The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is right around the corner, and as with Breath of the Wild before it, it’s introducing more voice acting into the series known for not having voice acting. This time around, Ganon gets to be voiced, an exciting and monumental addition carrying a lot of weight on the shoulders of whoever fills the role. This is one of the most famous video game villains ever finally getting a canon voice. Of every possible voice actor out there, who was chosen for the great honor?
So who is the voice of Ganon in Tears of the Kingdom?
Ganon in Tears of the Kingdom is voiced by Matthew Mercer. That’s a name familiar to anyone who keeps up with Dungeons and Dragons or multiple handfuls of large video game titles. Mercer is the creator and Dungeon Master of Critical Role, one of the most popular Dungeons and Dragons podcasts to ever exist and a pop culture hit.
Matthew Mercer in his hit series, Critical Role. Image via IMDb.
Given the whole premise of Critical Role is famous voice actors playing Dungeons and Dragons, he is to no surprise a big name for both video games and anime. Some of his most famous roles include Levi Ackerman in Attack on Titan‘s English Dub, Cole Cassidy in Overwatch, Ira from Kingdom Hearts, Espio the Chameleon from Sonic the Hedgehog, and Midas and Syd from Fortnite: Battle Royale and Fortnite: Save the World. In short, he’s been at this for a while.
Related: Will Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom have dungeons? Answered
The voice actor announced his role on his Twitter on April 14:
I just got the go-ahead from Nintendo, so I can FINALLY announce my absolute pleasure to be voicing Ganondorf in the Legend of #Zelda : #TearsoftheKingdom.
An immense honor that I have thrown myself into doing justice. pic.twitter.com/GDtoWRUHDx
— Matthew Mercer (@matthewmercer) April 14, 2023
Much like the character himself, it’s not his first iteration
Most notably, as he discusses in the same thread, this isn’t his first time playing a version of Ganondorf either. Mercer actually portrayed Ganondorf in live action in The Escapist web series There Will Be Brawl, which he also directed. It’s a series about your favorite characters from Nintendo in the Mushroom Kingdom with a much darker tone than Nintendo games.
I have been an immense Legend of Zelda fan since I was a child, and Ganondorf has been one of my favorite antagonists… to the point where I portrayed this green-skinned menace for my webseries over a decade ago! pic.twitter.com/FKqOTwg2hW
— Matthew Mercer (@matthewmercer) April 14, 2023
Did Nintendo select him because of his previous experience playing Ganondorf? Whether yes or no, talk about the ultimate moment of Ascended Fanboy one could possibly ask for. His utter joy and excitement in this tweet thread are incredibly heartwarming and the best thing I’ve read all day.
Many of you know the weight of expectation on my shoulders for this, and I hope to do you proud. A huge thank you to @NintendoAmerica @Nintendo And the entire Tears of the Kingdom team for entrusting me with such a badass. <3
— Matthew Mercer (@matthewmercer) April 14, 2023
The voice actor is right. Though his career is prestigious, he’s got a lot to live up to in voicing Ganon for Tears of the Kingdom. But really, who else is more qualified than someone who already played Ganondorf?
