John Cygan, best known to gamers as the voice actor behind Solidus Snake in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, has passed away following a battle with cancer. He was 63.
The veteran actor, whose career has spanned TV, film, and videogames, passed away on May 13 at his home in California. He leaves behind his wife, Cathy, and two children.
Born in New York City to a family of thirteen children, Cygan embarked on a lengthy career that included stints in TV shows such as Diagnosis Murder, Frasier, NYPD Blue, and The X-Files, and also lend his voice talents to a number of animated feature films such as Cars, Inside Out, Monsters University, and Toy Story 3. Cygan transitioned into videogames during the latter days of his career, appearing in Dead Island, Grand Theft Auto V, Halo 4, Metal Gear Solid 2, Spec Ops: The Line, and The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.
As mentioned, Cygan’s portrayal of the villainous Solidus Snake in Metal Gear Solid 2 is the role in which he is most recognised for among gamers, where his character is revealed as the third clone of the legendary mercenary Big Boss alongside Solid and Liquid Snake and the 43rd President of the United States of America. He was responsible for the Big Shell incident in 2009, which forms the bulk of MGS2’s main storyline as players control newcomer, Raiden.
PSU would like to extend our condolences to Cygan’s family at this time.