Heimskr is the aloof town crier of Whiterun, a denizen of Skyrim that proclaims Talos is the one true god, even if the Aldmeri Dominion have their enforcers just around the corner, ready to make him lick his wounds. He's voiced by Michael Gough as most of the Nords are – the ol' Bethesda way. As, Gough tells us, however, Heimskr is his favorite character, standing out from the rest.
"They all kind of sound a little similar because there's dozens and dozens of them and you've got the Nord accent which you can't really change up that much," Gough tells us. "So, you'd try to find little variations. With that, it was all just, pretty much: 'Here's this segment, and here's what this character is. Now you're the blacksmith. Now you're (one of my favorite characters), Heimskr.
RELATED: Skyrim Mods Are Hurting Because Of Nexus' New Policies
"He was great. I loved it. Absurd, you know? It's great when directors just say, 'Don't hold back… go wild.' He's over the top. Some of the Nord characters were incidental so they sort of come and go. Others were more substantial like Balgruuf, the Companion brothers, the guy that marries you, the one at the beginning of the game with the prisoners being brought into town – 'Hey you, you're finally awake.' You know?"
Trying to differentiate so many Nord characters was a tough challenge for Gough as an actor, but it was a challenge that he took head on and just had fun with, resulting in outlandishly over-the-top icons like Heimskr who would go onto become viral memes. One of which even landed on Gough's radar – the prank calls to Jehovas Witnesses with Heimskr voice lines. Yep, he's seen 'em, and he's a fan.
"There's a ton of Skyrim online and I came across this page on a site which was nothing but all the lines of Heimskr broken into separate sound vbites," Gough tells us. "On Youtube, people have concoted prank phone calls using lines from Heimskr and Deckard Cain where they'll call up like some religious group where they'll say, 'Hello, how can we help Jesus in your life today?'
Then I'd say, 'Talos is the one true God! It is blasphemy!' Then they'd say, 'Well, I'm here to help you get to know Jesus' and Heimskr would reply, 'We are but maggots!' I'm amazed at some of this stuff. It's pretty funny."
Next: Skyrim Has Now Been Re-Released More Times Than Resident Evil 4
