Steve Downes is a successful American disc jockey and voice actor. He is best known for his work as the voice of John-117, the SPARTAN-II protagonist, in Halo: Combat Evolved (and, de facto, in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary), Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo: Reach (in Firefight only) and Halo 4.

BiographyEdit

Broadcast radioEdit

Steve Downes has worked in the music and broadcast radio industry for over 35 years. In the 1980s, he hosted several syndicated radio shows and specials including The Superstar Concert Series. In the 1990s, he was the host of the award winning weekly live call-in show, Rockline.

Rockline provided Steve with several very memorable opportunities, including:

• Playing tambourine "live on-air" with the band Little Feat.
• Giving the first "live on-air" radio interview to all five members of the reunited Eagles
• Welcoming the return of Page and Plant "live on-air"

Currently, Steve Downes works as the host of the morning show on 97.1 WDRV "The Drive" in Chicago, Illinois. Additionally, he hosts his nationally syndicated show, The Classics, every Sunday night. The Classics spotlights various Rock n' Roll artists and their ideas and stories behind the music. He was also the narrator for a series called Shark Attack!

Voice acting careerEdit

Steve Downes first voiced in 1999 as Gunnar in the game Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator, made by Valkyrie Studios. Although it was a minor role, his voice acting was noticed by Martin O'Donnell. When O'Donnell began to work on the first game, he invited Steve to voice act, and he did, even up until Halo 3. Later, he did voice work for an online student animation called "Old Kids", released in March 2010.^[1][2] Downes reprised his role as John-117 in Halo: Reach's Firefight mode.

TriviaEdit

• Despite voicing the main protagonist of the series, Steve Downes has never received top billing. He was billed fourth in Halo: Combat Evolved and third in Halo 3.
• Steve Downes has stated that he does not like playing video games and that he is not good at them.^{[citation needed]}
• Since 343 Industries made a sequel to Halo 3, 343 Industries confirmed that Steve Downes will reprise his role as John-117.
• When visiting a friend's house in Florida, he was introduced to kids as "host of a Chicago radio show". The kids were unimpressed. However, he later noticed the kids playing Halo, and told them he was a character in the game. After cycling through multiple names, he finally revealed himself as Master Chief. This caused kids from all around the block to swarm to the house to see him.
• Steve Downes said in a recent interview that he hopes for a hero's death for John-117 in Halo 6.

SourcesEdit

Related pagesEdit

ExternalEdit

• Steve Downes' personal Website
• Steve Downes' profile at the imdb.com
• Steve Downes' profile at 97.1 WDRV
• Interview with Steve Downes at Buttonbasher
• Podcast Interview with Steve Downes at Tied the Leader
• Interview with Steve Downes Part 1 by consolealliance (Youtube)
• Interview with Steve Downes Part 2 by consolealliance (Youtube)