Monkey Island and Terminator actor Earl Boen has died

American actor Earl Boen has died at the age of 81. He is best known for his role as Dr. Silberman, the psychologist who appeared in the first three Terminator films. Gamers will also recognize his voice from, among others, Captain LeChuck from the Monkey Island games.

Probably the most famous gaming-related role he lent his voice to was pirate captain LeChuck. He started doing this in 1997 for the then game The Curse of Monkey Island. That was also the first game in the series to have full voiceovers. His last role in the Monkey Island series was in 2009’s Tales of Monkey Island.

Maker Ron Gilbert also wanted to hire Boen again for last year’s game Return to Monkey Island, but Gilbert previously told the website Adventure Gamers that the actor had kindly declined, due to the fact that he was getting older and already retired.

Boen’s voice could be heard in many games, including voice-overs in World of Warcraft. He also played roles in Zork: Grand Inquisitor, Soldier of Fortune, Metal Gear Solid 2, Star Trek: Bridge Commander, Call of Duty and Psychonauts. In terms of game roles, the actor was mainly active in the first years before and after the millennium.

In the field of film, Boen is best known for his role as Dr. Silberman, the somewhat narrow-minded and mediocre psychologist who interrogated Kyle Reese in the first Terminator film and did the same with the character Sarah Connor in the second film. He was also in the third film, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and appeared in archive footage from 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate.