Video Gamer Roger Craig Smith on Celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog’s 35th Birthday, 14 Times to Replay “Go Dress Up”

He is Ezio Auditore da Firenze from the “Assassin’s Creed” franchise. I’m Chris Redfield in “Resident Evil.” I’m Kyle Crane from “Dying Light.” It’s Raphael from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. It’s Batman in “Arkham Shadow.”

I’m Roger Craig Smith, and he’s been the voice of many people who play video games for the past two decades. But this year, he celebrates the 35th anniversary of what is arguably his greatest role: Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog.

“Not a day goes by – and part of this is because we’re able to do fan convention tours now, where you literally travel the world, and you meet people from all over the world who bring you their Sonic art,” Smith told. Variety. “They bring you their stories about what that game and what that character meant to them from way back in their childhood. And it started coming a few years ago, when I had someone in their 30s say, ‘Bro, you’re like the voice of my childhood.’ And I thought, but you’re 30? And all of a sudden I’ll be like, okay, I’ve got this white beard coming out now. And that’s because they started playing when they were 15 or 16, and I’ve been talking Sonic for 16 years now. So I have to push myself every day to think, it’s one thing to have someone like you who wants to talk to me about something I’ve done for 20 years in a very difficult and difficult industry, to have a career of more than 20 years and I’m still busy with lightning strikes more than once, for that matter. But also to say, I’ve produced characters and things that have had an impact on people over the years, that’s pretty amazing. It never gets old.”

Smith says that “there has never been a better time” to work as a blue hedgehog, since the Sega IP is so popular that Ben Schwartz is talking about Sonic in the Paramount film franchise and Deven Mack is leading the animated show for Netflix. And with Sonic turning 35 this year, Smith has more work than ever, including an upcoming appearance at the gaming event IGN Live, which runs June 6-7 in Los Angeles.

“All I can say is I’m really excited to be a part of this,” said Smith, when asked if he’ll be joining IGN Live to reveal something related to Sonic’s big birthday. “It’s a really fun event, and I’m looking forward to getting out there and being a part of the energy in that room, and participating in whatever way they want us to participate. It’s going to be a really, really fun event. I wish I could give more details and that kind of thing, but I think it’s for IGN to spill the beans, and I’m going to play it safe, and have fun in Los Angeles. To be a part of this huge event, it’s something worst of my career, I’m going to skip all NDAs, and I’m so excited for Sonic the Hedgehog’s 35th anniversary.

What is that? Don’t know Sonic? Oh, and now Smith has the first answer to the question of his most powerful role: The host of TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress”.

“There’s something funny about what I do for a living where, if you and I were sitting on a plane next to each other and all of a sudden, if I even bothered to say, ‘Yeah, this is what I do,’ — usually, the next question is, ‘Anything I would have heard?'” Smith said. And depending on age or background, it can be anything, right? But it seems like across the board, if somebody’s never heard of Sonic the Hedgehog, or Kyle Crane, or any of the other characters or things that I’ve done, if I’ve mentioned that, somebody always says, ‘Oh!’ Or my favorite is the tough guy who keeps saying, ‘I don’t watch that show, but my girlfriend does,’ or my wife, and then, after five minutes they go, ‘So wasn’t there a scene where grandma got stuck in the parking lot?’ Oh, yeah, you’re not watching.”

While “Say Yes to the Dress” retains its relevance with old clips turned into viral videos circulating on TikTok, Smith will happily claim the credit — don’t ask him what he learned from it.

“Fourteen seasons, different series,” Smith said. “They had a show in Atlanta and all these different things they did. And it was a lot of fun.’ And to this day, I think people think I know things about wedding dresses, and I assure you, I know nothing about wedding dresses.”