Hideo Kojima is certainly a busy guy. Death Stranding 2 might be out the way, but the famed game designer still has his plate full with Xbox horror OD, and beyond that, Metal Gear spiritual successor Physint. Then there’s his spirited social media presence, his regular phone calls with Geoff Keighley, and now it, turns out, a swerve into Disney voice acting as he takes on the role of a mole.
More specifically, Kojima has been cast as Paul Moldebrandt in the Japanese dub of Disney’s Zootropolis 2, taking over from Josh Gad (Frozen’s Olaf), who plays the character in the west. And if you’re wondering how Kojima got involved, Famitsu reports he was directly asked to play Zootopia Police Department’s mole role by the movie’s director, Jared Bush.
Speaking to Famitsu (via Google Translate), Kojima said he accepted the role “without hesitation” after being approached, noting that while he’s had “experience with cameos in live-action films and games” Zootopia 2 marks his first time dubbing an animated feature film, “and it’s from Disney, of all places!”
Describing the original Zootopia as his “favourite film”, he explained he “only took part in a small scene [for the sequel], but even at the time of recording, the level of detail was impressive.” And while the recording process “went smoothly”, Kojima noted he “learned a lot from the experience of actually acting. It made me realise how much attention voice actors pay to basic things like turning the pages of the script and noise”.
Kojima, of course, has been pondering his advancing years in recent times, noting back in January that he “can’t help but think” about how much longer he’ll be able to stay creative. “I want to keep going for the rest of my life,” he added, “but is it 10 more years? 20? Every day feels like I’m racing against the clock.” But those concerns don’t appear to be slowing him down; currently in the works is Xbox-exclusive horror OD, which he’s previously described as “something totally different” and people are going to either “love it or hate it”.
