The Phreaks, found family, and bringing Hazard to life in Overwatch 2: Interview with Conor McLeod and Jude Stacey

Hazard is Overwatch 2's 13th tank hero and 42nd hero overall, and with his playtest running from Nov. 22 to Nov. 25, he's generating a lot of buzz. However, what about the folks who amp up that hype by bringing the hero's personality to life? Esports.gg sat down with Overwatch 2 Hazard voice actor Conor McLeod and senior narrative designer Jude Stacey for an interview! We talked about Hazard's voice, interactions, his found family with the Phreaks, and more.

In his interview with esports.gg, McLeod revealed that his journey into video game voice acting began at Guildhall. That's where he was inspired by award-winning voice actress Jane Perry during classes on voiceovers. Her influence led him to pursue a voice agent alongside traditional representation in film and television. At the same time, he needed to consistent work due to the pandemic, which meant diversifying his portfolio. He later got signed by Loud and Clear.

"When I was at Guildhall, which is a drama school I went to, there was a woman that taught us there called Jane Perry that voiced a bunch of games," McLeod said, adding that Perry is incredible. "She's done classes with us in Guildhall, and we've done video games and stuff there — cartoons, voiceovers, everything. And very quickly I was like, 'I'd like to do this.'"

McLeod also shared that much of Hazard’s design was kept under wraps during his audition, which let him him to focus on interpreting the character authentically without being influenced by visuals. Then, seeing Hazard’s final design alongside fans for the first time was amazing — especially realizing the larger-than-life aspects of the hero like the cannon arm and massive spikes coming out of Hazard's back.

"If I told eight-year-old me, 'One day, you're gonna get to voice a hero in a massive video game franchise, and you're gonna have this, and you're gonna have that,' I'd be like, 'I'm gonna be the coolest uncle,'" he added. "My niece is like eight, and I now imagine when her and her friends start playing video games and Overwatch, I'll become the coolest person in the world."

Stacey then revealed that while Hazard is a larger-than-life character as McLeod had noted, it was equally important to highlight his quieter moments with the Phreaks. They are not just a group within the Overwatch 2 universe. Rather, the Phreaks are Hazard's found family. Stacey talked about her love for the Phreaks, particularly Hazard’s relationship with his partner Susie.

"I wanted to have those quieter moments with his found family. I love all the Phreaks, and Susie is his partner, actually," Stacey told esports.gg. "And I think they have some really great moments together in the trailer, too. I remember we were working with the voice actor for Susie, and she did a take, and we were like, 'Let's try that again and remember that this person matters so much.' An she immediately got it. She was locked in after that."

Stacey continued, noting how Hazard's relationships with the Phreaks, even his dog, are what makes him real. "He's a hero, but he's also got a partner and a dog back home, a best friend, a mother figure, and the friends that he found."

Revel, Stacey added, is the Ravager bodyguard who is with the Phreaks, and a lot of Ravagers are viewed as threats immediately because of the Omnic Crisis and their role in it. "Revel is an example of an omnic that went to the Phreaks to sort of change how their appearance was seen, and that gives them new life, a new way to express themselves."

The same applies to Hazard as well, and his transformation from struggling with conformity to embracing his true self with his found family is reflected in his interactions. For example, Hazard shows warmth toward characters like Ashe and Kiriko and venom toward Overwatch figures like Sojourn. Additionally, since Hazard and Hanzo have something in common in terms of conforming and regretting it, they would get along. However, Hanzo would have to get himself back together first.

McLeod described recording Hazard's dialogue as a process that heavily involved understanding the character's relationships and emotions. He appreciated Stacey explaining Hazard's dynamic with each character to make it easier to convey authentic feelings. McLeod also told esports.gg how he related Hazard's anger toward the system to his own experiences, channeling that frustration into the performance.

"I remember when we were [recording the lines], it would just say the line and who it was to. And it would be like, 'Okay, so you hate this person, you hate this person, you hate this person.' And I was like, 'It'd be easier just to say if I like somebody.' It was nice getting to actually have the person that worked on the narrative, worked on the character, actually on the call with me. It made it a million times easier to be like, 'What's my relationship like this person?'" McLeod said, referring to Overwatch 2 characters and Stacey's help.

"It's funny you say it would be easier to say who you liked because I remember, when I first started making Hazard, I had a little spreadsheet for myself that said, 'Hazard talks to people as a treat.'" Stacey said. "And it was like, 'Hates them, hates them, hates them' because Overwatch is out, Talon is out. The Junkers? They hate omnics. His partner is an omnic, the Phreaks are very pro omnic. It was a very small list, and then I was like, 'Well, he and Ashe and Kiriko — they get along great.'"

In terms of McLeod and Stacey's favorite Hazard voices lines, McLeod said he enjoys all of the authentic Scottish phrases, hoping these lines would instantly click with Scottish players and make players around the world ask about their meanings.

As for Stacey, she's a fan of "Come and get it, lavvy heids" because it's rated appropriately for the game and it's a fun and on-theme insult. "If you're in it with me, you're in it for life" is another favorite because it encapsulates Hazard and Susie's relationship plus Hazard's relationship with the Phreaks as a whole.

"When I was working on the cinematic script, we were wondering how he gets the vanadium into his body. They were like, 'Maybe he injects himself with it.' And I was like, 'Hold on. Susie should help him. Someone in his family should be there to give it to him and help him in that moment.' And having that line be split up as him and her saying it together was sort of a way to show that loyalty runs deep. He's there for everyone."

Stacey then shared that the Phreaks have long been a concept in the Overwatch franchise, with Hazard now serving as the perfect introductory character. Hazard's Scottish identity was key to the hero's development as well, and she went down a rabbit hole researching Scottish sayings such as the fun insult mentioned above. This soon taught her about the Glasgow accent versus Edinburgh and other areas. Stacey's team put out a call for some Scottish representation, and the rest was history.

"We knew that he was giving Scottish first, but when we brought Conor in, he was great in the booth. Conor was really collaborative," Stacey said. "We would come to him with ideas and slang that we've learned or worked with our localization team on, and he would give us suggestions and things that felt more authentic. We would work with him to find some of those very specific phrases that you hear in the game."

As for parting words, McLeod shared that the reception for Hazard has been overwhelmingly positive, though he acknowledged that creative people tend to focus on the few negative comments. He said that while it took time for some folks to warm up to the character, the growing appreciation, especially with the comic and gameplay, has been very rewarding. Stacey added the response has been amazing, detailing how surreal it is to see Hazard, a character she’s worked on for over a year, resonate with fans and inspire so much fanart so quickly.

"It's just nice to see you and everybody's work being appraised — whether it be the story, whether it be the voice, whether it be the animation, all of that. It's just overwhelmingly positive," McLeod said, referring to Stacey and everyone who worked on Hazard.

That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more Overwatch 2 news, interviews, and updates!