According to her writer, Akon's "Smack That" and Morrigan's rendition of the song by a beat poet has a shared past.

Morrigan is an icon. As we've discussed on this website, she's a great companion, and she steals the show in Dragon Age: Origins. A razor-sharp tongue, a barbed wit, and a deeper vulnerability. There's a good reason why she keeps returning to the big hits in sequels.

David Gaider wrote the character, and several others that I like. Her origins were a little less highbrow than the final product. Gaider wrote on BlueSky: "Originally, Shohreh was supposed to play Flemeth, and we wanted an actress with a similar voice. But it was a struggle and Shohreh had to leave to do a film. So we suddenly had nobody for either of the characters!"

"Then one day Caroline (our VO director) came in with a recording that was sent by a representative for Claudia Black, who hadn't done any game VO at the time but wanted to start. Claudia was doing a slow beat poet rendition [Smack That]. I kid you not. I was already a big fan, so I lost it." Gaider initially got 'Baby Get Back' and "Smack That" mixed up. He later corrected it. It was easy to do, as they were on the same venn chart, and it was 15 years ago. "Yes, I have the recording." "No, you can't have it." Aw.

Gaider also reveals Morrigan's voice was supposed to sound a lot younger, per orders from above. "We had no choice but to agree that Claudia should sound younger, something I was sceptical about. The first two sessions, we asked her pitch her voice up. It was awful.

"Claudia needed to focus on sounding right instead of acting. Caroline and I did a sneaky thing and asked her to act in the third session. Use her natural voice. We were so impressed with her performance that we thought the team would be too. They did."

It's hard to believe that Gaider would speak in this way about the pressure that comes from the higher-ups, especially after his comments last year that writers were "quietly resented." You have to wonder, then, if Black was forced to use a higher register today.

Gaider also shares an amusing, heart-in mouth moment, wherein, after speaking with Black he committed the cardinal sin - comparing her to another actress. "I meet Claudia and I'm sweating. I think: I will start at the beginning. "Well, when I began writing Morrigan, Helena Bonham Carter was the voice in my mind"... Claudia gives me an look and tilts her brow. What you're saying, then, is... I'm just a cheap version of Helena Bonham Carter.

"I'm mortified. I melt. She lets me implode and gasp for about 30 seconds, before she turns her head back to laugh. So wicked. "I love her instantly and for ever."

Gaider ends his memoir with a similar expression: "Morrigan was a real touchstone to me, the heart and soul of DAO. She has evolved far beyond her original inspirations. Some said she was just an ice Queen like some of my other characters (Viconia and Bastila). But I find that such categories are very reductive." I agree with you, though I must admit that Alistair won my heart first. Gaider is still chuffed though, as he also wrote him.