Kay Simpson
Today At Fuzzable, we have the honour of an exclusive interview with Rob Wiethoff of the game Red Dead Redemption, where he provides the Motion Capture and Voice of John Marston
Rob, please tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into acting?
Well, I really didn’t have an interest in acting originally. Back in college, I dated this girl who moved to LA at the beginning of summer, she moved in with a friend who worked at CBS.
I decided to head out there at the end of the summer to see what LA was all about.
While I was out there we ended up visiting her friend on the set of “The Young and The Restless” where she and I ended up as extras. It was funny hearing people call me saying “hey I saw you on TV last night!”. The director, while we were sitting in the coffee shop as extras approached me, three different times and said they were looking for a bartender as part of the cast but I said: “No, I’m not an actor, I’m just here on vacation”.
It wasn’t until more and more people started telling me how much they enjoyed seeing me on TV where I thought, you know it might be a lot of fun to do this. I got myself an agent and did a lot of commercials, I didn’t have the right ones to do big things like movies or TV but I was happy just booking the commercials.
For the shortlist of movies that I was able to work on, I felt like I really got lucky because I was given those roles through knowing “the right people”. One day my agent called me and said hey there’s an audition for an untitled video game are you interested. So I said sure, that video game ended up being Red Dead Redemption.
What have you been up to since (and in between) The Red Dead Games?
After Red Dead Redemption I moved back to Indiana, married my wife and she immediately got pregnant with twins. The reason we moved back is that where we were in LA there were not a lot of kids, they were there but the part of LA where we lived didn’t have much of a family with kids vibe.
While I was working on Red Dead Redemption it felt like I finally had consistent work rather than just one commercial then move on to the next. I felt like I scratched my itch with Red Dead so I just wanted to go back and start a family.
In between Undead Nightmare and Red Dead Redemption 2 I worked with my brother in law’s construction company, where I still do! I can work 40+ hours a week and start at 5 am, so I’m pretty busy with that. Even when I was working on Red Dead Redemption 2, I was moving back and forward so I could continue to work for the company and come back when Rockstar needed me.
Did you expect the response from The Red Dead Redemption Games?
No, I didn’t, when we did Red Dead Redemption, this was Rockstars first Western, I mean there was Red Dead Revolver, but that was kinda just taken over from them so it wasn’t entirely their own game.
When Red Dead Redemption won Game of The Year it was crazy, I was so happy that it was so successful. The community is so strong, even now after Red Dead Redemption being out for so long, now even stronger with the second game, I am so thankful for love and support which has been overwhelming since the beginning.
I think Rockstar wanted to do something really special with the second game and they really outdid themselves.
Are you much of a Gamer yourself?
No, and I know people will get upset about that, but I never have been. Even since the first Red Dead I’ve been so busy with the wife and kids, I mean we had twin babies! I’ve seen all the footage of the Games on YouTube but haven’t played it myself. When I find free- time, I love building things and creating, I built a deck the other day, I guess my love for crafting is like a persons love of gaming, we have the same response. I can see why people love gaming so much, it’s just an escape.
Do you have any advice for upcoming actors?
You’re not going to book every role you go for, if you go for an audition and you don’t land the role, it may feel like you didn’t do good enough, do not be discouraged, you will have No’s.
You may have to be taken out of your comfort zone for roles so be careful, sometimes it can be really healthy and stretch you, but if you are not comfortable with what you’re asked to do, DO NOT DO IT, you don’t have to do every role!
Try to remember your morals and have integrity. You don’t want to play a role that will make you hate yourself. Don’t sacrifice yourself over a job. Be prepared and memorise your lines, know what’s going on in the scene, what each actor is doing and thinking in the scene. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, it’s respectful to be prepared!
Do you have any words to your younger self?
Oh my goodness so many! Doing the right thing isn’t always the easiest, but it’s definitely the best choice. I will always stand by that.
Think of what’s most important in your life, be kind to people and don’t take your insecurities out on them. If you do your best to make others comfortable and smile, rather than be a jerk, it will bring you happiness. Don’t be “That Guy” that’s just a jerk. Treat others with kindness, it could be anxiety or depression or just anything but everyone has struggles so just be nice!
Anything else you want to say?
Just a huge thank you to the fans for all the interest and support! Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want, I want to encourage people if you want something, go for it! Because, unless you actually try, the answer is definitely “no”. As far as we know, we only live once! Life is short. Don’t waste it.
We want to thank Rob Wiethoff for bringing such a wonderful character like John Marston to life and for taking the time to speak to us
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