The following contains minor spoilers for The Legend of Vox Machina, now streaming on Amazon.
When Critical Role streamed the first session of The Legend of Vox Machina in 2015, no one anticipated for the company to become the cultural behemoth it is. What started as a group of voice actors streaming their D&D sessions on Twitch and YouTube has now become a critical and financial success. Thanks to its loyal fans’ successful crowdfunding campaign, the web series was picked up by Amazon Studios and greenlit for two seasons. After a bumpy start in production, the first season premiered on January 28, and has been gaining a consistent following beyond its original streaming fans.
The series follows the misadventures of a rag-tag group of mercenaries as they trek around the land of Exandria. While the group is comprised of colorful characters, there is one voice that sticks out amongst the D&D crew. Fans that are new to the series will recognize the voice of Ashley Johnson who plays Pike, the team’s Cleric Gnome. Johnson has been with Critical Role from the start, but most will recognize her distinctive voice from her turn as Ellie in the beloved PlayStation staple, The Last of Us. Like Critical Role‘s Vox Machina, The Last of Us will also be getting the TV treatment on HBO.
Pike’s stature is rather deceiving, as she is one of the most powerful characters on the Vox Machina team. Hailing from the Trickfoot line, Pike is the group’s cleric and worships the goddess of healing Sarenra, also referred to as Everlight. Her ability to create force fields during battle or heal her friend’s wounds makes her an essential part of the team. While everyone in Vox Machina is close, the friendship between Pike and the group’s muscle, Grog, is special and one of the sweetest aspects of the show. The duo’s beautiful backstory has yet to be explored in the series but would make for a great one-off episode somewhere down the line.
Like the rest of Vox Machina’s voice actors, Ashley Johnson was in the original cast during the tabletop’s streaming days. However, Johnson’s professional success did hinder her involvement several times throughout the initial campaign via Geek and Sundry’s Twitch and YouTube streams. Thanks to unforeseen scheduling conflicts, the series Dungeon Master, Matthew Mercer, was forced to create believable scenarios as to why Pike couldn’t join certain adventures. Thankfully, Mercer’s adept writing skills opened the door for an intriguing arc in the TV series as Pike tries to regain her connection to the Everlight.
Outside of The Legend of Vox Machina, Ashley Johnson is primarily known for her role as Ellie in the PlayStation series, The Last of Us. A franchise that is so popular it may be getting a remake and a director’s cut of the original game released later this year. Like many successful voice actors, Johnson is mostly associated with this one iconic role despite having a seasoned resume. Between voicing Tara in Teen Titans/Teen Titans Go!, Gwen in the Ben 10 series and her brief appearance as the waitress in Avengers 2012, there have been plenty of fandoms that Johnson has dipped her toes into.
Ashley Johnson is a fantastic actor whose recognition deserves to have a far wider reach than just her turn as Ellie. It is clear she has turned her unique voice and emotive tone into a tool that shapes each of her characters with masterful precision. While Johnson is highly respected in several communities, she deserves to be a household name. Hopefully, with the popularity of The Legend of Vox Machina and its band of antiheroes, those who only know Johnson as Ellie will get to see the full range she can truly offer.
About The Author
