Only one week until the audible.com release of
Ender’s Game Alive – The Full Cast Audioplay.
In the meantime, watch our Mazer and Chamrajnagar in the studio:
Richard McGonagle truly does it all. Television? Check. Film? Check. Theater? Check. Video games? Audiobooks? Commercials? Check, check, check.
Richard McGonagle in the booth as Mazer Rackham.
From comedy to drama to lending his glorious pipes to everything from animation to the indie-hit 500 Days of Summer, Richard’s experience and range are simply astounding. When it came time to cast Orson Scott Card’s great warrior, Mazer Rackham, Richard was a no-brainer. His warm-hearted hellos and easy-going manner make him an absolute joy to work with, and his commitment to the craft is just the cherry on the proverbial sundae. And truly, that voice. Deep, warm, commanding, convincing, compelling, and inspired. And we could go on.
In ways, Mazer is Ender’s teacher, his mentor, but the character of Mazer’s also an older man who’s best years are behind him, a man whose strongest skill has become manipulation. Inside the booth, Richard seemed to be able to capture all of this at once: Mazer’s strength and knowledge as a great warrior, but also his regrets and vulnerabilities, his fondness for Ender. It didn’t hurt that most of his scenes were shared with the fellow greats who made up the Battle School Staff: Stefan Rudnicki as Colonel Graff, Samantha Eggar as Major Jayadi, and John Rubinstein as Major Anderson.
Vikas Adam in the booth.
But there was another actor with whom Richard shared a few scenes: Vikas Adam, who played Admiral Chamrajnagar.
Vikas was admittedly star struck by sharing the stage with such masters of the craft, but once inside the booth you would have never known it. He truly became Chamrajnagar, bringing him to life with a memorable accent and a palpable power, even when just by Ansible.
But Vikas did more than just play the head of Battle School. He took off his grown-up hat to be a kid again more often than not, developing distinctive characters and voices to play no fewer than three Battle School students: Fly Molo, Pol Slattery, and Rose de Nose. Each of these kids feels one hundred percent unique from the others, a fact that just speaks to Vikas’ endless wealth of talent. Not that we’re surprised. Vikas has worked in theater, television, and film, and he’s also a teacher of acting, not to mention an experienced audiobook narrator. We’ve had the pleasure of working with him on several audiobooks—the epic Indian tale The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye and mystery-thriller Drawn by James Hankins among them—and he’s just a downright delight, both inside the studio and out.
EGA CAST LIST
Andrew “Ender” Wiggin………………Kirby Heyborne
Valentine Wiggin………………………….Susan Hanfield
Peter Wiggin………………………………….Paul Boehmer
John-Paul Wiggin…………………………..Arthur Morey
Theresa Wiggin…………………………..Gabrielle de Cuir
Mazer Rackham……………………..Richard McGonagle
Chamrajnagar/Fly Molo/Pol Slattery…..Vikas Adam
We are only one week away from the release of Ender’s Game Alive. Go order it now on Audible.com and make sure you download it in stereo; you won’t want to miss the special effects.
