Best known for his turn as Jake Sommers – the leather-clad lead guitarist who defined a generation of ‘90s teen TV on California Dreams = Jay Anthony Franke has built a career that stretches far beyond the screen. For gamers, his legacy is cemented in a very different space: as the voice of J.C. Denton in Deus Ex, a performance that helped shape one of the most influential titles in gaming history and continues to resonate decades on.
Ahead of his appearance at Supanova Comic Con & Gaming, Franke reflects on a career that has moved fluidly between on-screen performance and voice acting, the discipline of working with “only the voice,” and the personal evolution that comes with looking back on early fame. Thoughtful, candid, and disarmingly self-critical in his conversation with our Peter Gray, he also opens up about creativity, technology, and the uneasy future of storytelling in an age of AI – while still finding joy in, as he puts it, “all the pretty colours.”
You’ve moved between on-screen acting and voice work across your career. What emotional or creative muscles does each medium demand that the other doesn’t?
With on-screen acting, I’ve got the full tool chest – I can use everything. With voiceover, it’s all in here and here – my head and my voice. I have to convey thoughts, ideas, emotions using only that.
Is there something freeing about that? Like, no costumes, no set – you can just show up in your socks?
(Laughs) Oh yeah. Working from home in a T-shirt and boxers is great. No makeup, no prep – well, no prep beyond what you do mentally and vocally.
Looking back at California Dreams, how do you feel about the version of yourself audiences first met as Jake Sommers versus who you are now?
A lot of people say, “I wouldn’t change a thing.” I’d change almost everything – not the jobs, but how I handled myself. I was generally a nice guy, but I remember moments where I could’ve been kinder, more encouraging, more present. That’s what I think about now – not the performance, but the person I was.
Was there a moment where you shifted from performing to truly inhabiting a character?
Not really in a major way. I did a murder mystery dinner theatre once where we stayed in character for hours – that probably came closest – but I wasn’t getting paid enough to call it transformative.
How do you give depth to a character in voice acting when your physical presence isn’t part of it?
I aim to nail it in one or two takes. That mindset makes me put everything into it. If they ask me to pull back, I adjust on the second take. Usually, that’s enough.
Your delivery as JC Denton is often described as restrained, almost philosophical. Was that intentional?
Yeah. In my head, he’s six months old – a clone, part machine, still learning. He’s confident, but also figuring things out. There are flashes of humanity, but mostly he’s an automaton. I was even told to “reel in the humanity” – they didn’t want too much of it yet.
Voice acting often lives in nuance. What’s more powerful to you – what’s said or what’s left unsaid?
It depends on the writing and direction. I think of it like David Gilmour – what he doesn’t play is just as powerful as what he does. That space matters. But ultimately, it comes down to what the material calls for.
When you listen back to your performances, how do you feel?
Mixed. Sometimes I think, “That was pretty good.” Other times, “Wow, that sucked – how did that get through?” And I own that. Maybe I was tired, maybe I missed it—but it’s on me.
Did working on Deus Ex shape how you think about control, identity, or humanity?
It made me more skeptical – but in a balanced way. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I don’t take things at face value either. If someone shows me a video, I’m like, “No – I’ll go find the information myself.” Same with government narratives. It pushed me to think critically from both sides.
What excites you most about where storytelling is headed in games and television?
“Excites” might not be the word. AI worries me. We’re already seeing it write music, generate videos… and we’re heading toward not knowing what’s real. That’s scary. But what does excite me? The visuals. The detail. The evolution. Games like Horizon Zero Dawn – the level of realism, the individual strands of hair moving – it’s incredible. And that was years ago. Now it’s even better. So yeah – “all the pretty colours.”
AI feels like it’s reshaping everything.
It is – and it’s backwards. AI should be doing our laundry and paying our bills, not writing our poetry. We should be making the art. Instead, we’ve flipped it.
Do you feel voice actors are getting the recognition they deserve now?
More than before, definitely. When I did Deus Ex, nobody cared. There were no proper union structures for it. I got paid once, and that was it – even though it’s still popular. Now? Actors are making better deals. It’s improved. I just missed that wave a bit.
What keeps you creatively hungry?
Working a real job. I work in tech – it can be mind-numbing at times. So my creative outlet becomes essential. I’ll pour a glass of scotch, pick up a guitar, and just play for a couple of hours. That balance keeps me grounded.
I relate to that – having a day job makes the creative work feel even more vital.
Exactly. It keeps things real
And we’re obviously chatting for the Supanova Convention. At these conventions, is there a role people bring up that surprises you?
Yeah – deep cuts. I had a tiny role in a film called Earth Angel and someone mentioned it – I was like, “How do you even know that exists?” Same with a one-episode role on General Hospital. And then there’s stuff I don’t even remember doing, like Bodies of Evidence, which was a TV show inspired by that Madonna movie. That one really threw me.
Is there a role you’ve never played but would love to?
Jimmy from Goodfellas. If that film had never been made, that’s the role I’d want.
What originally drew you to acting?
Honestly, everything. Growing up in the ‘70s, all of it made me want to do this. I gravitate toward sci-fi and fantasy, but mob movies fascinate me too – even though the real-life stories just make me angry.
And before I go, what’s the strangest direction you’ve ever been given?
I’m sure there were weird ones, especially during Deus Ex – we worked insane hours – but nothing specific comes to mind. Well… maybe: “Let’s wrap this up so we can go get drunk.” Does that count?
Honestly? That’s a pretty great note to end on.
Jay Anthony Franke will be appearing as a guest at this year’s Supanova Comic Con & Gaming convention in Melbourne (April 18th and 19th, 2026). For more information on each event, head to the official Supanova website.
