Darren O'Hare gives us some insight into what it's like to play Tom Lansky in Halo4 and Forward Unto Dawn series. How his love for video games has inspired his work in Halo and current movie projects he's working on.
Darren O'Hare gives us some insight into what it's like to play Tom Lansky in Halo4 and Forward Unto Dawn series. How his love for video games has inspired his work in Halo and current movie projects he's working on.
Hey, I’m Darren O’Hare. We’re here at Next Gen Videogames in Los Angeles talking about Halo 4.
Hi, Darren. So what videogames did you play growing up?
Well, one or – I mean tons. There was Contra, Super Mario Brothers, Street Fighter. Basically everything
on Nintendo and Genesis.
What’s your favorite memory of what you can share from playing videogames back in the day?
Had to be the first day I opened the Nintendo under the Christmas tree. That just like started the
addiction.
And what are your thoughts on how far videogames have come since Nintendo?
Quite a bit. Quite a bit. They’ve become pretty real and pretty incredible.
And how big into Halo were you before you got into this role?
I was really into Halo. Like to the point where my wife was going to leave me if I didn’t stop playing so much. So this kind of opened the door for me to get back into Halo because now she understands, it's work.
And what are your thoughts on how this franchise has progressed over the years?
I think 343 has done an incredible job picking up where Bungee left off and Halo 4 looks incredible. I
kind of can’t wait to get my hands on it myself.
And as a gamer what’s it like for you to get a first look at the story in Halo 4?
Dude, that was probably the coolest part. I mean being a fan and then getting to see what’s going on and being a part of this. It was like a kid in the candy store you know.
So tell us a little bit about Tom Lasky.
Tom Lasky? Well, without giving any spoilers really, he at the start of the campaign he is the commander of Infinity. He's the second under Captain Del Rio and it kind of kicks off where Forward Unto Dawn left off and you know a lot about him and it really continues his story in a good way through
the campaign and then through Spartan Ops.
Can you us about your own military background and how that helps taking the role of Tom Lasky in this
game?
Well, it definitely helps you get the job having a military background, knowing how to handle weapons
and just looking like you can talk the talk.
And fans have seen a younger version of your character in Halo 4 Forward Unto Dawn. What do you
think of that web series?
It was really badass and I was really lucky. I got to see it on the big screen. I went to a screening one
night. We saw it all as one movie. So seeing Master Chief on the big screen was kind of insane.
And how good are you when it comes to the Halo games?
I’m pretty good like playing against my friends I’m good. You know I love playing through the campaigns
and in multiplayer online. I’m working on it. I get my ass kicked a lot but you know luckily it pairs you up.
And what do you think Spartan ops adds to the game play experience?
You’re getting like a whole campaign worth of content for free. I think it’s going to be fun. I’m really
curious to see how it unfolds. I mean it’s new to everybody. I’m excited about it and I kind of can’t wait
to play.
And how has being in Halo 4 impacted your life so far?
How’s it impacted my life? It’s brought videogames back into my life a lot which is great.
What have you been playing lately that you like?
Every previous Halo game just kind of getting psyched for Halo 4.
Can you talk about your new TV role on Michael Bay’s The Last Ship?
In the Last Ship I play Lieutenant Seagull. I’m the tactical action officer on the ship. It’s a post-apocalyptic
world. There’s some crazy stuff going down and we’ll see where that series goes. I hope it gets pick up
so. We’ve got a little bit of time before that.
What’s filming that show like when compared to your work on Halo 4?
Well, we filmed that show on an actual Navy ship down at the Navy base in San Diego, but in a couple
days training with the Navy getting to learn from the actual job who does my job on the ship and
interacting with them. So it’s totally different because like on their we’re like on the ship like I’m at the
actual command center where it all happens as opposed to Halo where we’re in like this big empty room
with maybe a wooden thing acting as a holodeck. So you have to use your imagination a lot more.
Do you have time to game when you’re onset working at all?
No. No. I wish. Maybe. There’s a lot of time sitting around. I just need to get an Xbox hooked up.
And will we see more of Tom Lasky in the future?
I hope so. I hope so.
