Neil Newbon, the voice of Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3, praised Larian’s approach to sex scenes in the popular CRPG. In addition to speaking positively of the scenes’ writing, he praised the studio’s use of intimacy coordinators.
Baldur’s Gate 3 voice actor talks about sex scenes and LGBT representation
“I’ve never seen sex stories realized in this way,” Newbon told Wargamer in a recent interview. “[The writers] handled it so maturely and realistically.” Speaking of Astarion’s romance arc, the Baldur’s Gate 3 actor said, “I think it is a very faithful story about somebody who’s gone through this kind of trauma and is a survivor. I get to honor those kinds of stories, and people have made such incredible connections with not just my character but all the characters.”
He also discussed Baldur’s Gate 3’s use of two intimacy coordinators to speak with the actors participating in sex scenes. While common in other media, they are virtually unheard of in game development. Newbon says he never felt uncomfortable with many of his scenes in Baldur’s Gate 3. However, he says the coordinators were beneficial to some of the other performers. The actor called Larian’s use of intimacy coordinators “a real breath of fresh air” and “a great precedent to set.” He added, “I think [intimacy directing] is incredibly positive and should be standard across all entertainment – not just games, but film and television.”
Newbon additionally spoke about BG3’s LGBTQ+ representation, which he sees as a good precedent for the games industry.
“I read recently that LGBTQ+ players make up around 15% of all gamers,” said Newbon, “and yet there’s not that kind of representation in games yet. Games like Baldur’s Gate 3, which is niche but mainstream at the same time, normalize sexuality and gender in a way that we maybe haven’t seen quite so openly.”
