Todd Howard rejected Troy Baker as Indiana Jones, and Baker took that as a compliment

Troy Baker is the renowned archaeologist Indiana Jones in Bethesda’s upcoming Indiana Jones game, but Todd Howard initially didn’t want him to be

Bethesda

Troy Baker is the renowned archaeologist Indiana Jones in Bethesda’s upcoming Indiana Jones game, but Todd Howard initially didn’t want him to be. He rejected Baker after their first Zoom call, and Baker walked away happy about it.

The amusing little anecdote comes from a recent interview Rolling Stone conducted with Howard and Baker, where the Bethesda lead said in the end, a blind test determined Baker was the right fit for the role.

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“Upon being introduced for the first time through Zoom, Baker confirms Howard flat out told the actor to his face that he wasn’t what they wanted — at first,” George Yang, writing for Rolling Stone, said. “But there’s no hard feelings for Baker, who understood Howard’s position and took the sentiment as complimentary.”

Bethesda’s product testers felt differently, and they didn’t even know who they were listening to. Howard said they “cast a pretty wide net” and auditioned hundreds of people for the role. They then did a blind test to see which actor the testers liked the most, without knowing who each actor was, and they picked Baker every time.

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Baker, a self-professed Indiana Jones fanatic, was thrilled to take on the role. “Throwing himself into it” sounds like a cliche, but it’s actually what Baker did, even down to learning how to ride a motorcycle and use a whip.

“I never thought that 40 years later I would be playing that character, and that’s truly mind blowing,” he said. “I better know how to ride a motorcycle, ride a horse, crack a whip, because if you don’t believe me when I’m just standing there holding the whip, you’re probably not going to believe it when you’re actually the one cracking the whip.“

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle launches on December 9, 2024, for Xbox and PC via Steam and Windows. A PS5 version will release sometime in 2025.