Interview: Jesse Cox

This week I couldn’t have been more of a fan girl if I tried when I had the opportunity to interview YouTube funny man Jesse Cox; this is one to tick off the NoobFeed list. If you love games and find yourself lost for hours on YouTube then at some stage you have come across the awesome Jesse Cox. We got down to the business and chatted all things nerdy from Fantasy shows, Pax and the Space Butterfly.  I dare you not to love this guy!

Sarah: How was your time at PAX Prime?

Jesse: Oh man I love PAX, without a doubt, the best convention of the year. I got to see all sorts of great games, be on a panel, host a party... Needless to say I'm tired and I'm glad I don't have to do it until the next PAX... which is in March. Crap.

Sarah: On the Friday, you, Total Biscuit and @Dexbonus held the Podcast Panel Live! How do you find holding such a thing, and what do you take from people's reactions to it?

Jesse: It always amazes me how many people come to our panels. I assume it's to see the great Totalbiscuit in person, as he rarely leaves his natural habitat. Or maybe it's to see if Dodger is really as charming as she is in her videos, the answer may surprise you. But, never do I think people are there for me. It's always a shock and a supreme joy to see butterflies in the audience. Luckily I thrive on a live audience, so it's all good. One of my favorite parts of the con.

Sarah: What's been your favorite trollish comment to date?

Jesse: My favorite comment is "You try too hard to be funny", as if that is somehow an insult. I run a comedy channel, not the nightly news. It always amuses people when they get mad that I try to be funny in everything I do, that's the whole point. Oh internet.

Sarah: What was your initial idea behind setting up your YouTube channel?

Jesse: I was out of work, with no job prospects and did it for fun to keep my mind of that fact. Next thing I know, it is my job. So I guess my best advice to future youtubers would be, to have lots of free hours in the day and nothing better to do. In 3 years you'll have your own PAX panel.

Sarah: You've got over half a million subscribers and close to 200 million channel views; did you ever expect to be as successful as you are? And how does having such a huge fan-base make you feel?

Jesse: It's insane. Literally and figuratively insane. I'm blown away by all of it and it's almost too much to handle sometimes. But I will say, I'm honoured and humbled. I never once thought this would be my life, although I'll be honest, I've always been one of those people who wanted it. My parents always told me I'd either be a politician or TV star. Close enough.

Sarah: You also play a role in the new web animation Broken Quest, for our readers who have not yet seen it can you give us quick summary of Broken Quest and your character.

Jesse: So the plot is basically Fantasy meets Archer. It's raunchy and silly and fun,  I play the "straight man" to the crazy cast of characters. Except he's less of a man and more of a Goat Slug. His name is Yorks, and he's the minion of the bad guy, who much like the hero is a moron. In fact the entire cast is comprised of morons, except my guy. So watch it kids!

Sarah: How did you get into voice acting? 

Jesse: For the longest time I was involved with theatre and acting, but sometime in college I started watching more late night adult swim cartoons and really found an appreciation for anime and adult cartoons and thought, "hell, that looks like a lot of fun". From there it was a long process of continuing to take classes in college for theatre and voice/breath work, while at night logging into sites like the Voice Acting Alliance, a fandub/radioplay forum, where I'd audition to get fan work. From there I developed enough voices and demo reel work to try out for real stuff and create a legit demo. And after that, it was a hop skip and a jump to legit work.

Sarah: What was your earliest gaming memory?

Jesse: I seem to recall the first game I ever played being Blades of Steel on the NES in my friend Johnny LaForge's room back in the early nineties. I was so impressed by the graphics.

Sarah: Would you care to indulge us in the lore of the Space Butterfly and the legend of his moon nectar?

Jesse: Well you see, the Space Butterfly is an ethereal being that travels the galaxy dreaming up reality. We are all creations of its dream. The moon nectar comes in, because that's what it eats. I mean, even imagined intergalactic space butterflies made up in videos gotta eat.

Sarah: What tips can you share for people who want to set up a pretty sweet gaming rig?

Jesse: The best tip I have is to be aware that no matter how "hi-tech" and "top of the line" you want to get, something will come out that will make your super rig suck in a month. So just build something that will satisfy your needs for the next 2 years. That's the most you can expect to get out of a gaming rig without updating it.

Sarah: If you could choose one game to be updated and made all shiny and new, what game would that be and why?

Jesse: Obviously Final Fantasy 6, the greatest RPG there ever was or ever will be. Seriously, play it.

Sarah: On a final note, what one life lesson could you pass on to the masses of gamer folk out there, to inspire them, and potentially change their lives?

Jesse: You never know what road life will take you down. Enjoy it, learn from your mistakes, but take the risk of making them. You only have one life and second guessing yourself or not taking chances is more foolish than taking them. Also, be yourself. Stop trying to be who everyone else wants you to be. Be you, be proud, and never settle.

A big thanks to Jesse for taking the time to talk with us! We look forward to hearing about your upcoming projects and wish you continued success! Keep up with Jesse Cox on YouTube, give him a like on Facebook and follow him on Twitter!

Sarah Doherty, NoobFeed (@SarahDohertyy)