Astarion actor set up a "support group" for his Baldur's Gate 3 co-stars because of his experiences with Resident Evil and Detroit: Become Human
Baldur's Gate 3 found massive success following its jump from early access and into full 1.0 release back in August 2023, and the actor who plays the fan-favorite high-elf vampire Astarion has especially felt the enthusiasm from fans. Played by actor Neil Newbon, the character would become something of an icon for the game, especially after the infamous viral moment from developer Larian Studios' online showcase before launch.
During an interview with The Gamer, Neil Newbon spoke about the massive response he felt from fans in the lead-up to launch and afterward, which led him to make a "support group" for his fellow Baldur's Gate 3 actors who might be finding the abrupt increase in attention toward their careers overwhelming.
"We have a companion character support group on Whatsapp," said Newbon to The Gamer. "I think I created that a couple of days before release because I kinda knew what was going to happen. In a way. I didn't know it was going to be this big, but I knew it was going to be interesting because I've been involved with Resident Evil and Detroit: Become Human, so I've seen how big these things can become."
While characters like Karlach and Gale are popular with fans, Astarion has especially been embraced by BG3 players, so much so that Neil Newbon was surprised by how much fans embraced the character.
"I thought the character would be well received, but not in the same scale he's taken off," Newbon said. "I really enjoy meeting people who play the game, and I'm lucky in that I do conventions, online stuff, and I stream as well, so it's really nice to hear people's stories about their version of the game because it can go a multitude of infinitely different ways."
Previously, Newbon has worked on games
