Graha Voice Actor Change?

I've completed the MSQ now and I'm so confused. At parts it sounds like him, but if anything a little off. Then it just goes out of whack randomly.

I'll echo others here, it would be nice if they could tell us already. I've not seen many people commenting about it directly on their posts, rather more on their own individual posts if anything.

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Originally Posted by RedLolly

Yeah. Every instance of him remarking how much he loved G'raha were from before his role as Fiero in Wicked, a role he gets to both be a main character that's also main love interest of both leads, but also sings several songs. And now he's got multiple other major movie roles.

The man's insanely busy and we have lots of recordings in game where Bailey is sick or strained because of overwork.


Also. Like. He's on break?? Has been since September, apparently. He planned to return next year after resting and working with his charity.

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Sorry but I'd like to correct 2 points of misinformation here. The BAFTA interview where he speaks about his dedication to the role of G'raha was in March 2024, well after he was cast as Fiyero in 2022, and filming had already wrapped by then. Also, him taking a break from acting was a misquote about him stepping away from 2 potential film roles he could've taken on to focus on his charity instead; he clarified this in an Esquire interview in November. He wasn't talking about breaking current commitments.

We can't really take the BAFTA interview as gospel. Those events are PR-managed spaces, and as an actor, he’s not going to publicly say, 'I’m over this role' or 'I want out of this contract.' Not saying he actually feels that way, but we have to remember this is a career, not just a hobby.

Even when an actor genuinely loves a character, the business of being a human in a capitalist industry eventually kicks in. Jonathan’s profile has exploded recently, and things like scheduling conflicts, pay scales, or just the desire to pursue different creative heights come into play. It’s not what I want to see happen but even if he loves the role it doesn't always mean it's feasible for the schedule. Jonathan Bailey has to navigate the reality of a high-pressure industry.

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Originally Posted by mildlymoonstruck

Sorry but I'd like to correct 2 points of misinformation here. The BAFTA interview where he speaks about his dedication to the role of G'raha was in March 2024, well after he was cast as Fiyero in 2022, and filming had already wrapped by then. Also, him taking a break from acting was a misquote about him stepping away from 2 potential film roles he could've taken on to focus on his charity instead; he clarified this in an Esquire interview in November. He wasn't talking about breaking current commitments.

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Love that people keep coming into this thread to reiterate an argument that has been talked to death already here: "umm haven't you dummies considered maybe JB just doesn't wanna do this anymore? Don't you know [misinformation] and [misinformation] and [more misinformation]?"

Exhausting, really. There are dozens of posts in this thread already discussing the timeline of his roles and casting vs the timeline of his participation in FFXIV and the BAFTA interview, as well as the argument of "well haven't you maybe thought this guy is just so famous now that he considers G'raha beneath him and is moving on to roles that give him prestige??"

Truly can't understand why some of you talk down to people here like everyone is an irrational, hysterical fan who can't entertain the thought that Bailey may have left or may one day leave out of his own free will. Obviously people are aware this is a possibility.

The point of voicing discontentment here is in the case the situation is Square Enix's fault. Because, again, we don't know the circumstances, since they won't speak about it. But we do know that they intentionally omitted G'raha's voice from the English trailer and the English trailer only—they're aware G'raha sounds off this patch, and they refuse to speak about it.

Bailey's performance as G'raha matters to people and they want to make clear that in the case he's willing to continue in the role they want SE to be doing everything in their power to keep him. And whatever may or may not have happened, we want transparency from the small indie company some seem so eager to defend.

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Originally Posted by Wasselin

We can't really take the BAFTA interview as gospel. Those events are PR-managed spaces, and as an actor, he’s not going to publicly say, 'I’m over this role' or 'I want out of this contract.' Not saying he actually feels that way, but we have to remember this is a career, not just a hobby.

Even when an actor genuinely loves a character, the business of being a human in a capitalist industry eventually kicks in. Jonathan’s profile has exploded recently, and things like scheduling conflicts, pay scales, or just the desire to pursue different creative heights come into play. It’s not what I want to see happen but even if he loves the role it doesn't always mean it's feasible for the schedule. Jonathan Bailey has to navigate the reality of a high-pressure industry.

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People have already addressed, directly to one of your posts even, the "Bailey's profile has exploded recently" thing (it isn't recent in the slightest). The same has been done to death regarding "taking the BAFTA interview as gospel as he may just be saying it for PR".
And since now we're even mentioning "pay scales" again, I recommend reading this very insightful post on pay rates in the British voice acting industry.

I'm so tired of discussing these same points over and over again and don't get the insistence on bringing it up. Even moreso when one side is basing their assumptions on things Bailey has actually said while the other is basing theirs on the assumption that "well, he said it, but maybe it was just PR", like assuming dishonesty (even PR-style, well meaning dishonesty) rather than sincerity on his part is somehow more rational and more charitable to him as a person. Or like it's just the BAFTA interview that shows his commitment to the role and not his actions, like continuing to voice G'raha when he was sick, through the busiest times of his career, and after being cast in major, extremely popular roles as far back as 2019 (Anthony in Bridgerton) and 2022 (Fiyero in Wicked). Like the post I linked said, there's more evidence that he's willing and happy to stay than the opposite, so I don't think it's unreasonable to just believe him when he says that he does want to instead of conspiring otherwise.

And yet again, not the point of any of this discussion. You guys don't need to keep coming back here to "remind" people of the realities of capitalism and the entertainment industry or the simple possibility that Bailey has changed his mind because no one here just hasn't considered it.

The point here is people want to make it heard that JB's performance as G'raha is important to them and that, as long as he's willing to stay, we want Square Enix to do what they can to make sure that he can. And if there was absolutely no choice but to part ways with him permanently and it has already happened, there should have been a proper announcement before 7.4 even dropped.

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Originally Posted by Wasselin

We can't really take the BAFTA interview as gospel. Those events are PR-managed spaces, and as an actor, he’s not going to publicly say, 'I’m over this role' or 'I want out of this contract.' Not saying he actually feels that way, but we have to remember this is a career, not just a hobby.

Even when an actor genuinely loves a character, the business of being a human in a capitalist industry eventually kicks in. Jonathan’s profile has exploded recently, and things like scheduling conflicts, pay scales, or just the desire to pursue different creative heights come into play. It’s not what I want to see happen but even if he loves the role it doesn't always mean it's feasible for the schedule. Jonathan Bailey has to navigate the reality of a high-pressure industry.

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Thank you for loosely explaining the concepts of PR training and having a career in a capitalist society. Anyways, as I said, I was correcting two points of misinformation I've seen frequently repeated. There's enough speculation swirling about whatever happened without muddying the waters, especially since it takes us off course from the main issue at hand: Square Enix's lack of transparency.

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Originally Posted by Aidorouge

I was going to say, this could just as easily be the VA's fault as Square-Enix's, and they can't very well force him to come and record for them if that's the case.

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At this stage most of us are blaming SE because it is within their power to address their customers with a simple yes or no answer to this question.

If JB chose to leave the role, I'm sure most of us would understand and accept that. (I'm still not entirely over Gideon Emery being replaced as Urianger, but that's another story given that was SE's decision to recast everyone).

But as customers we pay SE, not JB, so we are hoping for just the tiniest bit of consideration from the company we give money to.

As others have stated though Square Enix's lack of transparency might be because of non-disclosure agreements or other legal reasons. In a way it might be a good sign since they could still be negotiating with Jonathan Bailey's team. If they both were ready to part ways they likely would announce it.

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Originally Posted by paradisea

I'm so tired of discussing these same points over and over again and don't get the insistence on bringing it up. Even moreso when one side is basing their assumptions on things Bailey has actually said while the other is basing theirs on the assumption that "well, he said it, but maybe it was just PR", like assuming dishonesty (even PR-style, well meaning dishonesty) rather than sincerity on his part is somehow more rational and more charitable to him as a person. Or like it's just the BAFTA interview that shows his commitment to the role and not his actions, like continuing to voice G'raha when he was sick, through the busiest times of his career, and after being cast in major, extremely popular roles as far back as 2019 (Anthony in Bridgerton) and 2022 (Fiyero in Wicked). Like the post I linked said, there's more evidence that he's willing and happy to stay than the opposite, so I don't think it's unreasonable to just believe him when he says that he does want to instead of conspiring otherwise.

And yet again, not the point of any of this discussion. You guys don't need to keep coming back here to "remind" people of the realities of capitalism and the entertainment industry or the simple possibility that Bailey has changed his mind because no one here just hasn't considered it.

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Sorry for irritating you. The reason I keep coming back to this is because I don't agree that it's as simple as the big mean Square Enix wants to fire Jonathan Bailey and pull a fast one on all of us by saying nothing and hoping we don't notice the voice actor has changed. Just like you don't need to be reminded of the realities of capitalism, I doubt Square Enix needs to be reminded that fans would be upset if a voice actor is changed. Given the targeted harassment that other voice actors have faced, they might also feel saying nothing is best.

I’m not trying to say Bailey is being dishonest. It’s possible for him to be 100% sincere about the role and still have business or scheduling walls come up that he can’t climb. I'm just acknowledging that sometimes people get stuck in contracts or schedules they can’t control.

My point isn't that SE is right to stay silent either. It’s just that their silence might be a legal cage rather than a choice.

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Originally Posted by Wasselin

The reason I keep coming back to this is because I don't agree that it's as simple as the big mean Square Enix wants to fire Jonathan Bailey and pull a fast one on all of us by saying nothing and hoping we don't notice the voice actor has changed.

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I think that's an oversimplification of what many fear to be worst the case scenario—a shady, not entirely unlikely practice by a company that has a history of little regard for the English-speaking side of the community, hoping to get by on the reasonable doubt that the soundalike is close enough to Bailey that the change would just coast by. Something that has, so far, worked, seeing as a huge part of the community does believe it to still be Bailey, to the point of sending massive amounts of vitriol towards the people worried that it isn't and what that means for the future, instead of directing their frustration towards SE for not confirming it one way or another.

I'm not hoping to be right in assuming the worst possible (and frankly foolish on SE's part) course of action to be the case. But I don't believe we can disregard it as a possibility at this point.

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Originally Posted by Wasselin

Given the targeted harassment that other voice actors have faced, they might also feel saying nothing is best.

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I would doubt this to be true personally, considering how little they've done to protect VAs in the past (I'm aware Yoshi-p apologized directly to Sena Bryer, but considering the sheer amount of vitriol she received, I frankly don't believe that to be enough on such a large company's part.) But that's just me and my personal, rather strong feelings on how horribly Bryer was treated.

Additionally and more importantly I think we can agree that if their intention is to protect any potential replacement to Bailey, the omission only puts the new VA in a worse position if the first we hear of him is when we see the credits roll as far as six to eight months from now (7.55 or 7.58). Moreover, like it's been said before, at that point any expression of sadness and frustration from fans will immediately be painted as harassment towards the new guy and sheer lunacy from "rabid fans", like losing a beloved voice actor after seven years with no announcement, no farewell, and only finding out through credits almost a year after the change is small potatoes.

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Originally Posted by Wasselin

I’m not trying to say Bailey is being dishonest. It’s possible for him to be 100% sincere about the role and still have business or scheduling walls come up that he can’t climb. I'm just acknowledging that sometimes people get stuck in contracts or schedules they can’t control.

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We're all aware this is a possibility. But we can acknowledge it without assuming his words to be simple PR spiel and without making assumptions or spreading misinformation regarding his schedule, pay rates, and willingness to stay on the role. It's more productive and fair to Bailey himself as a professional to believe what he has shown through his words and actions rather than assign intent, unwillingness, or "believing himself to be too good for G'raha now" to an actor that has given the playerbase seven years of dedicated work.

Not claiming you're saying this, but the sentiment of "Bailey is just too big for small time FFXIV, it's obvious he's too busy and too high-profile now to continue playing G'raha" has been repeated to death in this thread, and like it's been said time and time again, is not just unfair to Bailey but simply untrue—the blowup of his career is not a recent development, even if some here only now personally heard of it, and he has been an incredibly booked and busy man from the very start of his run as G'raha.

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Originally Posted by Wasselin

My point isn't that SE is right to stay silent either. It’s just that their silence might be a legal cage rather than a choice.

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We can only hope so. The fact remains that, in face of uncertainty, it is important that those who care about this make certain that SE hears that Bailey as G'raha matters to us, in case there is even the slightest chance they're under the misguided notion that people don't really care much whether or not he stays and may not be putting their full effort in working with him so that he can continue to reprise the role.

Unlikely? Maybe. But it's always better to be safe than sorry. And no matter what the situation is, I'm glad we agree they're wrong to just not say something so we don't have to be speculating and worrying over the future of G'raha's English dub. That's something I believe all of us that aren't staunch enjoyers of the taste of leather can agree on.

You can edit a post to fit it all in one go rather than needing to indicate you want to keep going to a second post.

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Originally Posted by Canadane

You can edit a post to fit it all in one go rather than needing to indicate you want to keep going to a second post.

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Edit: Well, that's good to learn, and rather silly that you can bypass character limit by doing this. Went ahead and condensed my post. Thank for the info, lol.

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Originally Posted by mildlymoonstruck

Sorry but I'd like to correct 2 points of misinformation here. The BAFTA interview where he speaks about his dedication to the role of G'raha was in March 2024, well after he was cast as Fiyero in 2022, and filming had already wrapped by then. Also, him taking a break from acting was a misquote about him stepping away from 2 potential film roles he could've taken on to focus on his charity instead; he clarified this in an Esquire interview in November. He wasn't talking about breaking current commitments.

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thanks for saying it. im so done with the ppl repeating the same argument over and over again.

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Originally Posted by Wasselin

As others have stated though Square Enix's lack of transparency might be because of non-disclosure agreements or other legal reasons. In a way it might be a good sign since they could still be negotiating with Jonathan Bailey's team. If they both were ready to part ways they likely would announce it.



Sorry for irritating you. The reason I keep coming back to this is because I don't agree that it's as simple as the big mean Square Enix wants to fire Jonathan Bailey and pull a fast one on all of us by saying nothing and hoping we don't notice the voice actor has changed. Just like you don't need to be reminded of the realities of capitalism, I doubt Square Enix needs to be reminded that fans would be upset if a voice actor is changed. Given the targeted harassment that other voice actors have faced, they might also feel saying nothing is best.

I’m not trying to say Bailey is being dishonest. It’s possible for him to be 100% sincere about the role and still have business or scheduling walls come up that he can’t climb. I'm just acknowledging that sometimes people get stuck in contracts or schedules they can’t control.

My point isn't that SE is right to stay silent either. It’s just that their silence might be a legal cage rather than a choice.

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People keep bringing up NDAs or possible ongoing negotiations, but 7.4 is already publicly released. There is no possible way the acting would be released in a commercial product as large as XIV for a main cast member without any agreement.

So again, if it was still Bailey, regardless of ongoing negotiations for future work, they could say so. If it's someone else, they can also say that even if they won't disclose who until they release the credits in 7.5.

There is no NDA in existence that would prevent them from confirming this basic information. Why would Bailey refuse to allow confirmation via an NDA that it's still him for this specific patch after 7 years of credits?

I've seen other actors add themselves to the IMDB page or confirm on social media pretty early, so the NDAs aren't normally restrictive once patches are released. Golbez's actor added himself on IMDB around 6.4, I think it was? Long before the 6.55 credits. And others confirmed they were raid bosses in Endwalker and Dawntrail within a few days of patch day. Heck, Ciaran Owens was listed in the group without character names (that are clearly the first-tier raid voices) in the 7.0 credits and within a couple of weeks he'd added himself to the IMDB page specifically naming Metem.

I'm no expert on NDAs but the pattern has generally been "they're allowed to tell us they're in/not in a patch or expansion almost immediately" if that helps at all.

Even if ongoing negotiations/NDAs preclude them from making any statement about G'raha's ENG voice going forward, my other bone to pick with Square about their lack of transparency is why - going off the belief that it wasn't Bailey who voiced him in 7.4 - did they hide G'raha's line from the ENG trailer alone when it was present in all other languages? I've said it before, but whether temporary or permanent, this is someone's debut performance stepping into the role of one of the most beloved characters in the game, and they chose to hide it until patch dropped? If their hands are legally tied from commenting on whether Bailey has permanently left the role or not, then at the very least, I expect them to take some accountability on why they made that particular poor decision. You'd think they'd have learned something about supporting the talent literally giving voice to their work after the flood of sheer hatred that Sena Bryer had to deal with during Dawntrail. I, at the very least, expect better from them.

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Originally Posted by mildlymoonstruck

Even if ongoing negotiations/NDAs preclude them from making any statement about G'raha's ENG voice going forward, my other bone to pick with Square about their lack of transparency is why - going off the belief that it wasn't Bailey who voiced him in 7.4 - did they hide G'raha's line from the ENG trailer alone when it was present in all other languages? I've said it before, but whether temporary or permanent, this is someone's debut performance stepping into the role of one of the most beloved characters in the game, and they chose to hide it until patch dropped? If their hands are legally tied from commenting on whether Bailey has permanently left the role or not, then at the very least, I expect them to take some accountability on why they made that particular poor decision. You'd think they'd have learned something about supporting the talent literally giving voice to their work after the flood of sheer hatred that Sena Bryer had to deal with during Dawntrail. I, at the very least, expect better from them.

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Agreed! It's so weird they're being like this on the English side of things. Really makes it seem that they KNOW something's going on and they didn't want people finding out until patch day.

One statement. That's literally all we want! We just want clarity.

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Originally Posted by shoebilldreams

I've seen other actors add themselves to the IMDB page or confirm on social media pretty early, so the NDAs aren't normally restrictive once patches are released. Golbez's actor added himself on IMDB around 6.4, I think it was? Long before the 6.55 credits. And others confirmed they were raid bosses in Endwalker and Dawntrail within a few days of patch day. Heck, Ciaran Owens was listed in the group without character names (that are clearly the first-tier raid voices) in the 7.0 credits and within a couple of weeks he'd added himself to the IMDB page specifically naming Metem.

I'm no expert on NDAs but the pattern has generally been "they're allowed to tell us they're in/not in a patch or expansion almost immediately" if that helps at all.

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Frankly, this just makes me feel like there's a new G'raha guy out there who's not announcing himself.

Whether that's because he's currently in a pretty damn difficult position after being omitted from the trailer, having zero backing from Square Enix in this announcement and seeing fans either coping in denial that any change at all has happened or devastated after losing a beloved voice actor after seven years; or that he simply is a temporary fill in for Bailey (or doesn't know himself, at this point, if he's temporary or permanent) and doesn't want to make a big announcement out of it before he's sure; we can only speculate.

I have nothing against this new voice actor, and I think his performance was fine in isolation. However, in terms of a G'raha replacement, I find the voice to be... lacking. So I don't really know what to feel or say, other than I'm still holding hope that Bailey will come back, because I hate to think of the alternative. Not out of hate for the actor, just sadness at losing something so good we've had for seven years.

I don't think Bailey's shoes are possible to fill—anyone who has to step permanently into the role of G'raha is going to be burdened with a legacy that's just impossible to live up to. Bailey is an extraordinary actor and an outstanding fit for G'raha, and his performance lifted the character to even greater heights. At this point it's just unfair to whoever may or may not be burdened with replacing him.

My last bit of hope, I think, is that I feel like Bailey's representatives (if Kotaku truly reached to them) might have just said he's not longer part of the project when questioned if they had parted ways. But again, they might not, because it's not Bailey's responsibility to announce his departure, it's Square Enix's. And despite what I expect many will say in their defense, I do believe they owe fans to explain the reason for his departure, especially as an explanation would surely had been given were we facing the departure of a Japanese voice actor.

Or maybe we'll hear nothing from Square Enix until 7.5 drops and suddenly we clearly hear Bailey as G'raha again. Then 7.55/7.58 comes around and there are two names under G'raha's English credits, and it turns out it was a temporary fill in for this patch only that they just didn't say anything about. Until then we just suffer, I guess. But at least it'd be a happy ending to this dreadful saga.

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Originally Posted by paradisea

I don't think Bailey's shoes are possible to fill—anyone who has to step permanently into the role of G'raha is going to be burdened with a legacy that's just impossible to live up to. Bailey is an extraordinary actor and an outstanding fit for G'raha, and his performance lifted the character to even greater heights. At this point it's just unfair to whoever may or may not be burdened with replacing him.

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I can think of a couple of actors that have already been mistaken for JB, who've already done a FFXIV expansion and did so wonderfully, but aren't currently playing a main character. I think either of them could smash it, albeit they wouldn't be JB and that would still be a dealbreaker for some people.

But whatever's going on, it is a little bit unusual that it's clearly somebody new and nothing's been said - I have to imagine SE would know people would have a lot of feelings about it.

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Originally Posted by Aidorouge

I'm just saying some people shouldn't be so quick to absolve Bailey of all fault because they're such huge fans of him they automatically assume G'raha's EN VA would NEVER EVER LEAVE THEM and it must be evil old Yoshi-P barring him from the recording booth and hiring a new VA just to hurt them.

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At this point you're just bad faith ignoring the multiple posts that addressed exactly this point, including my own post that you're replying to but only partially quoted. No one is denying the possibility that Bailey may have chosen to leave, and no one is doing it because they believe he's just their best friend and he'd never do something so meeeean to them. You can make anything sound ridiculous if you phrase it so degradingly. It's barely worth addressing at that point.

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Originally Posted by Aidorouge

I mean, some of these people are threatening to quit if they replaced his voice. Not that they wrote off the character, not because they did something terrible to him in the story, not even because of the myriad of other foul-ups Square-Enix has committed over the last year... their sole reason for staying is JUST because of Bailey it seems, and they won't ever accept anyone else in the role no matter what the circumstances might be.

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And that's their right? A change in voice acting of a major character has always been a big deal in any gaming fandom. It's been said here before, but to a lot of people, seeing their favorite character being changed into someone that feels completely different is not much better than seeing the character retired for good or killed off. In a lot of ways it's even worse. Again, it's been seven whole years of Bailey as G'raha. It's extremely jarring to hear a different voice come from him. Something not being a big deal to you personally doesn't make it an absurd thing for others to care strongly about.

And such extreme reactions would have been strongly mitigated by simply having a preemptive announcement so that people could be aware change was coming. I'm sure to a lot of people to whom this is a quitting worthy issue it's not just Bailey leaving but the way it's been handled so far.

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Originally Posted by Aidorouge

Hence why I said SOME fans because not everyone is acting like a fanboy/girl with parasocial issues, other ones are having reasonable takes about the situation in wanting to know what happened due to the suddenness of it all.

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Some of you guys keep using the word parasocial to refer people being attached to someone's performance. I'm not sure you understand what the word parasocial means.

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Originally Posted by Aidorouge

Can't say I've ever been that attached to a celebrity to where it impacted my liking of a character they played if a change in actor became unavoidable, doubly so when it comes to voice acting where it can be in multiple languages so different VAs are a given. I'm pretty sure they're still going to be G'raha Tia though (as in the character that people know) regardless if the voice changes, unless the JP one is a completely different G'raha from what I know? I'm aware that Haurchefant is different in the JP version, but that's because of the change in writing supposedly rather than the JP VA specifically.

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Another bad faith distortion. You're twisting people being attached to Bailey's voice and performance on G'raha as people being attached to Bailey as a person. That's literally just not the same thing.

If they had somehow cast a guy who sounded exactly like Bailey (or, frankly, even just a more plausible imitation than what we got) and we only found it wasn't Bailey in the credits there'd be zero drama happening because this isn't about Jonathan Bailey, British actor, it's about what G'raha Tia, character in FF14, sounds like.

Voice performances are a huge part of a character. G'raha's writing is the same no matter who's voicing him, but the acting of the person behind the character will make a major difference in how that writing lands and how it affects. G'raha would simply not have had the same impact on the fans who played in English if it hadn't been for Bailey's performance, even with the writing being the exact same.

Uchida Yuuma is a nice G'raha, though he delivers a notoriously more boyish performance which some will like and some won't. Also, if you understand enough Japanese you know that the English text does not match the Japanese voice over. There's a flavor to the English writing that isn't present in Japanese—the floweriness of the prose and the vocabulary most notably. Many find that difference jarring, myself included. That disparity makes playing with Japanese voiceover very unappealing to me.

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Originally Posted by Aidorouge

A preemptive announcement would not have stopped some people from complaining though, if anything it would have just sped-up their departure (because it doesn't seem like much was keeping them here anyway). Both the company and celebrity have every reason to spin PR talk in their favor to avoid backlash, so they probably have to prepare as neutral and "no harm no foul" statment as possible to avoid burning bridges and/or making people immediately jump to the "blame game". (Well, too late for that I guess...)

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It wouldn't because no one is going to be happy about Bailey leaving after seven years. But it would have been better than just booting the game on patch day and being hit with an absolutely-not-Bailey voice the first time G'raha opens his mouth. Sorry a voice performance is not "much" to you—a lot of us appreciate the art that goes into the game though, and Bailey's acting happens to be a huge gem among that. Can't blame people for feeling devastated enough at seeing their favorite performance no longer be present in the game that whatever else keeps them here might not be enough to not have them quit.

Hey guys, the mood in here is shifting a bit at the moment - if we wanna be heard, it's best to stay respectful towards any and all sides.

It would be great to get more people (especially those who haven't posted in this thread yet) to reply here to show this is important to a lot of people who play (and pay for) the game, but I feel like most points that could be discussed with the current info have been discussed, so best to direct new people to the relevant earlier parts of the thread instead of getting annoyed someone hasn't yet read all 250+ posts in here.

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Originally Posted by KiraRavens

Hey guys, the mood in here is shifting a bit at the moment - if we wanna be heard, it's best to stay respectful towards any and all sides.

It would be great to get more people (especially those who haven't posted in this thread yet) to reply here to show this is important to a lot of people who play (and pay for) the game, but I feel like most points that could be discussed with the current info have been discussed, so best to direct new people to the relevant earlier parts of the thread instead of getting annoyed someone hasn't yet read all 250+ posts in here.

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I think we're all trying to keep in topic and express that this is important to us, but it becomes hard to keep speaking our point when we get barraraged by people with no investiment in the issue coming here to spread misinformation, fight over whether this matters or not because it doesn't to them, or straight up insulting those who do care because they can't understand it, therefore it must be irrational.

I agree and definitely emphasize that people who haven't posted here and care about this should absolutely be doing so, though. Liking posts is well and good, but seeing the amount of individuals to whom this matters to can make a difference.

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Originally Posted by paradisea

I think we're all trying to keep in topic and express that this is important to us, but it becomes hard to keep speaking our point when we get barraraged by people with no investiment in the issue coming here to spread misinformation, fight over whether this matters or not because it doesn't to them, or straight up insulting those who do care because they can't understand it, therefore it must be irrational.

I agree and definitely emphasize that people who haven't posted here and care about this should absolutely be doing so, though. Liking posts is well and good, but seeing the amount of individuals to whom this matters to can make a difference.

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I share the frustration but the more bickering happens (justified or not), the more watered down the thread becomes. Better to just reply with quotes from before if that happens and let it end there.

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Originally Posted by Aidorouge

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At this point it's clear you have a certain view of the people who care about this issue and that nothing will sway from what you perceive them to be. I encourage you to vent your frustrations wherever you're finding "these people out there" who seem to frustrate you so much so you can speak directly to them rather than those who are trying to have a productive discussion here. You don't have to join a discussion into something you don't care about and don't understand why others care about.

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Originally Posted by KiraRavens

I share the frustration but the more bickering happens (justified or not), the more watered down the thread becomes. Better to just reply with quotes from before if that happens and let it end there.

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Currently compiling a post with common points of discussion and links to insightful and useful posts in the thread, both for my own reference because some folks here have made very good points and to hopefully be easy to just quote things to people who keep coming here to reiterate things those of us who have been following the thread from the start are exhausted of talking about. Hopefully it'll be useful to assuage our frustrations, because I'm frankly quite tired.

Because I share the frustration with the repeated points of debate, spread of disinformation and often plain insults thrown around by people who don't really care about this issue, and also want to keep this discussion as productive and respectful as possible, here's a compilation of useful posts and often repeated points of argument that everyone is tired of replying to.

"Why does it matter at all who voices G'raha? Why do you even care this much about Bailey staying?"
Here's a post about it. Here's another. And another. Another. One more. Have one more. Hell, have three posts in a row.

"I think it's still Bailey, he just sounds sick."
Irrelevant. Whoever it is, the voice is off enough that the difference is jarring to many and enough to make it very plausible this is a recast, be it permanent or temporary. Additionally, G'raha voice line was omitted from the English trailer and English trailer only. Square Enix is aware he sounds off, they're just not saying anything about it, which just adds to people's anxiety. It should also be noted that Bailey has already admitted to have recorded for G'raha while sick and he didn't sound like a whole different person then.

"But I heard Bailey's voice got wrecked because of Wicked."
Wicked: For Good wrapped up filming in January 2024.

"What about Jurassic World?"
Wrapped up filming in September 2024.

"What about Richard II?"
Richard II did indeed run from February through May of this year. However, someone in this thread who watched the play several times spread out through several weeks personally attested Bailey's voice was normal through all of it.

What if his voice got strained some other time through this year?
As another user aptly pointed out, he's sounded perfectly normal as of 4 weeks ago. We can't account for how the guy was through the whole year, nor do we know when precisely 7.4 was recorded, but again—Bailey has already admitted to have recorded for G'raha while sick and he didn't sound like a whole different person then. They also never omitted G'raha's voice lines from the English trailer only before.

"But he said in that interview that his tongue got inflamed and he might sound different in a few patches!"
That interview is from March 2024 and he was talking about when he was doing Company, which ran from 2018 to 2019. Based on timing, that likely refers to when he was recording for Shadowbringers patches, or maybe even as early as base Endwalker if it was by the end of the run—and you could still clearly tell it was him in all of these.

"He said he's taking a break to focus on his charity."
Bailey taking a break from acting was a misquote about him stepping away from 2 potential film roles he could've taken on to focus on his charity instead; he clarified this in an Esquire interview in November. He wasn't talking about breaking current commitments.

"Bailey is just too famous now. He wasn't before, but his career blew up this year."
Bailey's career exploding isn't a 2025 development, even if you only heard about him this year. Bailey has been huge since as early as 2020. Here's a post about it. Here's another post about it. No one is saying that's not relevant, but it's not new.

"Bailey is just too busy now. He had time before, but now he doesn't."
Bailey has been busy since the very start of his run as G'raha. Here's a comprehensive timeline of his projects since G'raha's very first voiced appearance. Again, no one is saying that's not relevant, but it's not new.

"Bailey clearly is just too expensive for Square Enix to keep on their payroll."
Here's a post about voice acting fees in the UK, where Bailey is based on, compared to the US, and why it's unlikely Bailey has just "priced himself out" of Square Enix's price range.

"Maybe Bailey doesn't want to be tied down in a several year long contract."
Here's a post about how voice acting contracts usually work in the UK for live service games like FFXIV, and how UK employment laws frown upon very long term contracts in the entertainment industry.

"What if Bailey just decided he doesn't want to play G'raha anymore?"
Maybe he did. We don't know. We do know he said in his BAFTA interview from March 2024, that he was so determined to not step away from the role of G'raha that he recorded through an inflamed tongue and that he's aware of how much the character means to so many people. We also know he has continued to reprise the role even after getting cast in Bridgerton in 2019 and in Wicked in 2021, his arguably most well known roles, and through recording three seasons of Bridgerton, two Wicked movies and Jurassic World Rebirth, as well as many theater plays.

"He might just have said all that for PR, or maybe he changed his mind by now."
Maybe. But the conclusion of "he'd like to stay if he can" is based on things he's actually said and done while the opposite is conjecture. Most of us would prefer to refrain from speculating on Bailey's intent or how sincere he truly was in that interview because we don't actually know the guy. No one is saying the interview is gospel, but to assume honesty rather than dishonesty is usually what's most fair to someone.

"Maybe it's not about money and Bailey doesn't want to keep voicing G'raha because it's not going to boost his profile."
Maybe so! We can't read his mind. But other than what's already been said, this is a guy who turned down two movie roles in order to work on his charity. Also, he voiced one of the bunnies in Endwalker. Maybe that shows he doesn't care about "prestige roles" that much, maybe it doesn't, but I still wanted to link that because I think it's pretty funny.

"So what if he got recast? What do you want Square Enix to say about it?"
Bailey has been the English voice of G'raha for nearly seven years. The community has the right to at least an official announcement if he and SE are parting ways and—though you may disagree on this one—to know why it's happening. To stay silent and intentionally omit G'raha's voice from the 7.4 trailer is disrespectful to fans, to Bailey, and to whoever replaced him this patch.

Also, most notably, this would never be happening if the situation was about a JP voice actor. The EN community and the English voice actors of the game deserve the same level of respect that the JP side would be afforded.

"This really doesn't matter to me."
You don't have to talk about it.

"I think you're all overreacting."
Just because something isn't a big deal to you doesn't mean it isn't a big deal to others.

"You're insane for writing all this."
I'm actually just a person who put effort in compiling this post due to the fact this is an extremely long thread and information gets lost among so many pages. I'm not prying into Bailey's private life, nor doing this in some twisted attempt at strongarming him into continuing playing the role of G'raha by claiming "he's not busy enough to drop it". I would appreciate if, before you screenshot this post to bash me on social media, you considered the context of this thread and the fact all of the above is just publicly available information that has come up repeatedly through this thread, and I figured it'd be best if it was easily accessible into one post rather than scattered through dozens of pages. I'm sorry that is unreasonable to you.

Hope this is useful and helps dissuade tiring, repetitive discussions into things that have already been said through the thread. Like KiraRavens said before, it would be great to get more people (especially those who haven't posted in this thread yet) to reply here to show this is important to a lot of people who play (and pay for) the game rather than discussing those same points over and over again.

Additionally, feel free to link to posts you find useful that I might have missed.

I was worried about that too. I was shocked when I heard G'raha. It DOES sound like him at some points, but it could just be coincidental.

I think one of the things people haven't mentioned is that the lines were probably recorded months ago. Yeah, he sounds like himself in interviews, but those are recent. I'm guessing recording conditions would make a difference too.

I wish JB the best whatever he decides, but I also wish SE would update us. I'm not sure they even read these forums though...

I find it really dumb an suspicious that SE hasn't said anything about this. Either they replaced JB (temporarily or not) and thought they could just avoid any backlash by staying quiet, or JB somehow sounds incredibly out of character, with whoever directs him deciding it was fine.
Vast majority of people would understand 'hey johnathan can't play graha right now, hes busy/sick/whatever, this different guy will voice him until johnathan can come back'. There's no reason to keep that secret. So why haven't they told us anything? Very frustrating as one of the many people who really like G'raha.

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Originally Posted by paradisea

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I have nothing to say on the matter (haven't even played 7.4). I just wanted to chime in and commend you on what might be one of the most constructive posts on this forum for a while, probably ever. /thumbs up/

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Originally Posted by Gwenkatsu

I have nothing to say on the matter (haven't even played 7.4). I just wanted to chime in and commend you on what might be one of the most constructive posts on this forum for a while, probably ever. /thumbs up/

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The frustration of repeating the same arguments is very good fuel to do something like this, haha. Thank you, and I do hope you enjoy 7.4 whether or not G'raha's voice is a big deal to you, as the story was really good this time. Would have been my favorite DT patch so far if not for all the not-Bailey-voice and all the silence and shadiness from SE around it. Here's hoping he'll be back.

G'raha is incredibly important to me as a character, and I've always eagerly anticipated cutscenes that include him and savored them. But while this new G'raha voice actor isn't bad, he isn't the G'raha I know and love.

It was so jarring and disconcerting every time G'raha spoke in the recent cutscenes, and it ruined the story enjoyment for me.

SE, please explain what happened with JB. Is he coming back? Or is G'raha forever changed for those of us who care about that?

Some of us would like to know before we make our choices.

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Originally Posted by IronThistle

G'raha is incredibly important to me as a character, and I've always eagerly anticipated cutscenes that include him and savored them. But while this new G'raha voice actor isn't bad, he isn't the G'raha I know and love.

It was so jarring and disconcerting every time G'raha spoke in the recent cutscenes, and it ruined the story enjoyment for me.

SE, please explain what happened with JB. Is he coming back? Or is G'raha forever changed for those of us who care about that?

Some of us would like to know before we make our choices.

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A lot of people on various platforms have stated that it's the writers who make the characters, not the actors - but I have to disagree as I believe this to be a joint effort.

I will admit that I didn't even initially like G'raha, I found him a bit annoying. But I always enjoyed the acting behind the character - which was so well done along with some nice writing since Shadowbringers that has elevated him to my favorite along with Y'shtola and the Twins. (Krile is up there for me also).

Removing the actor is really hitting my enjoyment of the character for me - especially as I am not someone who believes the stand-in sounds close to the original.

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Originally Posted by ZephyrMenodora

A lot of people on various platforms have stated that it's the writers who make the characters, not the actors - but I have to disagree as I believe this to be a joint effort.

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Exactly! I'll repeat a previous post by peachsyder for emphasis: voice performances are a huge part of a character. G'raha's writing is the same no matter who's voicing him, and of course his writing being great is what made him appealing to many, but the acting of the person behind the character will make a major difference in how that writing lands and how it affects the audience. G'raha would simply not have had the same impact on the fans who played in English if it hadn't been for Bailey's performance, even with the writing being the exact same.

And no, that's not about Bailey as a person, it's about his performance as G'raha. Just feel the need to make this clear.

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Originally Posted by paradisea

And no, that's not about Bailey as a person, it's about his performance as G'raha. Just feel the need to make this clear.

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One can never be too clear on that! I don't want to relive how many times I've been called "parasocial" over caring about consistency in performance in an entertainment product, which some have confused to mean I am obsessed with a specific actor on a personal level.

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Originally Posted by paradisea

Would have been my favorite DT patch so far if not for all the not-Bailey-voice and all the silence and shadiness from SE around it. Here's hoping he'll be back.

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I also really enjoyed 7.4 otherwise, and sincerely hope they re-record G'raha's lines at some point (JB or no, the sound quality was off) as I loved his speech in the new area toward the tail-end of the patch. Would love for it to have been delivered without "MY BOY'S BEEN BODY-SNATCHED" as a mental back-drop to the scene.

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Originally Posted by claustromania

I also really enjoyed 7.4 otherwise, and sincerely hope they re-record G'raha's lines at some point (JB or no, the sound quality was off) as I loved his speech in the new area toward the tail-end of the patch. Would love for it to have been delivered without "MY BOY'S BEEN BODY-SNATCHED" as a mental back-drop to the scene.

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It was definitely on my mind for the whole time I was playing MSQ - from the moment I heard him speak and said "that's a different cat" to myself, I was anticipating being asked by half my friends and also being told I was wrong by half the internet again. Echoes of 6.1 all over again... :D

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Originally Posted by ZephyrMenodora

One can never be too clear on that! I don't want to relive how many times I've been called "parasocial" over caring about consistency in performance in an entertainment product, which some have confused to mean I am obsessed with a specific actor on a personal level.

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Nevermind that this whole debacle is just the most recent in a long line of complaints many, many people in the community have toward Dawntrail's EN voice direction in general, from broom closet Y'shtola and other sound quality issues to very tonally-off line delivery by multiple characters, but now that it involves this specific character, we're all suddenly being obsessive and unreasonable. G'raha, though the most egregious, wasn't even the only one with issues this patch; Alphinaud's voice sounded weirdly deep to me, and Y'shtola's delivery very flat. This is a recurring issue and fans are understandably getting fed up.

If someone doesn't care about all of that, that's fine. I could care less about the two minute meta, job adjustments, weird spaghetti code hangups, how easy or hard or replayable certain content is, but I'll never ridicule people for caring about those things as that's what they value and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm personally primarily in it for the story and its characters, but some people simply cannot comprehend or accept that someone could have different priorities for the product they pay for.

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Originally Posted by shoebilldreams

It was definitely on my mind for the whole time I was playing MSQ - from the moment I heard him speak and said "that's a different cat" to myself, I was anticipating being asked by half my friends and also being told I was wrong by half the internet again. Echoes of 6.1 all over again... :D

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It's funny that a lot of people tend to avoid the forums for being toxic, but in this situation the forums have been the calmest, most balanced place for discussion on this topic that I've seen anywhere.

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Originally Posted by claustromania

Nevermind that this whole debacle is just the most recent in a long line of complaints many, many people in the community have toward Dawntrail's EN voice direction in general, from broom closet Y'shtola and other sound quality issues to very tonally-off line delivery by multiple characters, but now that it involves this specific character, we're all suddenly being obsessive and unreasonable. G'raha, though the most egregious, wasn't even the only one with issues this patch; Alphinaud's voice sounded weirdly deep to me, and Y'shtola's delivery very flat. This is a recurring issue and fans are understandably getting fed up.

If someone doesn't care about all of that, that's fine. I could care less about the two minute meta, job adjustments, weird spaghetti code hangups, how easy or hard or repayable certain content is, but I'll never ridicule people for caring about those things as that's what they value and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm personally primarily in it for the story and its characters, but some people simply cannot comprehend or accept that someone could have different priorities for the product they pay for.

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Since Y'shtola is generally my #1, I definitely noticed the issues with her lines and mentioned them in another thread on 7.4. She usually has such a powerful presence that she no longer really has portrayed right now. (Let alone the poor quality of the recording in 7.0). I'm happy it is at least the same actress, though.

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Originally Posted by claustromania

Nevermind that this whole debacle is just the most recent in a long line of complaints many, many people in the community have toward Dawntrail's EN voice direction in general, from broom closet Y'shtola and other sound quality issues to very tonally-off line delivery by multiple characters, but now that it involves this specific character, we're all suddenly being obsessive and unreasonable. G'raha, though the most egregious, wasn't even the only one with issues this patch; Alphinaud's voice sounded weirdly deep to me, and Y'shtola's delivery very flat. This is a recurring issue and fans are understandably getting fed up.

If someone doesn't care about all of that, that's fine. I could care less about the two minute meta, job adjustments, weird spaghetti code hangups, how easy or hard or replayable certain content is, but I'll never ridicule people for caring about those things as that's what they value and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm personally primarily in it for the story and its characters, but some people simply cannot comprehend or accept that someone could have different priorities for the product they pay for.

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Well said. There are things about the game that are incredibly important to others but not to me, yet I've never had the instinct to join in their discussions and complaints to shout about how much this doesn't matter, how it's not a big deal because I don't care about it, how they're insane for saying their interest in the game might disappear entirely over this. Different things matter to different people, and as someone whose main reason for playing and being invested in the game is the story and characters, of which the voice performances are a crucial part of—of course this matters a lot to me. Especially when it comes to my own favorite character and my favorite voice performance in the game.

I made a couple of posts on social media doing little more than encouraging people to post here instead of just on their personal accounts, since the forums are supposed to be the place where Square Enix actually reads feedback, and was quite stunned by how strongly many people reacted to it. As in, throwing insults, saying I was delusional, parasocial towards Bailey, a danger to myself and to him, even. All of that because I said if people care about this huge voice discrepancy in this patch and want to let SE know Bailey's performance as G'raha matters to them, they should post here.

That said, I don't regret doing so. A lot of people here have voiced their sentiments incredibly well as well as provided some very interesting insight on the UK voice acting industry, what Bailey's schedule was like this year, and other bits of information I wasn't aware of myself. I wish we didn't have to be speculating among ourselves, but it's been heartening to know I'm not alone in the way I feel.

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Originally Posted by peachsyder

I made a couple of posts on social media doing little more than encouraging people to post here instead of just on their personal accounts, since the forums are supposed to be the place where Square Enix actually reads feedback, and was quite stunned by how strongly many people reacted to it. As in, throwing insults, saying I was delusional, parasocial towards Bailey, a danger to myself and to him, even. All of that because I said if people care about this huge voice discrepancy in this patch and want to let SE know Bailey's performance as G'raha matters to them, they should post here.

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I did see some of that, unfortunately. One lovely individual was even relishing the turmoil among EN G'raha fans because they just don't like G'raha themselves, which, okay lol. Thankfully most of what I saw was so absurd and weirdly deferential toward SE that it could hardly be taken seriously ("Stop posting about severe quality issues in the official forums!!", "SE owes you NOTHING no matter how much money and loyalty you've shelled out for them!!"). That said, having vitriol directed at you personally for daring to care about characters in a game that specifically touts its story and well-written characters is a whole other ballgame. I'm sorry people are being vile.

Yet another reason why SE's handling of this (or lack thereof) is so disappointing. There would be no cause for hostility in the community if they'd been transparent.