Monkey Island and Terminator actor Earl Boen has passed away
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 movies. Gamers will also recognize his voice from Captain LeChuck from the Monkey Island games, among others.
Probably the most famous game-related role he lent his voice to was Pirate Captain LeChuck. He started there in 1997 for the then game The Curse of Monkey Island. That was also the first game in the series to feature 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 Adventure Gamers website which the actor had kindly declined, due to the fact that he was getting older and already retired.
Boen’s voice has been heard in a variety of games, including voiceovers 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. As far as game roles are concerned, 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 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 archival footage from 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate.