Paul Haddad, the man who gave voice to Leon in the original Resident Evil 2 passed away earlier this week. While his cause of death wasn’t made public, Haddad was known to be battling throat cancer during the last few years of his life. Invader Studios announced the voice actor had passed away at the age of 56.
“Paul Haddad, our dear friend, and an icon among the RE community has passed away recently. We’ve been truly honored to have the chance to meet and work with such a great man and a brilliant professional that He was. Rest in Peace Paul… You will live forever in our hearts.”
Invader Studios had been working with Haddad on their project known as Daymare: 1988. That game is a kind of homage to the original Resident Evil games. While Haddad was an actor with a wide range of roles, he wasn’t often someone who lent his voice to video games.
Paul Haddad, our dear friend and an icon among the RE community, has passed away recently. We've been truly honored to have the chance to meet and work with such a great man and a brilliant professional that He was.
Rest in Peace Paul… You will live forever in our hearts. pic.twitter.com/o6gkMqX7SI
— Invader Studios™ (@InvaderDevs) April 17, 2020
In fact, before he decided to work with Invader Studios, he hadn’t participated in the making of a video game since playing Leon. The actor got his start in the 1980s and worked consistently all the way up to 2002. His jobs became rather spotty after that and he had essentially given up acting for nearly a decade before signing on to work on Invader Studio’s project.
Gamers are finding a new love for the old Resident Evil classic games thanks to Capcom issuing a steady stream of remakes. It was the Resident Evil 2 Remake that started the latest run, featuring Leon with a brand new voice. Still, Haddad is well known among the community of dedicated fans.
The oddity of going more than a decade between video game acting jobs only fed the legend of Paul Haddad and the work he was able to do to advance the story and a beloved series.