Half Life: Alyx actor grateful to be part of ‘transcendent’ experience

After a long layoff, the Half Life series returned to the spotlight this year with the release of Half Life: Alyx on virtual reality platforms.

Actor Mike Shapiro voices the G-Man, one of the game’s most mysterious characters. Despite the time between installments, Shapiro was more than ready to step back into the role.

“It was so great to put my hand around the briefcase again and step back into those shoes,” Shapiro said. “It was kind of two different ideas at once. In one way, I was looking forward to jumping back into the world, the story and the characters. In another sense, it felt like no time had passed. G-Man is just so delicious to spend time with.”

Shapiro said the experience on VR is like nothing players have seen before.

“I had done VR before, but this was transcendent,” Shapiro said. “This was really a whole other level of immersion.”

Shapiro is a Half Life veteran, having voiced G-Man for the duration of series, in addition to other characters. The first game, released in 1998, proved to be a classic.

“One of the things about Half Life that got me really excited was it was clear that there was a tremendous body of narrative underneath it,” Shapiro said. “Half Life was one of the most fertile things to come along. I feel like it raised the bar in terms of narrative alongside action, alongside single player.”

The G-Man has always been one of the most mysterious characters in the series, and discovering more about him has been one of the most fascinating aspects for Shapiro.

“I feel like one of the things that we’ve come to understand is that it’s not clear that G-Man is working for anybody,” Shapiro said. “I feel like at the beginning, he’s this emissary, a very powerful agent provocateur of these forces. And then you think you know who the forces are. You’re trying to understand what motivates him. With each additional iteration in the story, I began to feel like G-Man has considerable agency of his own.”

He’s also excited about the potential of where his storyline could go.

“I truly don’t think about his story ending,” Shapiro said. “I don’t mean in the sense as there’s another sequel. I mean, I don’t think he’s human. One of the real pleasures for me about G-Man is not feeling constricted. I don’t think G-Man is ever constricted by temporal continuity.”

Since the release of Half Life: Alyx, some fans have wondered what’s next for the series. While Shapiro said he doesn’t know, he’s grateful to be a part of the series and offers a tidbit of encouraging news for fans.

“As a person who played a small part in contributing to Half Life, it’s plain from the feedback I get that people are digging to see these characters, and I’m waiting to see what happens next,” Shapiro said. “I think there’s a whole lot of story left to tell.”

Contact Lukas Eggen at leggen@reviewjournal.com or702-383-0279. Follow @lukaseggen on Twitter.