Voice actor Peter Renaday, who played Duncan in Dragon Age: Origins, has died age 89

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Peter Renaday, a voice actor who starred in a wide variety of roles in both videogames and TV, has died.

The news was announced by fellow voice actor and friend Townsend Coleman on Twitter earlier this week. Coleman wrote: "Folks, I’m devastated this morning to learn of the passing yesterday of our dear sensei, Peter Renaday. Pete was one of the most genuine, salt of the earth people I have ever known and I will miss him dearly."

A post that reads: "Folks, I’m devastated this morning to learn of the passing yesterday of our dear sensei, Peter Renaday. Pete was one of the most genuine, salt of the earth people I have ever known and I will miss him dearly. I had the privilege of visiting with him a month ago and he was as vibrant as ever, at 89 just as endearingly silly, smart and talented as I’ve always known him to be. Ugh, this is hard… a Disney legend and our dear Master Splinter— rest well, my sweet friend." — (Image credit: @IBTALKN on Twitter/X.)

"I had the privilege of visiting with him a month ago and he was as vibrant as ever, at 89 just as endearingly silly, smart and talented as I’ve always known him to be. Ugh, this is hard… a Disney legend and our dear Master Splinter—rest well, my sweet friend."

While the exact cause of death is yet to be confirmed, TMZ reports that local law enforcement performed a wellness check Sunday, September 8 after receiving a call, where they found his body. "The death appears to be natural and isn’t being handled as a medical examiner case," the report states. Renaday was 89 years old.

In videogames, Renaday was the voice of the stoic and determined Grey Warden Duncan in Dragon Age: Origins, though he also played Al-Mualim in both Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed Revelations. His other work includes Master Splinter, as featured in the original 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series, and a fleet of supporting roles in animation and games ranging from Samurai Jack to Gears of War 3.

You can also hear him at Disney's Hall of Presidents as Abraham Lincoln giving the Gettysburg Address. Renaday was married to Florence "Flo" June Daniel until her death in 2011. She worked as secretary at Walt Disney Studios' music department for 35 years, and her voice can be heard on 1973's "The Sounds of Christmas" alongside Renaday.

Bioware, developer of the Dragon Age series, has also made a statement on its Twitter account, and writes: "BioWare is saddened to hear of the passing of Peter Renaday, the talented voice actor behind one of Dragon Age’s favourite Grey Wardens, Duncan. His performance in DA: Origins brought life to his character, and his passing has left an impact on our community. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time."

Fans of the series have expressed their sorrow on social media by quoting the Grey Wardens' motto: "In war, victory. In peace, vigilance. In death, sacrifice."

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Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.