God of War actor Christopher Judge says the communal, respectful atmosphere on the game's mocap set "really changed my whole perspective on the world."
Speaking on a recent cast panel for the series's 20th anniversary celebrations, Judge was asked about how his experiences on God of War differed from his previous acting jobs. He explained that "it was interesting for me," because elsewhere, there had often been a strict on-set hierarchy, "and almost from day one, there was none of that" on the God of War set."
"There was no hierarchy. Everyone treated each other with respect, and talked to each other like adults, and respected the work that every individual was doing."
That went all the way up to game director Cory Barlog, Judge continued. "When it came time to shoot, people would come up to Cory and have different ideas, and he listened to them. And I was just watching like 'He's listening to everybody. He's not looking at his watch' [...] 'Wow, that's crazy'.
Judge went on to outline just how valuable that experience was for him personally. Outlining that he came to the role of Kratos at a difficult time in his life (much like his predecessor in the original games) when he'd stopped drinking and entered counselling after receiving two DUIs, he said that he's started to consider "what it is to be a man."
Through his counselling, Judge came to realize that "it's not about squashing people, keeping people down. It's about empowering people, listening to people and making them feel heard. The God of War set was the first time I ever saw it in practice."
"Every morning it looked like everyone wanted to be there, which was something really weird for me. There was no-one complaining. People were happy to be there. It was such a collective. It really was the first place that I had ever been that was that supportive, and nurturing, and caring, and loving. And it really changed my whole perspective on the world, and what it really means to be a man."
