Free Guy. Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins Interview

Free Guy. Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins Interview

Legendary streamer Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins in this exclusive Interview speaks about his acting cameo in the new Free Guy Disney film.

Richard Tyler Blevins better known by his online alias Ninja is an American Twitch streamer, YouTuber and professional gamer. Blevins began in streaming through participating in several Esports teams in competitive play for Halo 3, and gradually picked up fame when he first started playing Fortnite Battle Royale in late 2017. Blevins’s rise among mainstream media began in March 2018 when he played Fortnite, breaking a peak viewer count record on Twitch. Blevins has over 16 million followers, making him the most-followed Twitch channel as of June 2021.

On August 1, 2019, Blevins left Twitch to stream exclusively on Microsoft’s Mixer platform. In addition to a large number of subscribers on Twitch and Mixer, Blevins has over 24 million subscribers on YouTube as of April 2021. At the time, he was earning over $500,000 per month from streaming Fortnite and credits the game’s free-to-play business model as a growth factor. Due to the shutdown of Mixer in July 2020, Blevins was released from his exclusivity deal, enabling him to stream on other platforms eventually returning to Twitch.

Blevins and his family were featured in several episodes of the television game show Family Feud in 2015. In September 2018, Blevins became the first professional Esports player to be featured on the cover of ESPN The Magazine, marking a breakthrough into mainstream sports fame. Blevins worked with the record label Astralwerks in October 2018 to compile an album titled Ninjawerks: Vol. 1 featuring original songs by electronic music acts. He was one of several Internet celebrities featured in YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind and briefly appeared during the NFL’s The 100-Year Game. Streamer has also released several books.

In the Free Guy film Tyler appeared in a cameo role alongside his colleagues, including Jacksepticeye, Pokimane, DanTDM и LazarBeam.

- Greetings, Tyler! Do you know all the other streamers appearing in the Free Guy film?

- I think I’ve met almost every single one of the people that have the cameos in the movie and they’re all going to watch the film. You know, it’s like following their streams. Like tuning into one of their videos. So I’m just really happy that they can just completely show the authenticity of what these people are with these streamers are and gaming. They all look well in the movie.

- How to make video game adaptations in film better?

- It’s going to be a little bit of work for the producers and the directors and everyone to just get the permission to, I guess, making it as you know, relatable as possible. So of course, first of all, you’re going to need the authenticity of the gaming space. It has to be relevant with all the pop culture references spot on and represented in the movie, so that everyone can watch it and be like «Oh, my God, that is just like the video game». Also you need to get the permissions to represent the certain games that you want to make the movie about.

For example, for Halo, showing Master Chief, the Spartans, you need to go to the 343 Industries developer’s studio, ask for their permission, make an agreement with them. It can take a lot of time and work. Work done right. And, of course, proper cooperation, because not all the creators would easily give their rights away, especially when it comes to movies. It would take a lot of work, man.

- We think your hair in that neon light of your room looks amazing!

- Thanks a lot!

- Tell us how you joined the Free Guy film.

- Yeah, sure. We received an email. My wife, who’s also my manager, knows what I might be interested in. She knows what I like thinking «Oh, hey, I need to go talk to Tyler about this and see if he has any interest. And if he does, maybe we’ll pursue it». She came downstairs, and was just like: «Tyler, you need to come in now». I was like: «What?». And she’s like: «I just got an email». It was an offer to do a movie with Ryan Reynolds in Boston. And it’s called Free Guy. I was thinking: «Oh my God, give me the script». We read it over and agreed immediately. I loved the idea about being a part of the movie. So it was an awesome experience.

- Did you get a chance to visit the set and meet the lead actors?

- We did! We flew in to Boston where they were filming halfway through the process already. We arrived on set. Thanks to doing my scene on that day we met Ryan who was also working that day and director Shawn Levy, of course. They both were awesome. Ryan Reynolds started walking toward us from the other side of the street, coming up to us. Then just saying: «Hey! What’s going on? Nice to meet you!». I also greeted him. He is super awesome, exactly same person like in the movies, and then you see him in real life. Just genuine, funny, attractive person.

- What would be your profession if you were a character in the Free City game from the Free Guy movie?

- I would like to just be in it. To be an ordinary NPC if not a player. If I was in the game I’d prefer to stay on the safe side and be nice, on the sidelines, like selling some goods. If a player came, I’d give him groceries or something. Would be cool to have a ride in a virtual city and not to get robber or car stolen. For sure, I don’t want to be a part of any story or side game missions.

- Did you offer the creators any ideas how to develop your cameo?

- Funny enough, but not really. I think they asked me like one or two things about the certain parts of the movie. Really small ones. I don’t know if they had a team behind them for consulting. Like some other influencers and gamers who helped to make the plot more relevant. I mean, I’m pretty sure it was just their hard work and intelligence. They just nailed it right, including the comedy and being super accurate in the gaming space of what it represents. When I watched the final cut I saw my cameo was 10 times better. They knew how to improve it and make it great.

- Would you like to expand your film career further after Free Guy?

- Absolutely! We are actively trying to continue our venture in the film industry, voice acting for animation. Anything in this field. I love the idea and excited about trying more such activities.

- Is it more difficult to film a live-action role or VO an animated character?

- I think, it would depend on the question if I had to create a new voice for the character or could use my real one. If I had to create something new, not just mimic some other existing voice which I am really good at, I would feel the pressure. You know, I got used to my own voice and I have to consistently use it in my work and streams every single time. If I needed to make another voice on top of that, it would put extra stress on me.

For example, if the voice had to be very powerful all the time, then it won’t be easy. It is more about stress being uncomfortable. I’m less nervous about meetings in person. I had acting experiences before, visited film sets. Both tasks have their challenges, both would be intriguing for me to try. They all look great.

- Thanks, Tyler!

- You are welcome!

Free Guy gets to the movies in the US on the 13th of August, 2021.

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Free Guy. Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins Interview