Interview: Voice Actress Jennifer Hale. Femshep and a Whole Lot More.

It's no secret that we adore the Mass Effect trilogy and that is in no small part to the stellar performance of our protagonist-of-choice, the female Commander Shepard, perhaps better known as FemShep. At this weekend's Supanova Pop Culture Expo I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to have a quick chat with FemShep actress Jennifer Hale.

Even if you don't recognise her face, you have certainly heard her voice. Jennifer is extremely prolific and has lent her talents to a lot of things you love. She's also extremely warm and generous in person, but don't take my word for it, click on the audio player at the bottom of the image below and hear our conversation!

Thank you so much, Jennifer, and thanks to the Supanova team for hooking us up! I can't stress enough how incredible it is to be sitting there and hear that character voice in person. Shepherd has to be both the strongest and yet most personable female lead in video games! Much nicer than that needy Ms. Pacman!

But that's not all! Join me after the jump and we'll share more Jennifer Hale/Mass Effect love that occurred at Supanova!

We also attended a panel where Jennifer answered all manner of questions about both Mass Effect and Star Wars, including addressing the controversial ending. Short version - you're welcome to disagree with it, but don't disrespect the hard-working and obviously well-intentioned Bioware team. This elicited cheers from the crowd. And don't forget that the new DLC that addresses fan concerns is not that far away, although Jennifer was not willing to reveal anything yet released (apparently on account of a laser being trained on her at all times!).

Photo: Jacinta Mathews

And we weren't going to miss an opportunity to have something signed. Sadly, and unjustly, Big Fish Toys have not yet released a FemShep figure so I asked Jennifer is he would help rectify this one...

As you can see below, Jennifer added some stylish longer hair to ManShep which kind of works if you use your imagination...

I probably would have drawn boobs on it myself, but clearly Ms. Hale is infinitely more classy than I am. (Hence my in-game shower incident with my virtual PA. Totally unprofessional for the commander of a spaceship). I will treasure this one-of-a-kind custom!

And fellow contributor (and my girlfriend) (not bragging, just saying) Suzanne was able to get the stunning Art of Mass Effect book signed...

FIGHT ON!

And finally, of course, we weren't the only Mass Effect fans in attendance! We saw a lot of great cosplay - here are some highlights!

Including this brilliant home-made FemShep armour:

Photo: Jacinta Mathews

A glowing-scarred casual wear FemShep...

Photo: Jacinta Mathews

And FemShep pal, Miranda!

And they all got along!

Even Master Chief wanted in!

Photo: Jacinta Mathews

 And this is just the tip of the iceberg! Far more Supanova coverage to come, including some more guest interviews! Stay tuned.