Draft:Nicholas Boulton (actor)

Nicholas Boulton (born November 22, 1968 ) is a British actor, narrator and voice-over artist of Northern Irish descent, known for his work in theatre, television, and video games.

As an actor, he has starred in Shakespeare in Love and Topsy-Turvy and has had minor roles in TV series like Game of Thrones and Doctor Who.

As a voice actor, he has provided voice work for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 3. He is also known for his roles as the male version of the protagonist Hawke in Dragon Age II, Raubahn in Final Fantasy XIV, Reyes Vidal in Mass Effect: Andromeda, and Gadolt in Xenoblade Chronicles (video game).

Personal life
Boulton was born in Gibraltar to a Northern Irish family. He spent his childhood living in Ireland and England.

In his youth, Boulton attended Sherborne School in Dorset before enrolling at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he studied from 1990 to 1993. In his final year, Boulton was awarded the BBC Carleton Hobbs Bursary, a BBC Radio Drama award aimed at supporting up-and-coming actors. Alongside the award, Boulton received a seven month contract with the Radio Drama Company.

In June 2023, AudioFile inducted Boulton as a Golden Voice for his work as an audiobook narrator. He has voiced more than 100 audiobooks.

Career
Boulton is known for his voice role as Hawke, the protagonist of Dragon Age II. He shares this role with Jo Wyatt, who voices the female version of Hawke. Both actors reprise their roles in the video game series' sequel, Dragon Age: Inquisition. Boulton also stars in minor roles in several other BioWare titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect 3, and Mass Effect: Andromeda.

In Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, Boulton plays the role of Gadolt, a pivotal non-player character and husband to Sharla, one of the game's seven playable characters.

He is also known for playing Raubahn in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV, a recurring character who serves as the leader of one of the game's main three city-states.