Baldur’s Gate 3’s Astarion actor wins Best Supporting Performer prize at Golden Joysticks 2023

Neil Newborn, Astarion, Baldur's Gate 3 winning at the Golden Joystick Awards 2023
(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Neil Newbon has won the Best Supporting Performer gong for his role as Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3 at the Golden Joystick Awards 2023 powered by Intel. 

Newborn won out against some wonderful competition featuring in projects like Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Final Fantasy 16, and more. You can see the full list of Golden Joystick Awards 2023 nominees below:

  • Laura Bailey - Mary Jane in Marvel's Spider-Man 2
  • Neil Newbon - Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3 (Winner)
  • Cissy Jones - Andreja in Starfield
  • Amelia Tyler -  Narrator in Baldur's Gate 3
  • Ralph Ineson - Cidolfus Telamon in Final Fantasy XVI
  • Patricia Summersett - Princess Zelda in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
  • Idris Elba - Solomon Reed in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

Astarion is one of the many Baldur's Gate 3 companions you'll meet on your way to the titular gate. Much like all of those companions, they feature a wonderful back story that slowly unfurls as you get to know them on your trip, rewarding the effort you put in. One highlight is the character's bad ending, which one of the game's writers describes as a wake-up call for players lusting over the game's characters. Naturally, though, what helps this all land is Newbon's ability to bring life to the character. 

We had plenty of praise for the RPG's characters and more ourselves. In our Baldur's Gate 3 review, we called it the new gold standard for RPGs.

"Baldur's Gate 3 is the most successful and authentic take on D&D in the tabletop franchise's 50-year history," we said. "Its complexity and size might be daunting for novices, but the breadth and depth of Baldur's Gate 3's world make this a once-in-a-generation achievement."

Discover the best games of 2023 at the best prices by checking out the Golden Joystick Awards Steam sale page

Deputy News Editor

Iain joins the GamesRadar team as Deputy News Editor following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When not helping Ali run the news team, he can be found digging into communities for stories – the sillier the better. When he isn’t pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new hat, you’ll find him amassing an army of Pokemon plushies.

Read more
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon says he "got rid of" agents who deliberately kept him away from video game gigs: "They just didn't want me to do it"
Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot showing Astarion, a pale male elf with short curly white hair and red eyes, looking over his shoulder with a smirk on his face
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor comes face to face with what might just be the best merch to come of the RPG yet – a 5-foot Funko Pop figure of his character
A screenshot from the Balatro: Friends of Jimbo reveal trailer, showing a card with The Witcher's Geralt on the front.
Baldur's Gate 3 director Swen Vincke says indie poker roguelike Balatro was his 2024 GOTY, beating out Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Astro Bot, and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Baldur's Gate 3 pale vampire elf Astarion, a man with curly white hair and red eyes
The Baldur's Gate 3-arization of Dungeons & Dragons continues as Astarion gets 2 official mentions in the new source books
Tides of Annihilation protagonist Gwendolyn, a woman with long brown hair and glowing blue eyes, looks to the camera.
Baldur's Gate 3's Shadowheart actor and her real-life partner "are finally playing opposite each other" in this gorgeous fantasy action game set in "shattered" London
Dragon Age Inquisition
Dragon Age actor says the last time he played Inquisition, he upheld the RPG tradition led by Baldur's Gate 3 actors and romanced his own character: "Which is the best — the best"
Latest in RPG
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
A Dragon Age character stares out against a blue background.
BioWare makes a return to Dragon Age: The Veilguard with a surprise PC update, months after layoffs and a seemingly final patch
Baldur's Gate 3 the vampire Astarion covered in blood
Baldur’s Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon warns games industry that "AI will have deep ramifications" if not properly regulated: "I believe in experiencing life and art through human expression, not software"
Yasuke riding through a village looking for Knowledge in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows' prologue is the most gripping in franchise history, but I'm fixated on the tiny details
Naoe perched in front of a castle in Assassin's Creed Shadows
I've spent 20 hours in Assassin's Creed Shadows chasing drip and decor, and it's proving to be my biggest source of motivation in the RPG
Cabernet screenshot showing vampire protagonist Liza sucking someone's blood
Cabernet is the kind of vampire RPG I've been looking for since Masquerade Bloodlines, and I'm already plotting my next run 6 hours in
Latest in News
A screenshot from MindsEye showing a character leaning out of a car, shooting another car with a gun.
GTA veteran says the games industry needs to "get smarter" about what people actually want: "There are so many games, and I think we're starting to feel the effects"
Posing with a rifle in the Fallout 76 Ghoul update
Fallout 76's art director "had to fight really hard" so Bethesda would make the MMO's map bigger than Skyrim's
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Yasuke looking over the water to a shrine during sunset in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has an entire island stuffed with adorable kittens you need to check out, and it's based on an actual Japanese cat paradise
phase zero key art showing zombies in a hallway
Former Witcher 3 and Dying Light devs reveal their Resident Evil homage, complete with PS1-style fixed cameras
Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System was only created because WB Games wanted something to combat Batman Arkham Asylum's second-hand sales, exec says