You don’t have to have entered the Bendy world to recognise it. Its ink-heavy, 1950s cartoon-style art is as eye-catching as it is unique. Bendy and the Dark Revival is the ‘indirect sequel’ to Joey Drew Studios’ Bendy and the Ink Machine.
Continuing in the vein of its predecessor, the latest release wholeheartedly embraces its horror vibe through the lens of a first-person survival game. This time, however, we play as Audrey – a young animator with formidable abilities – as she strives to escape the animation studio she finds herself trapped within.
Voicing Betty, an inhabitant Audrey soon encounters, is British voice actor Ally Murphy.
Bendy and the Dark Revival
Murphy is an award-winning artist who’s lent her voice to commercials for Alfa Romeo, Disney, and British Airways, as well as gaming titles such as Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View, A Total War Saga: TROY, and The Occupation. You might also recognise a teenage Murphy from the late-90s TV series, The Grimleys, created by Line of Duty’s Jed Mercurio.
Here we speak to Murphy about her expansive career and experience working in the creepy Bendy universe.
TAHLIA: How did you get involved in Bendy and The Dark Revival? Were you familiar with the prequel beforehand?
ALLY: I’d worked with the casting director on a few occasions before she approached me with Bendy. They were thinking of a British voice for a new character called Betty. I’d not heard of Bendy before, but I watched some playthroughs after that. I was blown away by the art.
TAHLIA: The Bendy world is certainly very aesthetically and tonally distinct. What initially drew you to the project?
ALLY: I mean… it’s just beautiful! The art is just incredible, and the whole world is totally immersive. It’s amazing how small the development team is, considering how detailed the work is.
TAHLIA: How fully formed was Betty by the time you came to recording? Was there any room to contribute to shaping her?
ALLY: As with most video game recording sessions, we just got the sides and a brief description beforehand. During the session, Lauren Synger [the voice director and Alice Angel actor] talked everything through with me. She’s incredibly talented and so passionate and knowledgeable about Bendy and the world he lives in. We played around with some character traits and came up with this beautifully innocent and loyal character.
TAHLIA: Did voicing Betty present any unique challenges for you as an actor?
ALLY: Betty has a much higher-pitched voice than I do, so I did have to keep checking myself and getting back into her range. Otherwise, she’d end up sounding like a rough barmaid from the Eastend of London!
TAHLIA: That would be quite a different Betty! How do you prepare for big recording days?
ALLY: I start the day before, making sure I’m well hydrated and rested before a session – not always easy as a mum! Before the session, I do some warm-ups with voice coach Nic Redman (she has a fab podcast called The Voice Coach Podcast), and I use a SOVT [Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract] straw.
The best voice directors make sure you get breaks as and when you need them, and that the strenuous stuff goes at the end of the session, so you don’t have to scream for half an hour, then be expected to have a sweet smooth voice!
TAHLIA: Before your voice-over career, you worked as a Virgin Atlantic cabin crew for 14 years. How has this experience informed what you bring to the table as a voice actor?
ALLY: I think it’s played a huge part! I travelled all over the globe for such a long time. I met all sorts of characters and experienced incredible highs and lows that I frequently bring to my characters. I saw the most beautiful sights – the northern lights, the Grand Canyon, and stood on top of mountains. I sat and talked with people through very big moments in their lives. I had a man die in my arms at 38,000 ft. I spoke with a myriad of people from different cultures and backgrounds. All of these experiences are deep in my soul now, and I find it relatively easy to transport myself to a new world in my mind, even if I’m just stood in a padded room with a microphone!
TAHLIA: Has gaming played a big role in your personal life?
ALLY: I’ve always been a mobile game girl. When I was cabin crew it was much easier to have games to hand that way! I’ll still play when I get some free time now – it’s such a nice escape and helps me switch off my brain for a bit. My husband, Damon Tasker, also works in video games as an animator, so it’s a big part of both our lives. We actually got our first credit together this year in Somerville, which was nice!
TAHLIA: Speaking of credit, you’ve won several awards in your time as a voice actor. If you had to award three video game performances, who would you honour?
ALLY: That’s a really tough one! To be honest, I feel like sometimes we focus so much on what the actor does but not the people around them who help bring the character to life in other ways. The actor is the tip of a pyramid, with a great group of creative talent underneath supporting them.
So I would give an award to the incredible voice directors I have worked with, who manage to get deep into your psyche and coax a performance from you – sometimes from a thousand miles away in a different studio – whilst also considering all the other characters in the world at the same time!
I’d give an award to the casting directors, who have to reach out and find the perfect person – sometimes with very little information, sometimes with super specific requirements that must feel like searching for a needle in a haystack – then try to sell those actors to the developers, who probably have a very clear vision of who the character is.
And finally, the animators – the hidden performers. I get to see how much work the animators do to bring a character to life. They are like actors themselves! I’ve watched my husband set up the chairs in the living room, then film himself doing some crazy fighting scene, and then use that as a reference for some of the top games out there. No one acknowledges how much work goes into what they do!
Bendy and The Dark Revival is available now.
Special thanks to Ally Murphy for her time. You can follow Murphy on Instagram and Twitter for updates on her future projects.
