Honkai: Star Rail Recasts Key Voice Actor Without Explanation

Edit: Extra info was added on 07/30/24 to include Argenti’s former VA Adam Michael Gold statement on being replaced.

If you notice Argenti sounding a bit different during the following Honkai: Star Rail patches, it’s because the Knight of Beauty’s English voice actor was recast without an official statement from Hoyoverse. The game’s official website confirmed the change, no longer listing Adam Michael Gold under the character’s description.

The character is now voiced by Talon Warburton, who had smaller NPC roles in games such as Genshin Impact and Final Fantasy VII Remake/Rebirth. You can compare both voices here. Warburton does a great job at replicating Gold’s original tone, but it’s easily noticeable for those who frequently use Argenti on their team. Gold also voiced Huohuo’s spectral companion Mr. Tail, who Aaron Veach now voices.

There have been no announcements or justifications for Gold’s sudden replacement, especially when his voice was considered so iconic by fans. He wasn’t involved in any recent drama either (such as the Moze situation, in which the VA eventually got replaced), and most speculation is that his agency ran into some contractual issues, leading to the eventual replacement.

Related: All Yunli Ascension Materials in Honkai: Star Rail

The changes likely have nothing to do with the recent SAG-AFTRA VA strike, as recent Argenti appearances have all been unvoiced in-game for a while. The latest patches featured the character in cutscenes where others were voiced, but his lines were mysteriously missing. This was only an issue with the English dub, but Michael assured fans that he still voiced the character at the time.

After hours of rumors, Gold has finally spoken up about the situation through his official X (formerly Twitter) account. While he wasn’t eager to give us a bigger explanation through social media, he expressed his gratefulness for having the chance to bring both Argenti and Mr. Tail to life in the first place.

With a new voice actor introduced in Star Rail, expect all Argenti voice lines to be replaced with Warburton’s take on the character from now on. Hoyoverse tends to also replace lines from older story quests whenever a recast happens, so those unvoiced Argenti lines are possibly receiving some voice work from now on. The same goes for Mr. Tail, as Huohuo could appear during the next Luofu quests. We shall see if Hoyoverse will shed some light on this whole situation.