Apollo’s Voice Actor Explains How the Deadlock Hero Was Created
Actor Chester Rushing, the voice of Apollo, gave an in-depth interview about working with Valve, auditioning for the role, helping shape the Ixian language, and discovering Deadlock for the first time.
Joining a Valve game was a childhood dream come true for Rushing. He grew up playing the studio’s games, including Team Fortress 2, and describes gaming as a safe space that has always been important to him.
“Gaming has always been a safe space for me. So to be an actor in a game is really a dream come true. I think Little Chester would be completely mind-blown right now.”
He was also impressed by the attention to detail throughout Deadlock’s world: the posters hidden around the city, the sound and color design, the character models, and the way the game reveals its lore through dialogue. Rushing says he appreciates Deadlock as a gamer and a fan first, not only as someone who worked on it.
How Chester Rushing Landed the Role of Apollo
Rushing knew nothing about Deadlock when he first received the audition.
The materials included only a small image of a man holding a sword, a monologue to perform, and one brief direction:
“Keep your acting as grounded as you can.”
He recorded the audition, and several weeks later, his agent told him that the directors wanted him to return for a callback. It turned out that some members of the team were already familiar with an audio series he had worked on.
Rushing eventually landed the role, recording some sessions from home and others in a studio.
Valve Let Him Play Deadlock Before Recording
Valve gave Rushing access to Deadlock roughly three weeks before his first recording session.
He spent that time walking around the city, taking in the atmosphere, and listening to how the characters spoke to one another. This helped him understand that much of their dialogue was meant to sound like communication over distance rather than people standing next to each other.
The developers also gave him advice on how to play Apollo and suggested starting against bots because many players had already spent a long time learning the game.
Rushing decided he would be fine without much practice.
“They said, ‘You should play against bots first because people have been playing for a long time.’ And I was like, ‘I’m fine. I’m fine.’ I got destroyed instantly. I was not fine.”
Valve later gave him permission to stream the game, which surprised even his agents. They were used to much stricter rules surrounding projects that had not yet been officially released.
He Helped Shape the Sound of the Ixian Language
Valve created the Ixian language itself, but Rushing contributed ideas and helped establish how its words should be pronounced.
The team already had a clear vision, but according to Rushing, the developers were receptive when he suggested ways to add more texture to the language.
“They definitely created the language, but I got the chance to help with the pronunciation of these words.”
He compared the process to the fictional languages found in Tolkien’s works and Klingon from Star Trek. In his view, treating a fictional language seriously makes the entire world feel more convincing and immersive.
Rushing’s own experiences also influenced the way he approached Ixian pronunciation. Because of his father’s work, he traveled extensively while growing up and was exposed to many different cultures. He visited countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Romania, France and Nicaragua, as well as other parts of Central America.
“It’s an amalgamation of different places I’ve lived and different cultures I’ve gotten the chance to experience.”
The interviewers also noted that Apollo was the first Deadlock hero to speak Ixian.
Chester Rushing’s Favorite Apollo Voice Line
When asked to choose his favorite line from the character, Rushing picked a quote about Apollo’s father and the expectations placed on him:
“My father doesn’t have high expectations for me. He has appropriate expectations for me. After all, when you’re the best, why shouldn’t you expect success?”
Rushing described the line as a “chef’s kiss,” and it perfectly captures Apollo’s confidence, pride and belief in his own abilities.
He Voiced Apollo’s Ultimate With His Whole Body
Before recording dialogue for Apollo’s ultimate, Rushing asked the director to explain what the ability would look like in the game.
He was told that Apollo would essentially launch himself forward and shoot through the air.
To make the performance match that movement, Rushing physically pulled and threw his body forward while delivering the lines. He wanted the strain and momentum of the ability to be present in his voice.
“I wanted to feel it, so I would really pull myself forward while saying it and put that physicality into the performance.”
He summed up the experience with another memorable comment:
“Voice acting is a full-body sport.”
That physical approach is one reason Apollo’s voice carries so much force during the ability.
His Favorite Deadlock Voices Are Rem and Infernus
Among the rest of the Deadlock cast, Rushing singled out Rem as one of his favorite performances.
“I keep thinking, ‘How are they doing that?’ It’s so great. It mystifies me.”
He believes the voice perfectly captures Rem’s whimsical personality, innocence and childlike sincerity. Rushing has also seen many fan animations featuring the character and says that almost everything the community creates around Rem turns out great.
Another favorite is Infernus.
“Infernus’ voice just oozes style. He’s so cool.”
More broadly, Rushing praised the entire Deadlock cast and Valve’s efforts to represent different cultures through the game’s characters and performances.
Apollo Has Around 1,700 Voice Lines
Rushing did not realize how much dialogue he had recorded until he discovered a fan-made voice-line viewer.
According to the site, Apollo had somewhere close to 1,700 lines.
“It said I had something like 1,700 lines, or something close to that. What in the world? I couldn’t believe we had that many lines.”
During the recording sessions, he usually performed each line between two and four times, giving the team multiple takes to choose from.
When asked which heroes he would like Apollo to interact with in the future, Rushing admitted that he could no longer remember who he had and had not recorded dialogue for.
“If there’s anyone I don’t have voice lines with, please, Valve, you can call me. I’m available.”
He Is Seriously Learning to Play Apollo
Rushing regularly plays Deadlock and has received help from experienced Apollo mains, including highly ranked players who taught him more about laning and how to use the hero effectively.
He is still learning Apollo’s mobility, when to engage in fights, and how to play around ability cooldowns.
During one weekend, he spent around ten hours watching VODs from skilled players and testing different builds to find one that suited his own playstyle.
Rushing also praised Deadlock’s community build system, which allows players to publish builds that others can immediately access and use inside the game.
What He Wants to See in Apollo’s Future
Rushing is interested in seeing how Valve continues Apollo’s story, particularly his education at Blackmore.
He also hopes that Deadlock eventually becomes successful enough to receive its own animated or live-action adaptation.
“It would be amazing if one day, after release, the game did so well that they made a show. I hope I get to be in it.”
The interviewers also imagined a future where Apollo’s voice lines could be heard at major Deadlock esports events and inside packed arenas.
Rushing said the experience would be overwhelming:
“I would be shocked. I’d probably start hyperventilating and thinking, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’ I’ll cry. I would cry.”
Where You May Have Seen or Heard Chester Rushing Before
Before Deadlock, Rushing appeared as Tommy H. in the first two seasons of Stranger Things.
He also worked on the animated series Big Nate, voiced Mercurial Knight in Cookie Run: Kingdom, played the operator Javelin in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and voiced Superman in DC High Volume, opposite Troy Baker as the Joker.
His first video game acting role was in Horizon Forbidden West.
That career did not happen overnight. Rushing spent roughly four years constantly auditioning and often hearing nothing back. During that period, he even played Fortnite as part of an esports team to help manage the stress between acting jobs.
Rushing now streams Deadlock regularly and is also working on another unannounced project that has been in production for around a year and a half. He cannot reveal what it is yet.
Watch the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBkUk-7sHGc
