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— CH. 1 · CHILDHOOD ACROSS BORDERS —

David Hayter

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  • David Hayter began acting at the age of nine. His father, Stephen, worked in the pharmaceutical industry. He spent most of his childhood living around the world. The family moved to Kobe when he was fifteen years old. Hayter once worked as a print model in Osaka. He graduated from its international Canadian Academy in 1987. After this, he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for two years. He later transferred to the Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto.

  • Hayter did some live acting in the early 1990s. Most notable work appeared in an episode of the sitcom Major Dad. He soon became more interested in voice acting. He landed the role of Captain America in the popular 1994 Spider-Man animated series. Hayter also provided the voice of Arsène Lupin III in the English version of the anime film The Castle of Cagliostro. He voiced Tamahome in the English version of the anime series Fushigi Yūgi. He starred in the 1994 straight-to-video movie Guyver: Dark Hero as Sean Barker. This character name later served as an alias in various work credits.

  • Hayter began providing the English voice of Metal Gear series protagonist Solid Snake in the 1998 video game Metal Gear Solid. This title marked the series transition from 2D to 3D graphics. He played Solid Snake and his progenitor Naked Snake throughout all succeeding installments up to and including Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker in 2010. Hayter gave half of his own paycheck to bring back the cast for the 2004 remake Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. Following the announcement of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain at the 2013 Game Developers Conference, he was not asked to reprise the main character. Konami announced that Kiefer Sutherland would be the character's voice during E3 the same year. Hideo Kojima had already considered recasting the part much earlier. Kurt Russell allegedly received an offer during development of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in 2004. After Kojima left Konami, Hayter reprised the role in a 2016 Ford Focus SE advertisement. He provided the character's voice again in Super Bomberman R and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

  • In 2000, Hayter wrote the screenplay for the movie version of X-Men. He won the 2000 Saturn Award for Best Writing for this work. He then co-wrote the screenplay for its sequel X2 with writing team Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris. Marvel withdrew their offer to write and direct a Black Widow project due to limited success of similar themed films. His daughter Natasha is named after the titular character. Hayter also wrote an adaptation of the graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore and David Gibbons. Moore said of the script that it was as close as anyone could get to a film version. The finished screenplay did not keep the contemporary atmosphere Hayter created. It returned to the original Cold War setting of the comic book. Warner Bros. approved the 1980s setting. The director added a title montage sequence to introduce events of alternate history United States.

  • On the 13th of September 2012, Hayter began filming on his directorial debut, Wolves. This action horror film marked his first time behind the camera. On the 8th of July 2013, Lakeshore Entertainment hired him to write The Sword based on the Image Comics series. On the 28th of September 2018, Hayter announced he was co-writing and producing the Netflix series Warrior Nun. Simon Barry served as series creator and showrunner. Season 1 debuted on Netflix on the 2nd of July 2020. Future projects included a television show on Fox tentatively titled World War III. He would be writing the story bible and pilot episode. In January 2022, he was announced to be writing and producing a television adaptation of American McGee's Alice from 2000.

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Common questions

When did David Hayter begin his acting career?

David Hayter began acting at the age of nine. He spent most of his childhood living around the world before moving to Kobe when he was fifteen years old.

What role gave David Hayter fame in voice acting?

David Hayter became famous for providing the English voice of Solid Snake in the 1998 video game Metal Gear Solid. He voiced this character and his progenitor Naked Snake throughout all succeeding installments up to and including Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker in 2010.

Which screenplay won David Hayter a Saturn Award in 2000?

David Hayter wrote the screenplay for the movie version of X-Men which earned him the 2000 Saturn Award for Best Writing. He subsequently co-wrote the sequel X2 with writing team Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris.

Who replaced David Hayter as the voice of Solid Snake?

Konami announced that Kiefer Sutherland would be the character's voice during E3 the same year after the announcement of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain at the 2013 Game Developers Conference. Hideo Kojima had already considered recasting the part much earlier.

When did David Hayter begin filming his directorial debut Wolves?

On the 13th of September 2012, Hayter began filming on his directorial debut Wolves. This action horror film marked his first time behind the camera.

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