The voice behind Half-Life 2’s Vortigaunts has passed away

Louis Gossett Jr., who made history as the first Black man to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and had a prolific, successful career across film, television and stage - as well as voicing the friendly Vortigaunt aliens in Half-Life 2 and its follow-up Episode One - has died.

Gossett is likely best known in general for playing Emil Foley in 1982’s An Officer and a Gentleman, the role that won him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor that same year, just one role of dozens across a career spanning almost 60 years. Other notable roles include his recurring appearance as Colonel Charles 'Chappy' Sinclair in multiple Iron Eagle films and an Emmy-winning turn as Fiddler in seventies TV miniseries Roots.

Despite such a prolific and successful career, Gossett’s video game appearances were seemingly limited to Half-Life 2 and its sequel-expansion Episode One, in which he provided the voice of the Vortigaunts. Vorts are an alien race who ally with humanity’s Resistance in the battle against the Combine, who were responsible for invading their home planet and later enslaving a number of the aliens (Vortigaunts appeared as enemies in the original Half-Life, but didn’t speak.)

While Vortigaunts appeared in later Half-Life games, Tony Todd subsequently took over from Gossett, providing their voices in games including Episode Two and VR spin-off Alyx.

Per the AP, Gossett passed away on Friday, with no cause of death given. He was 87. As well as his acclaim as an actor - with his final role being in last year’s remake of The Colour Purple - Gossett was a humanitarian who founded the anti-racism Eracism Foundation, having frequently commented on the difficulty of overcoming racism both in the movie industry and the wider world throughout his career and life.