Grand Theft Auto: IV Voice Actor Michael Hollick Demands More Compensation

As you would expect from a Grand Theft Auto title, GTA IV made over $600 million in two weeks and continues to climb. It's to be expected, considering the series has been one of the most popular in video game history and has fans from all gaming genres completely addicted to it's violent charm. When I think about how much work goes into each part of the game itself (As I do with countless other games as well), I find myself always coming back to the same question that dances in my brain unanswered until today.

What do these voice actors get paid?

Well, according to Michael Hollick, who you might know better as the voice of Niko Bellic, GTA IV's resident immigrant, thinks that the amount of compensation is pathetic at best. The man has a Myspace page with hundreds of thousands of views, has had his character and his voice spoofed on Saturday Night Live, and has become an icon in games and all over the internet, yet he was only paid a measly $100,000 for his 15 months of voice work. Is this completely ridiculous, or just the product of some outdated and twisted Hollywood pay standards?

Try both.

There are no provisions for payment in media such as games and the internet, so voice actors in games get paid Screen Actor's Guild wages. Normally that's not such a bad thing, but when you look at the hundreds of millions that the GTA series always seems to pull in, and the pittance that was left for it's obvious star, you begin to see why this guy might be a little irritated.

According to a New York Times interview with Hollick, he claims he blames the union itself for not having creative protections available for their actors. "Obviously, I'm incredibly thankful to Rockstar for the opportunity to be in this game when I was a nobody, an unknown entity. But it's tough, when you see Grand Theft Auto IV out there as the biggest thing going right now, when they're making hundreds of millions of dollars, and we don't see any of it." Hollick stated, clearly understanding why he isn't seeing the money, but feeling he certainly deserves it.

Who can blame him? His voice has been heard by almost every single person in the country, and will be a permanent part of countless people's game collections for decades to come. So why is he being so pleasant when he's out, quite literally, millions of dollars? Rockstar might have the answer, but they declined to comment on the New York Time's article with Hollick. When Hollick himself felt the need to find some answers, he said he "asked about residuals when we negotiated, but I was told that it was not a possibility."

Even with the trailer for this game alone, making close to 40 million hits online, there is no guarantee that Hollick will see another cent for all of his work with GTA IV. "That's my voice all over it, and I get nothing. If that were a radio spot, I would have. Same thing for the TV ads. I recorded those lines for the game, but now they're all over television." He goes on to say to the Times. Even extra time and effort put into the intense marketing for this game has been for naught to Hollick.

I tip my hat to the way Michael has been taking all of this back-and-forth with Rockstar and the Screen Actor's Guild. Just hearing about the amount of money he could have had vs. what he actually saw sickens me, I can honestly say that. But through all of the stress and irritation Hollick has been facing, he maintains a sense of humor and a pleasantly outspoken need to remind everyone how hard he works. Aside from dialog and commercials, GTA IV had scenes that demanded a bit more from Hollick than most voice actors have even come close to doing.

"We would have 50 pages of screaming, 10 pages of being shot, 10 pages of being thrown off a roof, 20 pages of being burnt alive, just screaming. The ones being burnt alive were the best." Hollick comments, at least having a bit of fun with the role he was so massively underpaid for.

So where does this leave the voice actors of the future in the video game industry? Only time, and some necessary compensation standard revisions, will tell.