This post contains affiliate links and our team will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on the links.
In the sci-fi battle zone of Hero’s Duty, Sergeant Calhoun is more than just a pretty face—she is the tough-as-nails, take-charge leader who fights for humanity’s freedom. When she’s not offering in-game intel, she’s training her troops for the next attack wave. This unrelenting commander is driven by a personal vendetta and will stop at nothing to protect the player and the arcade from a virulent Cy-Bug invasion.
For the look of Calhoun and her troops, artists wanted to amplify the typical military uniform—these soldiers would be fighting the ominous Cy-Bugs, so ample protection would be in order. “We sent our animators to watch an NFL football game,” says Spencer. “They were able to watch from the sidelines to get a good feel for what it’s like to move with all that gear on.”
According to animation supervisor Renato dos Anjos, when it came time to animate Calhoun and the rest of the soldiers, “Rich [Moore] wanted to have a really strong line of action. We went for superhero action-oriented animation, just trying to find really strong poses, almost comic book–like action poses—but in Calhoun’s case, we added that subtle warmth the character called for.”
(Listen to the entire audio interview from the Rountable Press Junket)
Jane Lynch (“Glee”) lends her voice to Sergeant Calhoun, a character that really came together once filmmakers saw what Lynch was bringing to the performance. “She’s everything you love about Jane Lynch—with an action-adventure twist. It’s very funny and exciting,” says Spencer.
“She’s definitely tough and in charge, but she has a heart—she has a soft side,” says Lynch of Calhoun. “But she’s almost unreachable because she’s suffered a huge heartache thanks to the horrible Cy-Bugs that have become her great nemesis.”
