Aaron Paul Takes on a New Role in the Gaming World
Aaron Paul, best known for his role in the acclaimed series Breaking Bad, has long been familiar with the realm of video games. His journey began with a live-action portrayal in the 2014 adaptation of Need For Speed, followed by a voice role in the animated film Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV in 2016. A particularly intriguing foray into the gaming universe came when he lent his voice to the character “Gamer691,” a toxic MMO player, in the Black Mirror episode “USS Callister.”
However, Paul has now crossed a new threshold by acting in a video game for the first time. He takes on the role of Mecha Man, also known as Robert Roberston, in the upcoming superhero workplace comedy Dispatch, set to release next week from AdHoc Studio. Interestingly, Dispatch was initially conceived as a television series before Paul became involved in the project.
When approached for the lead role, Paul found that AdHoc Studio had more to offer than just a script. “They had already animated sort of like a sizzle reel of the tone of the game, and they had animated a really beautiful scene between these two main characters of the game that takes place on top of a billboard overlooking Los Angeles. And I just really fell in love with the tone,” he shared. “It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of really quiet moments of just real life drama, and that’s what really made me respond to it.”
In a landscape saturated with superhero narratives across movies, TV shows, and games, Paul believes Dispatch carves out a unique space. “I just love that they’re not afraid to just be so vulgar on one hand, right? But then, just so honest and poetic and just raw on the other,” he explained. “It’s not just a fun shoot-’em-up action superhero game. You’re pulled into real life scenarios within a superhero society.”
Paul expressed his enthusiasm for the project, noting, “I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people. It certainly surprised me, which is really why I wanted to jump in.”
Shifting gears, I asked Paul about his personal gaming habits. “I used to play a lot of games, and some would say, I used to play maybe too many games, and this is why I maybe had to put down the controller,” he admitted. “You know, I would force myself to go to bed because the sun was up.”
These days, his gaming time has diminished, but he anticipates a revival in the near future. “I’m married, I got a couple kiddos,” he shared. “My kids are seven and three. I can’t wait to play games with them and introduce them to games that I grew up loving, and seeing where that takes them.”
