14 DAY TRIAL // One would believe that the guy who recored the voice for GTA IV main character, Niko, is a rich fella' sipping expensive cocktails somewhere in the Bahamas, following his stellar pay for renting his voice. Well... you are completely wrong - it seems that Rockstar really doesn't like giving away the money. THEIR money, that is. And, also, some people just don't know how business works.
Michael Hollick, aspiring Hollywood star, is the one that brought Niko to life: he worked with Rockstar about 15 months to record all the lines you can hear in Grand Theft Auto IV and also spent a lot of time in motion capture studios for the game. His voice was later on heard during the NBA playoffs, the American Idol and, basically, every house that owns a gaming console. However, he's not a guy we could call famous now. For sure, though, he's not a guy we could call rich: he reported in an interview with the New York Times that he only received $100,000 for his work, with zero royalties or residuals in sight. Really strange, right?
However, Niko's voice, Mr. Hollick, is not mad at Rockstar since he admits his pay was so low because of a poor deal between the actors' union and the games industry (a thing which, by the way, is going to be discussed this summer and many people are considering that actors will follow the writers' strike last year in order to get what they deserve). Because it seems that if realistic agreements had been discussed between the union and the games industry, Hollick would've been rich by now.
He admitted he is "incredibly thankful to Rockstar for the opportunity" to be in the game but, at the same time, he truly hopes that, in the future, "actors will get more respect for the work they do within those technologies". This means money, and it really seems fair for it to happen. Now, let's be honest: $100,000 for a game that already generated income of over $500 million is way too low. Rockstar has declined to comment.