Entourage star Kevin Dillon has given us some sad news today. James McCaffrey, known for his role as the voice of the titular character from the Max Payne series has died at 65. TMZ reports that McCaffrey passed away as a result of a battle with multiple myeloma.
McCaffrey first made his debut as a video game voice actor in 2001’s Max Payne. While he stayed close with Remedy, voicing roles in the Alan Wake games and Control, he also acted as Edward Carnby in 2006’s Alone in the Dark reboot. Beyond that, he starred in a number of TV and film roles going back 35 years.
Remedy has also given their condolences, stating, “We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of our beloved friend and collaborator James McCaffrey, the iconic voice of Max Payne and Alex Casey. His remarkable talent not only gave life to our characters but also left an enduring impact on our community. Our hearts go out to his family in this time of loss.”
While his list of roles in video game voice acting is somewhat short, his impact was massive. As Max, McCaffrey gave life to the character’s melancholic, neo-noir brooding, even providing motion capture animation in Max Payne 3. In the same way I have trouble hearing Batman without the voice of Kevin Conroy, I can’t imagine Max without McCaffrey behind the vocals. This has been a sad year when it comes to who we’ve lost in the industry, both in terms of their contributions to beloved characters and those behind the scenes who make it happen.
Sam Lake, who provided the face for Max in the first game, perhaps said it best on Twitter: “He was a key part of the Remedy family. He was a brilliant actor. No one could do what he did better than him.”