Alan Wake 2, Max Payne actor James McCaffrey dead at 65

Alan Wake 2, Max Payne actor James McCaffrey dead at 65

Time Stamp: December 18, 2023 11:32 AM

James McCaffrey, the voice of Max Payne, died Sunday at 65, TMZ reports. A representative for McCaffrey told the publication that the actor, who is known for roles across Control and the Max Payne and Alan Wake franchises, died of multiple myeloma, and that he was surrounded by friends and family at the time of his death.

“One of Dick Wolf’s proteges (Swift Justice), McCaffrey went on to a successful 35 year career in television and film,” McCaffrey’s representative told TMZ. “Trained at the Actor’s Studio, he never lost his love for creating characters; however, his good looks often pushed him toward leading man roles.”

In additional to his work in film and television, McCaffrey began voice acting in video games in 2001 as the title character in Remedy Entertainment’s Max Payne, kicking off a relationship with the Finnish studio that lasted for more than two decades. He returned to the role for 2003’s Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, and again in 2012 for Max Payne 3, which was developed by Rockstar Studios.

McCaffrey voiced Tom Zane and Alex Casey in 2010’s Alan Wake from Remedy, and reprised the role of Casey (Saga Anderson’s FBI partner) in this year’s sequel, Alan Wake 2. Remedy also hired McCaffrey for 2019’s Control, in which he voiced Zachariah Trench, director of the Federal Bureau of Control. McCaffrey’s other video game credits include Midway Austin’s Area 51 (2005) and Eden Games’ Alone in the Dark (2008).

Remedy is returning to Max Payne alongside Rockstar Games with planned remakes of Max Payne and Max Payne 2, Remedy CEO Tero Virtala announced in 2022. Remedy announced in an October financial report that the projects were ready for production. The company had not said if McCaffrey was to be involved.

The Max Payne titles are critically acclaimed action games, and McCaffrey’s voice-over work in them, and across the Remedy-verse, has cemented a lasting legacy.

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