A shattered hero must overcome battle-inflicted blindness and seemingly insurmountable odds to save his village and, ultimately, all of Earthrealm in Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind, an all-new, feature-length film produced by Warner Bros. Animation in coordination with NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Games. The film arrives from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Blu-ray on 10th October 2022 and Digital Download on 11th October 2022.
We had the absolute priviledge of talking to Keith Silverstein, voice actor for Kabal, last week about his role in Snow Blind. We dived deep into Kabal’s history, the world of voice acting and Keith’s legendary career as a voice actor. As a fan of anime and animation, it was such a highlight and we’re so excited to share it with you. We really hope you enjoy! Be sure to check out Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind when it’s released.
J: I actually just finished watching Mortal Kombat: Snow Blind about half an hour ago, I wanted it all fresh in my head and I loved it. I’m actually somewhat new to the franchise so it was a really good introduction and exploration, and I think what I love about the animated films is that they are really accessible for other people. Looking at your career of voice acting from Jujutsu Kaisen to Hunter X Hunter what was it like joining the Mortal Kombat universe?
K: It was a true pleasure. I am a pop-culture junkie, I always have been and that’s what has been important to me. I’ve alway wanted to read comic books instead of reading novels for the most part… That’s just been who I am. So I get very excited and I geek out when I get to work on a new franchise or a new universe like Mortal Kombat and this was my first dive into the world professionally so I was very excited, and still am. This is that fun time where recording’s done, everything’s done and we’re doing interviews and then it will be… Unleashed into the world very very soon and once that happens it’s canon, you know? And that’s a very exciting part of that.
J: That’s it, you’re literally immortalised now in the Mortal Kombat universe. You’re now part of it which is so cool.
K: Yup! And that’s a big deal to me. Yeah, I love that. There are some actors where it’s just, you know, a job. They love the work but they don’t have that pop-culture connection but they appreciate the work and that source of creativity. For me, it’s all of that plus I’m like “what am I working on? alrigh, okay, cool cool cool!”.
J: You mentioned that you’re a pop-culture fanatic, What is your personal connection to Mortal Kombat before joining Snow Blind. Did you have any experience prior to that?
K: Yeah, I had acouple. Well, first off I was an arcade kid back in the day so I played Mortal Kombat 1, 2, and 3 as they came out and every time one of those came out it was… An event. You showed up at the arcade and this was before the internet and checking things online so you’d just be there one day and you’d be like “woah” and it was just such a different style of fighter. You had the fatalities, the ability to change how the match ends, this gritty look of the characters and how they look kind of real especially once the graphics got better.
But people would just gather round for that “Fatality!.” You know what I mean? Certain games you heard even in an arcade, and you have to remember for those who don’t have arcades since there aren’t that many, but there’s bleeping, music, and sounds eveywhere coming from every single game. But there were certain games that you could hear and you could hear that “Fatality!”, it was such a different vibe and it stood out. I remember when it was the thing at the arcade, the game, and I loved playing it. I used to play as Shang Tsung, and Kitana was the other character I played as.
The other connection I have with it is somehow I missed the auditions, I don’t know how many years ago it was maybe- 7 or 8 years now, when they were auditioning for the Mortal Kombat game and a couple of my friends, congratulations to both who voiced characters for that, and I did not get an audition whatsoevr and so I remember being like “Oh! how did I miss that one, how did I not get an audition?” So this many years later, to get a chance to play Kabal and be a part of the universe is like scratching that itch I’ve had for the last 10 years, like “yeah! Finally.”
J: It’s finally here! That’s got to be a good feeling. Finally being able to complete that mission that you missed out on.
K: Yeah, for sure. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always love more, but to even just play a character, even a little one, in these great franchises/universes that I love and grew up on is always a big deal to me, it always matters and I’m always looking at what franchise have I not hit, and I wan to hit that and I hope I can. So this was a big hit in a good way.
J: You’d like to, in a way, sprinkle yourself over all of the major franchises and integrate yourself into all of them.
K: Yes! I would like nothing more [laughs]. It’s one of the things that drives me. You know, I’d love to be in every game and every thing, but the ones I have an attachment to are the ones that had some kind of impact on me or I somehow grew up on them, and I’m at least aware enough that this are a big deal, that would be great. But the personal connection’s are the best. It doesn’t have to be a huge connection, but if I watched the show as a kid, or I played the game when I was younger… That’s a good connection, that’s enough I’m a fan! And if I’m a fan then I want to be a part of that universe.
J: I think it makes that experience of being involved way more special because, like you said even if it’s small part of your life it’s still something that you are now engrained in and you’re in it now. Mortal Kombat fans around the world are now going to be listening to you embody one of their favourite characters.
K: Yeah, and you’re living your childhood fantasies, you know? We all quoted our favourite characters from these games and shows growing up and to actually professionally supply a voice for one of those characters in that world is… It really is a dream come true. As a whole, it’s one of the biggest joys I get out of this chosen career.
J: Looking at it as a fan, was Kabal the character that you knew you wanted to play? What was it about Kabal that enticed you and excited you?
K: I will say honestly, I would have probably been happy playing any character. It’s helpful that Kabal was a character I knew. I watched a few videos on him and the many characters of Mortal Kombat, I didn’t realise how many I was unfamiliar with. So it was really nice that Kabal was one that I could identify. I think he came in at 3, so I knew enough where I was like “oh, okay I know what we’re talking about”… He’s got those hook swords, he’s so no nonsense, and he’s full of ambition, attitude, and truly just a badass character and it he was just so fun. I mean, that’s what I played as a child, you know? Being the tough guy when I played with my friends. Whenever I get an opportunity to be that, and that’s not me in real life [laughs].
J: It doesn’t sound it!
K: No, no no. He can be a jerk, and he can be a bit of, you know, one of these tough guys that show it all the time. But it’s not a quality I like in life, but it’s so fun to play that character. I have no complaints. He was a great choice, and the other thing is once I’ve voiced the character… I don’t look back. When people ask me “you were this character in this game, would you have rather been another one” and no, not now! If you asked me that before then maybe I would have had an answer for you, but once it’s locked in, I dunno… There’s an attachment with me and that character and it feels like it was right. That’s just the way I look at it and I’m very proud of the dance of characters that I’ve gotten the opportunity to play throughout my career. I could never have planned it. It would have been impossible, but I’m proud of each and every one of them, I would never change a thing. Once I’m cast… We’re done. We’ll move onto the next one, or even continue with this one if we’re lucky.
J: It’s be great to see more Kabal in the future or in additional stories, and I think for Snow Blind it was a really good introduction into a new side of Kabal. It felt very Mad Max to me. You had this post-apocalyptic dusty-desert vibe and I think Kabal stood out in terms of his design. He was one of the coolest characters in the entire film.
K: Yeah, he looked great! It was really nice to see it all come together. I was very pleased with how he looked and the effect they put on my voice to make it sound like I was wearing a respirator mask, and I was happy with the whole thing. It’s a nice surprise once it’s all said and done, you know? There it is! And it looks great!
J: Obviously you’ve done voice work for years. You’re a veteran, especially in the anime world, and I’m so intrigued by voice acting as an artform and I’m really glad that people are starting to, not that people never appreciated it, but people are recognising it as an artform. There is a lot of love for voice acting and a lot of appreciation out in the world, and I’m just wondering what it’s actually like stepping into that booth and immersing yourself into a character that is violent, angry and… Basically the opposite of what you are.
K: Yeah, you really have to… Set yourself in that world. You come in and you say “hi” and you greet the director, you greet whoever or if you’re just on cam if it’s remote, you’re still personable in yourself but then there’s a moment where you’re ready and you’re looking at the script and they’re describing the character to you and the theme so you know what’s going on… And you do have to change who you are in your attitude, not just vocally. Whatever’s happening, you have to raise the stakes if you’re in the middle of an intense fight and that’s not how you came into the booth. You didn’t come in heavy breathing, angry and determined. You gotta get there! That’s so much of the fun of it, and I love doing that and I love walking out of the booth and leaving it all there.
It’s weird, I want to say leave it all behind because you do on the surface, but you also don’t because you keep that character with you and if you revisit that character more times, whether it’s professionally or repeating lines for a fan, that character really becomes a part of your personality and a character you can pull out at any point. It actually changes who you are to some degree, depending on how long you’ve worked on that character. Characters that you’ve work on for years, and years are instantly a part of you, 25 minutes or a little less… Maybe less so. It’s a very fun process and I love being someone I’m not, or being in a situation I’ll never be in… Well, ideally I’ll never be in or have ever been in.
J: I was going to say, a situation like Mortal Kombat probably wouldn’t be ideal…
K: No, nope! I can tell you right know I do not want to be in that situation! I don’t wanna be- in real life- I don’t wanna be anyone in this film. I do not want to live in a world of fatalities at all, but if I can put on my headphones and walk into a soft walled booth and pretend for a few hours… Yeah, sign me up! I like the guarentee that I’ll be able to walk out unharmed.. Except maybe vocally, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.
J: I wanted to ask, what was it like trying to find that voice for Kabal? Was it a trial and error process, or did you have an idea in mind of how you wanted to approach it.
K: I did. I got the audition and I researched the character. I didn’t listen to other interpretations of the character, sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t. I never want to be doing an impersonation, it just throws me off. If I listen to what the last actor did, do I stray from that or stay close to that. Unless they specified in the audition- we want him to sound like this or we don’t. But I came up with something that was a little more subtle than what we ended up with, but I don’t think I had accounted on the respirator and mask so when I got into the booth after having booked it I know Wes Gleason directed me to be a little bigger and push his badassness in volume; just a little, he’s not super loud but he wasn’t as subtle as I had originally come to the table with him being and once the effect had been added it made perfect sense.
Wes knew the endgame, and this is why you trust your directors and he guided me too a good place because I didn’t hear the voice until I watched the film a few days ago and I thought it worked great and had I been more subtle with it I don’t think it would have worked as well. So we did some changes right off the bat before we got started, to find where we wanted to be and I think it worked nicely. The lesson is trust your director always!
J: It’s good that you had a collaborative relationship where you could work on it together. I really like that! You found things that worked and you worked together to find that sweet spot where you’re nailing it on the head and now you’ve got a brilliant version of Kabal that’s memorable both visually and audibly. He just stands out and there are so many Mortal Kombat characters and I think Kabal is gradually rising through the ranks. Snow Blind is definitely going to help with that as well, it definitely did with me!
K: Good! I’ve just seen it and speaking to you these are our first reactions that I’m getting while waiting for this to be released to the world. I know that they’re going to love it so thank you! I’m definitely excited! It’s also frequently collaborative, every actor brings something different with their voice, what their strengths are and what their weaknesses are. Unless you’re doing an impersonation of someone, it’s hard for a director to completely discount the actor, you know what I mean? You’ve done it exactly like this, and it only really works if you’re doing an impersonation and even then there’s some collaboration that can be part of it, but I think that’s the way it should always be. The actor brings certain talents and strengths, there’s things their voice can’t do, there’s things their voice can do. Unless you know that actor so well where you’ve worked together for so long there has to be a little give and take. That’s how you get a strong character.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind is produced and directed by Rick Morales (Mortal Kombat Legends franchise, Injustice) from a script by Jeremy Adams (Supernatural, Justice Society: World War II), who also penned the screenplays for the series’ first two films. All three films are based on the video game created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. Jim Krieg (Batman: Gotham by Gaslight) is Producer. Sam Register and NetherRealm Studios’ Ed Boon are Executive Producers.
