In a recent article posted by the NY Times, the real Niko Bellic talks about his experience about making it big because of a video game. 

Michael Hollick (pictured in the article) was a struggling actor trying to make his way doing the usual: tending bar, working in a bagel shop, and even spraying perfume at Bloomingdale’s.  Little did he know that GTA IV would make him a star.  Well, kinda. 

Mr. Hollick’s voice has been heard by thousands of gamers across the world.  And most have come to really enjoy the personality and humor created by Mr. Hollick.  But, would you believe that he only got paid a mere $100,000 for 15 months of voice acting and motion capture work it took to create Niko Bellic?  There are no royalties or residuals to be had. 

GTA IV has generated over $600 million in sales just over the past few weeks.  If it was anything but a video game, the actors in it would be millionaires by now.  But, because the actors’ union (Screen Actors Guild) makes little or no provisions for video game appearances, there’s not much room for negotiation outside the Screen Actors Guild day rate that is paid to the actors. 

“Obviously I’m incredibly thankful to Rockstar for the opportunity to be in this game when I was just a nobody, an unknown quantity,” Mr. Hollick said. “But it’s tough, when you see Grand Theft Auto IV out there as the biggest thing going right now, when they’re making hundreds of millions of dollars, and we don’t see any of it. I don’t blame Rockstar. I blame our union for not having the agreements in place to protect the creative people who drive the sales of these games. Yes, the technology is important, but it’s the human performances within them that people really connect to, and I hope actors will get more respect for the work they do within those technologies.”

But, if this were to change, companies like Rockstar would almost definitely pass the costs onto the gamers.  Should these actors like Michael Bollick get paid more to create such unforgettable characters like Niko Bellic?  Would you pay more for a game to ensure the actors that make these entertaining video games get paid royalties?  Would you be pissed if you heard your voice during commercials 20 time a day and know you are not getting paid everytime they use your voice to sell their $600 million product?