A Conversation With Rob Wiethoff: Celebrating 12 Years of Red Dead Redemption
At the*gameHERs, we know that Red Dead Redemption is an important game to many members of our community. In this blog, one of our community members interviews Rob Wiethoff in honor of the 12-year anniversary of Red Dead Redemption’s original release.
NOTE: This interview contains spoilers for Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2 and some language that may not be appropriate for younger readers.
Promotional image of John Marston, courtesy of Rockstar Games
Growing up I’ve always had a gaming console in the house, I started playing games from Rockstar at a ridiculously young age. It was my brother’s eighteenth birthday when Red Dead Redemption was released. As I got older, I wanted to find out more about the game, and after my first play-through of RDR2, I wanted to find out more about John Marston. I fell in love with him as a character, and as a writer, I wanted to write a piece about him.
After nervously reaching out to Rob Wiethoff I quickly discovered just how, funny, kind and genuine he was. I guess you can say a friendship developed between us and I became more comfortable getting to know him. When the 12-year anniversary rolled around I knew I had to ask him to chat about the game.
About Red Dead Redemption:
Red Dead Redemption, released in 2010, is known as one of Rockstar Games’ biggest successes. It introduces the player to a vast, open world from the homestead to the frontier town. Set in 1911 following the fall of the American frontier, the old Wild West is modernizing, although a few are trying to hold onto the past. John Marston is a former outlaw who is forced to face his past after his wife and child are held hostage by the government. John quickly becomes a sympathetic and memorable character that fans remember fondly to this day. Regardless of his nefarious actions, everything he does throughout the story is for his family.
About Rob Wiethoff:
John Marston was brought to life by none other than Rob Wiethoff. After vacationing with a former girlfriend in LA, it was revealed that she knew a lot of people who worked for CBS, during the time on vacation Rob was offered roles as an extra on shows such as “The Young and The Restless”. Although at first reluctant, telling the director he wasn't an actor, he decided to take things more seriously and go for bigger roles. The next thing he knew he landed the title role of one of Rockstar’s biggest hits.
I sat down with Rob to talk about the game and his experience. Below is an edited version of our conversation:
How would you describe John Marston, who is he?
Kay Simpson, the writer, with Rob Wiethoff, who plays John Marston in Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2 for Kay’s YouTube Channel WhatWouldKaySay?
John Marston is a strong, motivated person. He’s just like you and me but he has grit. People only know what they know; when John was a child, he was living in an orphanage. When he ran away from there, he started running with a gang of outlaws. He learned how to fit in without having the natural love and support people receive from biological parents (or at least blood relatives). I would think that it would be tough to want to know how to behave in a way that is respected by others and not constantly be afraid that you might make a mistake that would leave you all alone again. To be able to fight through all of that and still have the ability and desire to chase after goals, John proves that he’s tough enough to not stop fighting for himself no matter what. It would be frustrating and stressful to constantly be searching for what the correct choices to make would be when you know that, ultimately, you know that you are the only one who truly cares about you and wants you to secure a feeling of love, acceptance and inclusion. John had the grit to never stop. First, he wanted a family, then he wanted respect. At the end, he wanted to be a husband and a father that he never had.
What were your first impressions of John?
My first impression of John is different from everyone else’s. The reason is I wasn’t given the entire script at once. I was only given sections at a time. The sections I was given weren’t in order. The first scene I shot was John talking with Bill at Fort Mercer.
John on his horse. Screenshot courtesy of Rockstar Games.
What do you think of the scenery in the game? What immerses you most?
The scenery in the game is amazing to me. I have no idea how they do it. I imagine it takes way more time and effort than anyone is really assuming it takes. I heard the world was being developed for years before anyone was ever cast to play roles. That’s pretty amazing. Thousands of people contribute to make these games what they are. It’s a shame that most of the hard work that goes into making the game look the way that it does is grossly under celebrated. I want to add too, that it was mind-blowing to have been in one of those mo-cap suits and seeing what things looked like on stage when we were in production vs what things looked like in the finished product. Some of the characters in the game looked kind of like the real life people who played the roles, and some of them didn’t.
How different was the performance capture between the two games?
Knowing what the whole process looks like, at least the part of the process that I have seen, has definitely given me a better appreciation for what it takes to make a quality game. The performance capture between the two games wasn’t terribly different. To be completely honest, I don’t understand how it all works. I could tell you the way that I understand how it works, but I would probably not be 100% correct. One thing that I can say is that, it doesn’t take long to forget that you and the other actors are wearing mo-cap suits. Each of us were being directed and given blocking and all the same things you’d see on a movie set. When you first get into the suit, you are a little thrown off. When you get out on the set and see that people are actually performing scenes, it’s not hard to forget that you look ridiculous. Hahaa!
Was it daunting working with some of the actors you got to work with?
I don’t think I ever felt like it was daunting to be working with anyone. It was exciting. It was educational. It was fun. It was entertaining. It was, a lot of the time, funny. There were, sometimes, actors in that I recognized from other work that they’d done. Most of the time, instead of any type of daunting feeling I would possibly get, I would usually have more of a feeling of confidence. I would assume that whoever that person was, they’d be well prepared and capable of making sense of and executing what was being asked of them. People that work a lot (in any medium of entertainment) are people that are talented and that are willing to perform what is being asked of their character in the scene. I should recognize that I was extremely fortunate to have played the role of John Marston. John doesn’t take shit off anyone. Ha! He’s not intimidated and doesn’t know how to back down. Playing a role like that gives an actor a huge advantage.
Did you agree with most of John’s actions? If so or not, why?
I can’t say if I agree with most of John’s actions or not because each player has so much control over John’s choices.
Would you say John is an easy character to sympathise with?
I think that John is very easy to sympathise with. I was never a bank or train robber and I never held anyone hostage. I never ran with a gang. All that stuff, of course, isn’t probably anything that most of us have ever done. I do know what it’s like to want to be loved and accepted, though. I know what it’s like to want to be respected by my peers. I know what it’s like too, to want the very best for my family. I understand how, if someone put me in a position where I had to complete tasks to ensure that what it was that I was fighting for would be safe, I would be willing to do anything to get them done. I think we all go through phases in our lives. We all grow and mature into someone more fine-tuned and less interested in fulfilling other people’s desires. Once we are at a point where we can see what is actually important to each one of us, what truly makes us feel a sense of purpose in our lives, there is nothing that can stop us from protecting and fulfilling our purpose the best way we know how.
Favorite story moment (in the first game)?
The character of Seth. Screenshot courtesy of Rockstar Games.
My favorite parts in RDR were the parts with Seth. I know that Seth is not the most influential character in the story. He was hilarious, though! I loved all that. Kevin Glikmann, the actor who played Seth, was a really talented and cool guy to work with as well. It’s amazing what you see when you work with people with no hesitation to deliver every bit of the character they’ve been cast to play. Seth is way out there! Ha! Kevin made everyone aware of his interpretation of the character right away and it was educational and very entertaining to watch.
How did you feel about John’s death?
I love the death for the sake of the story. I hate it on a personal level though as I really enjoyed playing that role. Not all stories end with “happily ever after,” and I don’t think It would make sense for this story to end that way. It could end that way, I guess, but the fact that it didn’t is way more relatable for all of us. It helps us realise that, no matter what we do to ensure that our individual desires become reality, there are no guarantees in life.
How do you think John will be remembered?
I like to think that John would be remembered for his tenacity and his unwavering willingness to fight for his purpose. He wasn’t always right. He also never gave up. As I said before, he relates to all of us. He just has maybe a little more grit.
Do you have anything you’d like to say to the fans?
Thank you to Kay Simpson for being interested in asking these questions. Also, thank you to all of you who were interested in knowing my thoughts about them. The Red Dead community has been overwhelmingly supportive to everyone who contributed to the series. Also, and I think this is so cool, you have all been very supportive to each other. I’m so thankful to have been given the opportunity to be part of this.
I look forward to seeing what Rob will do in the future. Although Rob is taking a step back from acting to look after his young family and to continue his work in construction, I don’t believe we have seen the last of John Marston and Rob’s working relationship with Rockstar. It certainly won’t be forgotten anytime soon. Thank you to the fans and fellow outlaws who have taken the time to read this! “OUTLAWS FOR LIFE.”
About the author:
Kay Simpson is a twenty-something-year-old who wants to create conversations in her most humble and entertaining of forms. Might also be seen with a (multiple) cup(s) of coffee surrounded by cats and Joel Miller fan art. She wants to write personally about her favorite video games and share stories about her gameplay with others.
•YOU ARE ENOUGH•
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