Neil Newbon has picked up an award at this year’s Golden Joystick Awards for his role as Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3. He expressed his gratitude with a heart-touching speech. MeinMMO tells you what’s behind it.
What kind of award did he receive? The Golden Joystick Awards is an annual video game awards ceremony in the UK. This year the awards ceremony took place on November 10th in London and was broadcast live worldwide.
“Baldur’s Gate 3” picked up several awards at the awards ceremony in London, including the Ultimate Game of the Year Award and a special recognition for Neil Newbon, who won Best Supporting Actor for his role as Astarion. He thanked them for this with a moving speech.
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Thanks! This is a gift. I won’t forget that
Why was the speech so touching? At the Golden Joystick Awards, Neil Newbon commented on his award and highlighted the challenge of expressing gratitude. It’s a strange moment when you don’t know exactly what to say.
Reflecting on his own journey in the gaming world, he shared that he was at rock bottom financially and was on the verge of leaving the industry.
But the gaming industry gave him so much, including love, passion and great friends.
He said:
And I can’t thank everyone in this room enough for including me in this. And to everyone who worked with me, thank you very much. It’s really overwhelming to be among such amazing people, like-minded people.[…]
Neil Newbon – Golden Joystick Awards via YouTube
He emphasized that Astarion meant the world to him. Astarion is a survivor who has experienced trauma. Numerous members of the community contacted him personally and said that they identified with many of the stories and characters from Baldur’s Gate 3.
He also said:
The story of the game itself really reached out to them, and people came to me and said they felt inspired to deal with their own trauma.
As a survivor myself, I understand what they mean.[…] That they feel seen by the game, that they feel understood by the characters – and that is a testament to this astonishingly beautiful masterpiece that Larian Studios and the writing team have put together and created, and the amazing cast of 248 wonderful actors who bring every We put our heart and soul into it every day.
Neil Newbon – Golden Joystick Awards via YouTube
He also expressed his appreciation for the people who supported him and stressed that he will miss a lot of people to whom he would like to express his gratitude. Newbon expressed his deep gratitude to the community for embracing everyone and emphasized that he greatly appreciates it.
At the end it became particularly heartbreaking
At the end of his speech, he emphasized that the experience had made him a better person and concluded his acceptance speech with a connection to his role as Astarion. In the voice of Astarion he said: Thank you, this is a gift, I will not forget it.
You can see his full speech here:
Many people congratulated Neil Newbon on Twitter, including Larian Studios Senior Writer Stephen Rooney, who wrote Astarion. Neil Newbon then replied to him: Man, I fucking love you and the words and character you created and gave me were the pinnacle of my career. Thanks Stephen, a huge hug to you bro.
Neil Newbon and his impressive talent
Without a doubt, Astarion has become an absolute favorite among Baldur’s Gate 3 players, and this is particularly due to Neil Newbon’s outstanding acting performance.
With an impressive mix of passion and humor, Newbon breathes life into Astarion, which is particularly evident in a secret scene where Astarion makes some sharp-tongued remarks that are sure to have made many players smile.
Anyone who has dated Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3 knows that he has mastered the art of sensual speaking. Apparently even sometimes too good, because Larian Studios had to humorously put the brakes on Neil Newbon because things were getting a little too hot.
But Neil Newbon even plays Baldur’s Gate 3 live on Twitch and often improvises Astarion verses. One of the highlights of his streams is the moment he tried to date himself and shyly emphasized how strange it felt.