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Widowmaker is easily one of the most iconic characters to exist in the Overwatch roster. While her overall kit as the bona fide sniper is unique, it's not the only thing that makes her stand out. Widowmaker's cold persona and calm demeanor give her personality, and this has been amplified owing to her brilliant voice actor, Chloé Hollings.
We interviewed Chloe Hollings at the Comic Con Delhi 2025, and had her jog down the memory lanes during the voice acting for Widowmaker in Overwatch 1 and 2. Chloe opened up about embodying a character known for emotional detachment, the artistry behind voice performance in competitive shooters, and how her excitement and diligence shaped her journey.
Keep reading Sportskeeda's exclusive interview to find out what Chloe had to say about Widowmaker and how her voice became an icon for all Overwatch players.
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Chloe Hollings talks about bringing emotion to Widowmaker’s cold persona and how infusing softness to her voice shaped Overwatch's infamous sniper
Q: How did you get into voice acting? Voice acting is not a conventional field, so how did you start the journey?
A: For me, this was like a big, wonderful accident that just happened. My mother was a book publisher, and she was working on this one book that needed some young voices to record. Back then they used to do it on CDs, with little scenes and snippets. I knew I was a good reader, so I started doing just that.
Then, I continued all through my teenage years, and then I naturally decided to become an actor. I already had this background, so the transition was easy. The direction was already set, and then I just expanded my skill set in terms of voice acting.
Q: When you voiced Widowmaker in Overwatch, how did you prepare yourself for this role?
A: Widowmaker is one of my favorite characters. She's the kind of character that I wanted to play as an actor and I love her a lot. This is also because she's so far away from me. She's cruel and awful, but that's what makes her fascinating in terms of personality. She's so far away from me, and that is why I particularly loved the experience and joy of portraying something that's unlike me in all aspects.
Q: Widowmaker is a cold and precise person in Overwatch, and she does not speak many words. But her demeanor is very strict, so how did you find her voice?
A: It was a team effort, really, and it was never just me alone. There are the writers, the creators, the designers, the casting director, and a lot more people - all of us were working together. I got all the information from these people, and then I also saw what Widowmaker looked like.
After that, it was just me trying my best to channel her persona. It's something like me trying to be in Widowmaker's head. Her voice is low and very sharp, and not because she's incredibly sexy or anything like that. But because she is super efficient at her job. She has no time to lose, is very driven, and is not there to chat. All these details tell me what kind of tone I need to use to actually bring her to life.
Q: Widowmaker is canonically numb to all emotions, and her backstory is not particularly a very happy one. Yet, players can still feel a prominent personality from her voice. How did you bring this personality about?
Once I got all these details, they kind of form a picture for me that I can use. Widowmaker is canonically numb to all emotions, and her backstory is not particularly a happy one. Yet, I could still feel the glare from her personality, and I tried my best to uplift that as a voice actor.
Q: How did you bring life to Widowmaker's personality, to this cold and numb character?
A: I think there's a softness in my voice that I wanted to give to Widowmaker. In my head that makes her less hateable, I think? I mean, I don't know if that is entirely correct and it's just an assumption, but I'm myself a much softer person than her. At the same time, Widowmaker is also playful and I think people like that part about her.
Widowmaker is so dramatic, like she's so openly happy about destroying her enemies. And she has this arrogance that she does not try to hide. I found this refreshing because we live in a world where people are like "No, I'm not that pretty", or "No, I'm not that intelligent, just a little smart", like everyone's always trying to downsize themselves.
Widowmaker is not like that, and I think it's refreshing to sometimes be with a person who openly proclaims that "I'm the absolute best."
Q: You use both English and French while voicing Widowmaker, and how different does she feel to you between these two languages?
A: In French, Widowmaker sounds exactly like my voice in English. In English, I do put an accent on it. Like right now, while talking to me, you can hear that my English is just English. But when I speak like Widowmaker, I go down and put a little accent as well, so it feels like a different person entirely.
When I'm voicing her in French, there's no accent because Widowmaker is naturally a French person. That's the main difference, I think, and then there's just going back and forth between both. I've done it for a while so it's easy for me.
Q: What major challenges did you face while voicing Widowmaker in Overwatch?
A: It was 10 years ago so I do not remember the exact lines for these sequences, but there was one particular line I had a lot of difficulty with, that said "what's an aimbot?". Since I am not a gamer, I did not know what an aimbot was.
Widowmaker is supposedly better than aimbots, so I had some trouble understanding what is was. I think some gaming terms here and there were one of the issues mostly.
Q: What was your favorite part about voice acting Widowmaker for Overwatch?
A: Really, really, just having the opportunity. No, there are other parts actually. I already mentioned how Widowmaker is just completely opposite of me, and I would never ever ever live that way. I enjoyed Widowmaker's personality where she enjoys the killing, the torturing, and all of that, which I completely adore. I had a lot of fun when I recorded her. Because she says the most horrible things, and she means them fully. These are aspects that I had a lot of fun with.
Another aspect is that it has led me to meet so many people and to travel all around the world. Like right now I am in India, and it's amazing here at Delhi Comic Con. Yeah, it also got me to live in America for a while, and all these things just keep adding on to the list of amazing things I have taken from voicing Widowmaker in Overwatch.
Q: Outside of voice acting, what do you do to pass your time?
A: I am very interested in Psychology and Sociology. I mean, that's why I became an actress originally. I like to understand human beings, and that's also why I write books on the side. I've published books, and the first two are like memoirs. The first one is about diet culture and how it affects women.
The contents go about why do women want to be thin, even though they don't necessarily need to be, and how this often leads to an obsession. The second one is also centered around the female body and experience. The third one is a psychological thriller that I think a lot of people would enjoy.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who is starting out or wants to start out as a voice actor right now?
A: I was born in the 80s, and when I was around 20 (during the early 2000s), it was a niche field. Since I already had a background, I would suggest people not to take my career as an example. Obviously, the overall process is much different right now. I think it's very unique and particular, but my advice would be to take acting classes always. I think people assume that voice acting is very easy, but it's not.
Hearing the voice and doing it right is very difficult. When you hear the voice and you forget about acting, you will not get it right. You need to imagine the scenario, and then get it right. It's very important to be able to have a wide range to do many different types of voices.
If you don't know how to tackle a character, and if you do not know how to take direction properly, and if you don't know how to get around different types of emotions, you will never be able to do this job right.
After the acting classes, I would use all the technology available right now to showcase myself, and these are things that I did not have during my time. You need to get your voice out there and show people what you can do.
Play around, and read little cartoons, make up whatever you can in your mind, any snippet that you can think of, and just put it on YouTube. Read and read as much as you can and gradually, your skills will improve.
Q: Is there any other Overwatch character that you would have wanted to voice, or in any other games?
A: In Overwatch, I would have loved to voice maybe Winston. But other than that, I'm not really a gamer. I'm sure I could come up with an answer if you gave me a couple of hours to sit with it (laughs).
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