Graha Voice Actor Change?

[WillIrishclover]

XIV fans in a try not to be parasocial challenge = impossible

[Wasselin]

No one even votes for People's Sexiest Man Alive. People Magazine editors decide.

The only reason I can think that they (Jonathan Bailey or Square Enix) haven't announced anything is because they are negotiating a contract. Or maybe Square Enix thinks people just don't care who plays G'raha Tia or that he sounds completely different for the patch?

I can't remember... did they mention anything when Alphinaud was recast?

[Bantochan]

i'm in tears dude WHAT is bro talking about

This offered some much needed levity to this thread. Goodness xD

[LycanAshe]

I don't have much to say that hasn't already been said. But I would like to add my voice in saying that Bailey's performance as G'raha is important to me. It elevated Raha from being likeable, to being my favorite character in the entire game. He has become integral to my enjoyment and is the main thing I look forward to each patch. If Bailey and SE choose to part ways, I will respect it regardless of how hard the change will be.

However, SE purposely omitting G'raha from the English trailer without comment was already in bad faith; If it comes to light that Bailey was recast without being notified, I fear it may sour the game for me permanently. It would be incredibly disrespectful of both Bailey and the EN fanbase. G'raha and Bailey are both incredibly beloved, and I truly hope that if there is a permanent recast it was absolutely necessary. SE should spare no effort in maintaining the integrity of the main voice cast, in any language. These actors are what breathe life into the characters and writing, and their role reprisals deserve just as much respect and care as the JP cast.

I truly hope that SE will make a clear statement about this before the credits roll in April. We deserve that courtesy.

[ZephyrMenodora]

Oh, god I'm so sorry guys it was me. I cast the deciding vote of People's Sexiest Man Alive 2025 with these wretched hands. My bad.

Any guy here hoping to be Sexiest Man 2026 knows who to dance partner with now lol.

[astorianightingale]

I don\\'t have much to say that hasn\\'t already been said. But I would like to add my voice in saying that Bailey\\'s performance as G\\'raha is important to me. It elevated Raha from being likeable, to being my favorite character in the entire game. He has become integral to my enjoyment and is the main thing I look forward to each patch. If Bailey and SE choose to part ways, I will respect it regardless of how hard the change will be.

However, SE purposely omitting G\\'raha from the English trailer without comment was already in bad faith; If it comes to light that Bailey was recast without being notified, I fear it may sour the game for me permanently. It would be incredibly disrespectful of both Bailey and the EN fanbase. G\\'raha and Bailey are both incredibly beloved, and I truly hope that if there is a permanent recast it was absolutely necessary. SE should spare no effort in maintaining the integrity of the main voice cast, in any language. These actors are what breathe life into the characters and writing, and their role reprisals deserve just as much respect and care as the JP cast.

I truly hope that SE will make a clear statement about this before the credits roll in April. We deserve that courtesy.

Agree with this completely!

[shoebilldreams]

Just to chip in with some info on how fees for voice acting in games work in the US vs UK:

In the US, the biggest stars can basically set their fee however high they like. You're super super famous now because of some movies you've done? Name your price.

In the UK, we don't have that setup. We can barely get studios to pay what our union is suggesting is the minimum rate for AAA studios to pay a voice actor. Bigger actors can't generally demand much more than that fee - the game studio can simply turn them down and hire someone who'll take the guideline fee.

No matter how famous JB gets, there's an upper limit to how much he - or anyone else - can ask for as a voice actor in the UK without the studio just laughing in their face. JB's agent would know that, and wouldn't demand an unreasonable fee on his behalf because they'd know he'd be recast instead, and would start getting a reputation for being a bit of a diva/having an ego.

All this to say - it's unlikely he asked for such a large fee that SE had to recast him for budget reasons.

(For what it's worth, I'm on team "it's not JB" - I don't think it sounds like him, and it fits that he'd be extremely busy round about the time they were recording this patch - but not because I think he asked for too much money.)

[LGraf1]

I found this today on the Kotaku article, an update at the very bottom.

https://kotaku.com/final-fantasy-14-...ast-2000654279

Update, 12/19/25, 9:15 a.m.: A representative of Bailey told Kotaku that he “won’t be commenting or participating in any interviews regarding FF XIV” at this time.

[Drimn]

Admittedly, I didn't know who he was until FF14, and even then I didn't know the name of G'raha's EN VA until this topic.

But that's not to disparage his career so much as I'm just not familiar with most of the EN VAs, much less their work outside of the game.

Bridgerton is a huge, huge deal. XIV's had some rather well-known talents voice act for them in the past, like Ardbert's VA being the guy that played Gendry Baratheon, but when they managed to land Jonathan Bailey, he was still mainly known stateside for his stint as a teen actor on the Disney Channel. Unfortunately being first to find someone doesn't always mean you get to keep them if they outgrow you.

I do kind of wonder if the silence is because there's still negotiating happening. It could be that XIV wants it, and Jonathan Bailey wants it, but the agent thinks it'd be bad for his value since he's still a hot commodity. Who knows what's going on? Either way, I was surprised to see him show up for DT, all things considered.

[peachsyder]

No one even votes for People's Sexiest Man Alive. People Magazine editors decide.

No, no. You heard the guy. It was the Final Fantasy Fourteen G'raha Tia Fans. It's their fault. Clearly.

Or maybe Square Enix thinks people just don't care who plays G'raha Tia or that he sounds completely different for the patch?

Wouldn't put it past them, frankly. Main reason I've tried to rally people to post here, myself—in the off chance they're just like "well, let's just replace the guy and see if we can get away with it without any fan backlash". Would certainly prefer this to not be the case, but who knows at this point? Their silence means all we can do is speculate.

I can't remember... did they mention anything when Alphinaud was recast?

They didn't mention anything, as far as I'm aware, because everyone was recast, not just Alphinaud. In the jump from ARR to HW, they changed studios, and every VA that came from the previous studio was recast. It was when they started being based in Britain rather than the US.

After that, we've only had one recast that I'm aware of: Yugiri. And that was because her original voice actress, Sian Blake, was tragically murderered. Edmont's original voice actor, Stephen Critchlow, also passed away, however, he has not been recast as he has not had any new voice lines since Critchlow's passing in 2021.

Hence why a sudden single character recast, even among the English cast, is entirely unprecedent. Jonathan Bailey is very much alive.