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    How this Turkish theatre actress became the voice of VALORANT's Fade

    Voicing the nightmare inducing agent, became a memorable experience for Selin
    Feb 14, 2023
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    VALORANT has taken the world by storm since it was released a few years ago. With a diverse cast of incredible voice actors that include Filipina Vanille Velasquez who voiced the popular Duelist Neon, VALORANT’s global roster of agents continues to grow every few patches.

    One of the newest agents in the roster, Fade is voiced by 23-year-old Selin Cuhadaroglu, who narrated her journey to become VALORANT's Turkish Agent to Spin.ph.

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    A journey of many years

    As a young Turkish girl growing up in the busy capital of Istanbul, Selin actually didn’t envision becoming a voice actor, as she was more inclined for theatre arts.

    “I was more of a film and theatre actor. On the camera or in your face acting. Growing up, I was always in my school’s theatre club. I was all in on the school plays and then I started taking acting classes. Then when I turned 18, I moved to Los Angeles to attend the Stella Adler Academy of School and Acting.”

    Acting is definitely a huge part of Selin’s life, but getting the chance to be a part of the Riot universe was something she never expected.

    “When the voice-acting thing came, I got an audition through my manager. ‘Hey there’s this video game thing if you wanna audition for this since they are looking for a Turkish voice actor.’ So I was like sure why not?" she reflected.

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    And just like in spy/thriller films, her role remained a mystery.

    "I just sent in my tape but I had no idea what I was auditioning for. It was very secretive and confidential! The role was just ‘bounty hunter’ so definitely not a lot to go on. It was just ten lines so I just sent it in and I got a call back," she revealed.

    "At this point, I already met with reps from Riot and the VALORANT team but I still had no idea what it was for! They only finally told me after I officially got cast that it was for VALORANT.”

    Despite Selin getting a huge role for VALORANT, the world of voice acting and gaming is still uncharted territory for the young actress.

    “I never played that type of video game. I grew up with Nintendo and Game Boys but I’ve always loved doing different voices. Voice acting was an interest but I never pursued it. The audition was perfect timing so it got me in that world pretty fast.”

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    Creating Fade

    For Selin, Fade was just ten lines of mixed English and Turkish but unlike her other roles in TV and theater were everything was set, all she had to go on was a very early sketch of Fade’s in-game model. Selin got to work with a mostly fresh canvas in portraying the nightmare fueled VALORANT agent.

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    “I did know that she was going to be edgy and a little more on the dark side! Fade was not going to be a bubbly princess! But the Turkish trait that I very much put into Fade was the Turkish expressiveness and loudness. We get excited very easily so we can get loud," said Selin.

    "I think Fade in that way likes to be heard and takes initiative and likes to dive into the action. Also opinionated is a very Turkish trait. Fade will speak her mind. In family gatherings, Fade will be that aunt who will remember something that happened five years ago and will definitely hold a grudge. Fade will not get along with everyone!”

    But to make the best out of her character, Selin had to conduct long recording sessions.

    “Recording the alts was definitely fun though. They had me record like 20 different variations of my ‘ugh!’ sounds. I’m getting hit, dying, and reviving. I had to go back to what I would hear in video games. But that wasn’t much since I don’t really play too many video games. I’m in a booth, basically a box with a microphone, with just the director guiding me and I was recording for six hours at a time.”

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    Whenever a particular culture is portrayed, accents are always going to be a topic of conversation. For Selin, her creation of Fade’s Turkish accent has quite the origin story as well.

    “Day-to-day, I pretty much already have an American accent. I moved to LA five years ago but I did grow up in Turkey, in Istanbul so Turkish is still my first language. Doing my Turkish accent, I wanted it to be as accurate as possible. But I wanted it to be understandable enough by anyone in the world but still be distinctly Turkish."

    "Finding that perfect balance was definitely challenging. Because different cities can have different accents, right? Fade has a metropolitan city Turkish accent. Fade’s accent is also an amalgamation of the accents of my mom, my sister, and my dad. Its what my parents sounded like growing up. Whenever I felt lost doing Fade’s lines, I would just imagine how my dad would say those lines!”

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    Turkish representation

    With VALORANT aiming to include as much representation as possible, for Selin getting to represent Turkey was quite the memorable experience.

    “It’s amazing and surreal at the same time. I feel like Turkey doesn’t get enough representation that way internationally. Like in movies when we get mentioned we would get excited. We’re recognized! I remember when an early scene of James Bond (Skyfall) was shot in Istanbul it was such a big deal and people freaked out."

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    "I was surprised that they would be interested in a Turkish agent. Riot is definitely inclusive and diverse with their goals in VALORANT. To be female and to represent my own country is the best experience ever! Playing an empowered female character like Fade is so, so cool!”

    And for those interested to enter into the world of acting, here's what Selin has to say.

    “Education is definitely a big part of it. You have to be confident in what you’re doing and you have to keep training. When your time comes, you have to be ready because there will always be opportunity. Take it. It’s not about finding the right audition or casting call."

    She added: "It’s not going to be everyday you find an opportunity. You have to find your own voice. An authentic representation of a minority is always going to be wanted in the evolving world. We are in the world of social media and its so much easier to get yourself out there. Make videos. Try doing voices and showing what you can be. You make something that represents yourself and give yourself a voice.”

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    With VALORANT continuing to grow, expect more diverse representation in the game and definitely expect to hear more of Selin Cuhadaroglu in many, many more games after her wonderful performance as Fade, the bounty hunter.

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