I think it was polygon who made an article of RE8 for beginners and I read it (wistfully because I can't play it yet) and I read a few of the comments one annoyed me for saying that Todd Soley was the worst/ weakest voice actor of the cast because like Mother Miranda losing her powers exists amongst others of the cast that I will not mention because stans can be scary and I assume the worst of them at all times
Todd Soley did something that many actors, especially inexperienced ones, cannot do that easily; he was cringey on purpose. Like, all of Ethan's bad jokes, all of his cringey one-liners, they are perfectly delivered in the way they were meant to; so that we can both laugh and relate, because none of us would've have done any better in his situation.
Also, anyone who says he's a bad actor just doesn't appreciate whump, my friend. I can guarantee you a big number of Ethan fans are here because that man can whimper like his life depends on it. I have seen cases of game protagonists who have such lame pain and effort grunts, and a small variety of such sounds too. And like, that's okay, not everyone's into whump and not everyone is gonna pay attention to how realistic the actor's pain sounds are. But Todd Soley delivered and I do very much appreciate it, not only from a whump perspective, but from a dedication perspective too. It's not easy to stand inside a recording cubicle room, with a microphone in front of your face, a bunch of crew watching you from across a glass panel, and then scream and moan and cry like you're dying. If anything, your throat, man. It must hurt after a while.
I do have to note though that there may be a couple of lines that sound a bit off. I can't remember which ones, right now, but there were a few that are used in-game that sound like the directors didn't tell Todd what the exact context was. Which is, like, super silly. I understand some secrecy when you're dealing with actors of other characters, but the protagonist? Sometimes producers are so deep into not giving too much info out there that it can ruin some details, one as such you mentioned. So it doesn't just affect Ethan's presentation, lmao.
But anyway yeah. Comments criticizing Todd's acting sound like they come from macho fanboys who do not get the concept that at this point CAPCOM has embraced the fact that sometimes they're cringey. It's the same with criticizing Ethan's simplistic and intentionally lame character. They're missing the point. He's not meant to sound magnificent like Dimitrescu, unhinged like Angie, determined and angry like Heisenberg, or nefarious like Miranda. He's an average dude. His average-ness complements the other characters' status. They're meant to sound out of this world, they're meant to sound terrifying and fantastical (and sexy, for whomever's into that). And Ethan being simple and plain and, sometimes, cringey, helps in exactly that. Same goes for Todd's acting compared to the acting of the other actors.
But for real I can't help feeling that if Todd wasn't such a private person, such criticisms would be much more rare and much less audacious. They're basic internet trolls; they wouldn't dare say such things to his face, and considering he barely shows said face in social media, they go all off thinking they're being proactive or something. I don't know. They must have a lot of free time on their hands I guess.
