The actor behind Half-Life’s G-Man's iconic, halting performance was based on the idea that he was experiencing several timelines at once. 'His relation to time is very differently than you or I would believe'

Secret Tape, the same crew that produced NoClip's documentary on Valve's Half-Life 2 20th anniversary, spoke with several of the actors who played prominent roles in the game. Barney Calhoun, the G-Man voice actor Michael Shapiro and others discussed their craft and theories about the Half-Life series iconic extradimensional stalker.

Shapiro said that the moment you see him, you realize how many times you didn't even know he was watching. G-Man is not only seen in the story but also throughout Half-Life levels, seemingly watching your progress.

"He is not Big Brother--that does not make sense to me. That would be industrial and bureaucratic and this is much, much more intimate," Shapiro explained, before slipping into G-Man’s singular halting and singsong voice to demonstrate: "He is always behind your back... watching, waiting for the right moment to... speak. I think that's where he lives."

Shapiro believes that his real-life personality and normal speaking voice are much closer to Barney Calhoun's, his other major character in the Half-Life franchise. Shapiro, in his return to G-Man said that he "always had a sense that G-Man was taking care of many things that we didn't understand, and was kind of enjoying fiddling with people and massaging the reality in a manner that he was unique to do."

Shapiro revealed, "I knew about him from a young age that his relationship with time was very different from what you and I would think." "In my mind he could be in two places simultaneously. There was sometimes an implied hitch or he is experiencing two or more different moments at the same time. This might be funny because you are only in one moment with him.

This is a fascinating look at one of the most mysterious and enduring characters in gaming. The fractured sense makes sense given his role in story and his demonstrated mastery of time and space. And like all great fiction revelations, it only raises more question. G-Man brings to mind suited government officials like the Cigarette Smoking Man from The X-Files. But as Shapiro implies, he represents a far more horrific and unknowable conspiracy than a banal government plot. I hope we don't get the complete story about G-Man, though. Nothing could possibly match the 26-year mystery.