head, I just need to write the bugger."[21]

Stage work[edit]

List of roles in theatre plays
Year Title Role Director Company Source
2001 Twelfth Night Antonio Andrew Harries Bath Theatre Royal [2]
2002 Fathers and Sons Arkady John Bechizza Drama Centre [2]
2003 Pains of Youth Alt Georgina Sowerby Drama Centre [2]
2003 Le Cid Le Cid Marguerite Forsythe Drama Centre [2]
2003 Artists & Admirers 'Arry Brown Di Trevis Drama Centre [2]
2004 Romeo and Juliet Romeo Jon Lee Drama Centre [2]
2004 Mary Stuart The Earl of Leicester Annie Tyson Drama Centre [2]
2005 The Duchess of Malfi Pescara Di Trevis Drama Centre [2]
2005 Mephisto Hendrik James Kemp Drama Centre [2]
2006 Spring Awakening Hanschen Rilow Aoife Smyth Union Theatre, London [2][16]
2011 The Malcontent Malevole Rae McKen Custom/Practice at White Bear Theatre [2]
2014 Richard III Buckingham Rae McKen Custom/Practice at White Bear Theatre [2]
2015 Romeo and Juliet Benvolio Rachel Valentine Smith The Faction [2]
2015 Joan of Arc La Hire/Montgomery Mark Leipacher & Rachel Valentine Smith The Faction [2]
2015 The Talented Mr. Ripley Dickie Greenleaf Mark Leipacher The Faction [2]
2015 Stitching Stu Pip Minnithorpe House Of Wolf [2]
2017 Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Donnie Kirshner Marc Bruni U.K. Tour Cast [2]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

List of roles in feature films and shorts
Year Type of film Title Role Director Notes Source
2005 Short film Dancing with Lucy Harry Laerke Vindhal [2]
2006 Short film Toast Dave Aneta Challis [2]
2006 Short film Dirty Work Special Agent 1 Carl Allegard [2]
2007 Short film The Death Certificate Mark Samson Carl Allegard [2]
2010 Short film Bubble Burst Philip Mann Sankar Jayaraman [2]
2012 Short film The New Start Tommy David Elliot [2]
2011 Short film Bin Men Junior Bin Man Sankar Jayaraman Also writer and producer [19]
2011 Short film Dogging Junior Doggie Sankar Jayaraman Also writer and producer [20]
2015 Short film Towers Evan Azhur Saleem [2][22]
2011 Feature film The Comedian Adam Tom Shkolnik [2]
2011 Feature film Scar Tissue Rupert Drummond Scott Michell [2]
2012 Feature film Delicious Suited Man Tammy Riley-Smith [2]

Television[edit]

List of live-action performances in television
Year Title Role Episode(s) Notes Source
2005 Ultimate Force Student Ep.: "Slow Bomb" (Series 4, episode 5) [2]
2007 Holby City Jason 'Bilf' Travers Ep.: "Countdown" (Series 9, episode 37) [2]
2008-2009 New Tricks Dr. Steven Lilwall 2 episodes: "Couldn't Organise One" (Series 5, episode 5) & "Death of a Timeshare Salesman" (Series 6, episode 5)
2008 Doctors Martin Rivers Ep.: "The Ticking Clock" (Series 10, episode 32) [2]
2011 Whitechapel Stuart Third series role. Howden's scenes were cut in the final edit. [2][23][24]
2012 Dark Matters: Twisted But True Fred/Jack Parsons (rocket engineer) Fred: "Pavlov's Children, Raining Aliens, Glow Girls" (Season 2, episode 12) / Jack Parsons (rocket engineer): "Magical Jet Propulsion, Missing Link Mystery, Typhoid Mary"(Season 2, episode 13) [2]
2013 Doctors Ben Hardwick Ep.: "Crossing the Line" (Series 14, episode 220) [2]
2013 The Intern Lawrence Wright Ep.: "Jess, Will and Andy" (Series 1, episode 4) [2][25]
2015 Doctors DC Gerrard Norcroft Ep.: "Best Laid Plans" (Series 17, episode 126) [2]

Video games[edit]

List of voice performances in video games
Year Title Role Voice Director Game Studio Notes Source
2009 Dragon Age: Origins various roles (Ostagar Prisoner, Ostagar Officer, and Ostagar Soldier) Caroline Livingstone BioWare [2]
2010 Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening various roles (Constable Aidan) Caroline Livingstone BioWare [2]
2010 Lost Horizon Fenton Paddock Phil Evans Deep Silver [2]
2010 Fable III various roles Kate Saxon Lionhead Studios [2]
2011 Dragon Age II Anders and Brekker Caroline Livingstone BioWare [1]
2011 The Secret of the Unicorn Tintin Phil Evans Ubisoft [2]
2011 Xenoblade Chronicles Shulk, Zanza Mark Healy Monolith Soft [1]
2011 Star Wars: The Old Republic various roles (Overseer Prithor, etc.) Phil Evans LucasArts/BioWare [2]
2012 Inazuma Eleven 2 various roles (Prime Minister Stuart Vanguard, team members) Mark Healy Nintendo [2][26]
2013 Soul Sacrifice Player Character Male Kate Saxon Sony [2]
2013 Soul Sacrifice Delta Player Voice Side UK Sony [2]
2013 Company of Heroes 2: The British Forces Tommy Atkins Side UK Sega & Relic Entertainment [27]
2014 Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Shulk Justin Villiers Nintendo [2]
2014 Assassin's Creed Unity various roles (Le Peletier, etc.) Justin Villiers Ubisoft [2]
2015 Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Pipin Tarupin, various roles Matt Delamere Square Enix [1]
2015 Xenoblade Chronicles X Male Avatar (Classic) Mark Healy & Justin Villiers Monolith Soft [1]
2015 XCOM 2 UK Soldier Firaxis Games
2016 Battlefleet Gothic: Armada Solar Admiral Spire Side UK Sony [28][1]
2016 Battlefield 1 Pilot, various roles Justin Villiers EA DICE [2]
2016 FIFA 17 various roles Aaron McHardy EA Canada [2]
2016 Horizon Zero Dawn various roles Jo Green Guerrilla Games, Sony [2]
2017 Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood Pipin Tarupin Matt Delamere Square Enix [1]
2017 Xenoblade Chronicles 2 The Architect, Tantalese Knights, Shulk Jimmy Livingstone & Matt Roberts Monolith Soft Shulk via Challenge Battle DLC [1]
2018 Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom Leander Mark Healy Level-5 [1]
2018 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Shulk Mark Healy Nintendo [1]
2019 Trials Rising Male Player Ubisoft [1]
2019 Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Thaffe Square Enix [1]
2020 Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition Shulk, Zanza Jimmy Livingstone Monolith Soft English dub, includes new "Future Connected" epilogue [29]
2021 Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker A-Ruhn-Senna Jason Baughan Square Enix [1]
2022 Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga various roles Traveller's Tales [30]
2022 Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Nopon Archsage Jimmy Livingstone, Mark Healy, Rosie Jones Monolith Soft Challenge Battle DLC [31][1]
2023 Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed Shulk Jimmy Livingstone Monolith Soft [1]

Audiobooks[edit]

List of voice performances
Year Author Title Publisher Award Source
2012 Susanne Saville Wicked Beloved Ignition Studios [32][33]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Adam Howden (visual voices guide) - Behind The Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn "Spotlight: ADAM HOWDEN (Page Profile)". Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  3. ^ "OffWestEnd.com - The_offies2016 - The definitive guide to London's Off West End theatre scene, featuring listings and details for over 80 theatres, news, discussion and exclusive special offers". Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Dave Ward. "Adam Howden Interview (RPG Site)". Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Gary Smith (15 April 2014). "Adam Howden Interview - Xenoblade Chronicles, Fable 3, Dragon Age Voice Actor (Part 1 of 3)". YouTube. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Central Saint Martins (29 June 2013). "London Drama Centre - Previous Students 1999-2013". Archived from the original on 6 September 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  7. ^ Hydrogen-Mag (16 December 2014). "The Gage Effect - Hydrogen: Mag". Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  8. ^ a b @A_Howdz. "Adam Howden Tweet (19 September 2016)". Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d MCMBuzz (Admin). "Interview with Adam Howden (MCM BUZZ - Movies, TV, Comics, Gaming, Anime, Cosplay News & Reviews)". Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  10. ^ "Who runs Just Voices Agency?". Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  11. ^ @SimonLenagan. "Simon Lenagan tweet (22 September 2016)". Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  12. ^ JustVoices. "UK & USA Male Voiceover Artists at Just Voices Agency". Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i Orla Madden (24 March 2013). "Ninterview: Meet Adam Howden - Voice Actor For Shulk - Nintendo Life". Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Johan Sijbesma (10 October 2011). "MCM Buzz Podcast 21". podcast (Podcast). MCMBuzz. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  15. ^ David Gaider (21 April 2011). "David Gaider (BioWare Forum message (21 April 2011)". Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  16. ^ a b Mary Couzens (8 July 2006). "Spring Awakening at the Union Theatre". London SE1 Community Website. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  17. ^ Johan Sijbesma (10 October 2011). "MCM Buzz Podcast 21". podcast (Podcast). MCMBuzz. Event occurs at 31:38. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  18. ^ Johan Sijbesma (10 October 2011). "MCM Buzz Podcast 21". podcast (Podcast). MCMBuzz. Event occurs at 45:42. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  19. ^ a b Adam Howden (7 September 2011). "Bin Men". YouTube. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  20. ^ a b Adam Howden (7 September 2011). "Dogging". YouTube. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  21. ^ a b Susanne Saville. "The Chatty Cat Café: Adam Howden". Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  22. ^ Park Road Pictures (2015). "Towers : Press Kit" (PDF). Retrieved 22 September 2016.[permanent dead link]
  23. ^ @A_Howdz. "Adam Howden Tweet (22 April 2016)". Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  24. ^ @A_Howdz. "Adam Howden Tweet (19 November 2013)". Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  25. ^ @A_Howdz. "Adam Howden Tweet (24 April 2013)". Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  26. ^ @A_Howdz. "Adam Howden tweet (27 August 2016)". Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  27. ^ Company of Heroes (29 September 2015). "COH2: The British Forces - Audio & Voice Recording (Dev Diary)". YouTube. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  28. ^ @A_Howdz. "Adam Howden Tweet (22 April 2016)". Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  29. ^ "Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition - original voice cast returns, including Jenna Coleman as Melia". 13 May 2020.
  30. ^ @A_Howdz. "Adam Howden Tweet (5 April 2022)". Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  31. ^ "Adam Howden, the voice of Shulk, voices the Nopon Archsage in new Xenoblade 3 DLC". 14 October 2022.
  32. ^ Wicked Beloved Audiobook : Susanne Saville (Audible.com). Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  33. ^ Wicked Beloved Audiobook : Susanne Saville (Audible.com). Retrieved 9 September 2016.

External links[edit]

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