Jennifer Hale is a talented and widely-respected voice actor who has played a lot of really neato roles in both videogames and cartoons. If you want to learn more about her and her work, your best bet is to check out her Wikipedia page or her official home page. Or you can just read the interview below, I guess.

AWESOME VIDEOGAME SITE EEGRA: So walk us through the process of recording dialogue for a game like Mass Effect. How much material (scripts, art etc.) are you given to work with before recording?

TALENTED AND WIDELY-RESPECTED VOICE ACTOR JENNIFER HALE: We generally get a script and artwork of our character.

AVSE: And how long does the process usually take from start to finish?

TAWRVAJH: A session is about four hours of intensive recording.

AVSE: Do you typically record your lines alone or in concert with other actors?

TAWRVAJH: Typically we record alone, but sometimes we get to work with the other actors in a scene.

AVSE: To what extent are you allowed to ad-lib or suggest alterations to the script?

TAWRVAJH: It depends on where they are in production and how much those ad-libs affect the other characters and their lines. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

AVSE: Is there much difference between videogames and animation in that respect? 

TAWRVAJH: Animation can be a little looser, a little goofier, depending on the genre.

AVSE: So far as games go, you have a history of playing strong and intelligent women that defy stereotypical gender-roles – characters like Fall-From-Grace, Bastilla, and Shepard, for example. Is that by design on your part or is it more or less just how things turned out?

TAWRVAJH: I’m just really lucky. Those roles just happened to have come my way and I love them. I hate being put in a box and I like to play as hard as the boys.

AVSE: And just while we’re on the topic of choosing roles and whatnot – are there any characters that you’re particularly proud to have played?

TAWRVAJH: That’s a really tough call, it’s so hard to pick one. Electra Ovirowa from the Cowboy Bebop movie was so fun, Princess Morebucks from Powerpuff Girls was a blast, Commander Shepard is very cool ... Metal Gear has been great to be a part of ... KOTOR too. They’re all great experiences. I like being able to run the gamut from quiet heroines to psychotic six year olds to really evil characters. Variety is awesome.

AVSE: As in animation, it’s becoming increasingly trendy to hire film actors for voice roles in videogames – how do you feel about that?

TAWRVAJH: Some actors make the transition really well, some don’t.  Anytime you can work with a strong actor from any corner, it’s a great experience and good people make us all better at what we do.

AVSE: Okay, but as an experienced voice actor, do you feel you’re getting the short end of the stick in some respects? 

TAWRVAJH: Nah, there’s enough work for all of us and the good people eventually rise to the top.

AVSE: In your experience, how important is quality voice acting to videogame developers/publishers? 

TAWRVAJH: Depends on the project and the company.  If we’re there, it’s important to them, and we’re there on more and more projects.  (When I say "we", I mean the pool of directors, writers and actors who do strong work and have experience in this area.)

AVSE: So do you feel good voice acting receives its due in terms of resources and respect?

TAWRVAJH: Oooo, that’s a loaded question!

AVSE: Generally speaking, how does the standard of voice acting in videogames compare to animation and other media? 

TAWRVAJH: As more producers realise what we can add to a project, I think you’re hearing more and more games with good acting.  We’re really there to make it a better experience for the player and hopefully, we’re succeeding in that. 

AVSE: In your view, what can be done on an industry level to improve the quality of voice acting in videogames? 

TAWRVAJH: It’s really up to the game creators to bring in the strong people and to make that a priority for each project.

AVSE: As a whole, do you think the quality of writing in videogames – particularly dialogue – has improved during the time you’ve been involved with the industry? 

TAWRVAJH: Oh yeah, it’s great!

And that's it! Thanks again to Jennifer for taking part in the interview, and special thanks to me for writing it up and then posting it on the internet for everyone to read and enjoy. Oh, and of course, thanks to YOU, dear reader, for ... you know ... whatever it is you do. Good job!