Bold start: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle isn’t just a game; it’s a showcase of how far performance capture and storytelling have come, and it proves one actor can redefine a legendary character for a new generation.
Game Awards 2025: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | Lucasfilm.com
Baker, nominated for Best Performance at the 2025 Game Awards, shares with Lucasfilm.com — and Harrison Ford — why this particular portrayal of Indiana Jones was his most demanding to date.
What goes through your mind when you’re standing on stage before thousands of gamers and you’re granted the blessing of Indiana Jones himself?
“Don’t pass out,” Troy Baker jokes with a grin.
At the 2024 Game Awards, Harrison Ford praised Baker’s performance in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, saying, “I think this guy did a great job.” He even quipped that if he’d known Baker was so good, he might have taken the role himself. Ford’s praise isn’t a lone note; Baker has earned widespread recognition for bringing a globe-trotting, cinematic adventure to life, and his Best Performance nomination at this year’s Game Awards underscores the high regard for his work on the project. Initially, Baker declined the role, suggesting other actors, until performance capture director Tom Keegan convinced him to reconsider—even though they had never worked together before.
“Tom, to his credit, saw something in me I didn’t see in myself, and I had to trust him,” Baker explains to Lucasfilm.com. “He said, ‘There’s a natural thing you can bring to this. I’m not looking for someone who can just do a great impression.’”
“Just Be Authentic”
Baker emphasizes that he never felt the need to don a caricature or rely on tricks to inhabit Indiana Jones. “If there’s a trick, it feels false,” he says. One of Keegan’s guiding ideas stuck with him: “Look, none of this is real. We’ll do the heavy lifting of placing you inside the world. All you have to do is be authentic in the moment.”
Among Baker’s favorite moments is a scene in Thailand where he and Alessandra Mastronardi share a balcony conversation about Indy and Marion. What could have felt like a performance gone through the motions became a natural, lived-in exchange because it was just two people talking, free from gimmicks.
Baker is a devoted fan of Harrison Ford, and he points to Ford’s spontaneous, authentic responses as a major reason audiences connect with Indy. “What I love is that Ford’s body and face grasp the idea before the words do. There’s a real-time understanding that bursts forth in his performance.”
As Baker puts it, quoting Indy’s own line from Raiders of the Lost Ark, “I don’t know, I’m making this up as I go.” For Baker, Ford embodies that instinctive, reactive approach, and it’s a model he strives to imitate as an actor.
After their onstage moment last year, Baker told Ford that this role was the most challenging he’d undertaken. Ford asked, “Why?” and Baker answered, “Because I had to be you for three years.” Ford’s approving smile and blue eyes reminded him of the magnitude of the task and the dedication behind Ford’s craft.
Baker’s longtime fandom of Indiana Jones began early, with Raiders of the Lost Ark making a lasting impression—perhaps too young, as he acknowledges. His appreciation for Jones’s depth lies not only in his whip and hat but in his knowledge. As Baker explains, Jones is an academic who isn’t merely a repository of facts; his intellect informs action and curiosity in equal measure.
The Game Awards 2025
Nominating Baker for the most demanding role of his career shines a spotlight not just on him but on everyone who contributed to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Baker expresses pride in recognizing the team behind the game—from MachineGames to Bethesda—and notes that if he has the chance to win, he will share that glory with all of them.
Tune into The Game Awards on Thursday, December 11, 2025, at 7:30 PM Eastern / 4:30 PM Pacific.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is available now on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC, and Game Pass, with a Nintendo Switch 2 release planned for 2026.
What do you think about actors inhabiting iconic characters through motion capture and performance capture? Does authentic acting trump fan expectations, or should franchises strive for a balance between reverence and innovation?
