When you first see "The Stranger" on Kratos’s doorstep, he doesn't look like much. He’s scrawny. Covered in tattoos. Honestly, he looks more like a guy who’d try to sell you bad weed at a dive bar than a Norse god. But then he punches Kratos—the dude who killed the entire Greek pantheon—clear over a roof. That moment worked because of Jeremy Davies.
You’ve seen him before. Maybe you remember him as the terrified Corporal Upham in Saving Private Ryan, or the twitchy, brilliant Daniel Faraday on Lost. He’s the king of playing characters who feel like they’re vibrating on a slightly different frequency than the rest of the world. Bringing that specific energy to Jeremy Davies God of War performance as Baldur was a stroke of genius by Santa Monica Studio.
Why Baldur Was So Different
Most video game villains are just big walls of muscle. They shout about power. They want to rule the world. Standard stuff. Baldur? He was just... sad. And incredibly, violently bored.
The curse Freya put on him—the one that made him invulnerable but also unable to feel anything—is what drove him insane. Imagine not being able to taste food, feel the wind, or even feel pain for a hundred years. You’d be a bit of a mess too. Davies captures that "I have nothing to lose because I can't even feel my own skin" vibe perfectly.
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He treats the fight with Kratos like it’s the first interesting thing that’s happened to him in a century. There’s a frantic, desperate joy in his movements. It’s not just "I’m going to kill you"; it’s "Please, make me feel something, even if it’s my own death."
The Performance Captured More Than Just a Voice
A lot of people don’t realize that Jeremy Davies did the full motion capture for Baldur, not just the voice. If you look at his previous work, like Dickie Bennett in Justified, you see those same jerky, unpredictable hand gestures. Those aren't digital glitches. That’s just how Davies moves.
Breaking Down the Acting Style
- The Stutter-Step: Baldur never stands still. He’s always shifting his weight, looking around like he’s expecting a joke he’s not in on.
- The Voice: It’s high-pitched and raspy. It sounds like someone who hasn't used their vocal cords for anything but screaming in a long time.
- The Eyes: Even in a game from 2018, the facial capture caught that glassy, distant look in his eyes.
Honestly, the chemistry between Davies and Christopher Judge (Kratos) is the backbone of that entire game. You have Kratos, who is trying so hard to suppress his rage, and Baldur, who is trying so hard to find any emotion at all. It's a mirror image that makes their final confrontation feel like more than just a boss fight. It's a tragedy.
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Winning the BAFTA and Proving a Point
In 2019, Jeremy Davies won the BAFTA for Best Performer. This was a huge deal. Usually, these awards go to the "hero" actors. Seeing a "supporting" villain win proved that the industry was finally starting to value complex, character-driven performances over just "cool" ones.
He wasn't in the Raising Kratos documentary much, mostly because he's a notoriously private guy. He doesn't do the whole "influencer" circuit or spend his days at conventions. He just shows up, does incredible work that makes everyone else look better, and disappears back into his own life.
Why His Performance Still Holds Up
- Nuance: He makes you feel bad for a guy who is actively trying to murder a child.
- Physicality: He made a skinny guy feel more threatening than a giant.
- Legacy: Every villain in the series since has had to live in the shadow of that first encounter at the house.
If you haven't replayed the game recently, pay attention to the dialogue. The way he delivers the line, "I thought you'd be bigger," isn't a taunt. It’s a genuine disappointment. He was hoping for a challenge that might break his curse, and at first glance, he thinks Kratos is just another letdown. That level of layers is rare in any medium, let alone gaming.
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What You Should Do Next
If you’re a fan of Jeremy Davies God of War work, you really owe it to yourself to check out his other roles. Start with Justified. His character, Dickie Bennett, is basically Baldur if he were a Kentucky meth dealer instead of a Norse god. Same twitchy energy, same "why does the world hate me" attitude.
Also, go back and watch the 2018 God of War "The Stranger" fight on YouTube, but turn the music off. Just listen to the vocal performance. The grunts, the laughter, the way his voice cracks when he gets angry—it’s a masterclass in voice acting that uses every part of the human instrument.
Don't just treat him as "that boss from the beginning." He’s the reason that game shifted from a simple action romp into a legitimate piece of high-tier drama. Without Davies, Baldur is just a target. With him, he's one of the most memorable characters in the history of the medium.
Actionable Insight: To truly appreciate the technical side of his performance, look up the side-by-side "Mocap vs. In-Game" videos for the final fight. Notice how Davies uses his entire body to convey Baldur's desperation during the grapple sequences; it's a level of commitment that few actors bring to the "volume" (the mocap stage). This dedication is exactly why the character feels grounded despite being a literal god.