Honored Artist of Ukraine, actor of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater, and concurrently an officer of the Polaris Separate Special Purpose Unmanned Systems Detachment, Andrii Romanii with the call sign "Franko," became the voice of Colonel Korshunov in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. The story of how developers from GSC Game World found him and persuaded him to take on the role sounds like a script straight from the game itself: two calls he took for a prank, apologies to the studio director, and subsequent work "under strict secrecy, under a signed non-disclosure agreement." The serviceman and actor shared the details of his voice acting experience in an interview with Styler, an entertainment project by RBC-Ukraine.
A Double Life: Stage, Localization, and the Frontline
For Romanii, working with video games is neither new nor accidental. Before the full-scale war in Donetsk, he ran his own company specializing in game localization. Moreover, he admits to being a long-time fan of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series and, in his own words, "played through every single S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game possible." Thus, when the studio called offering him a role in the second part, the logical connection between his professional past and the current offer was obvious—though not to Romanii himself at the moment of the call.
"Go away": Two calls dismissed as a prank
Romanii treated the first call from GSC Game World as a joke. "I told them to go away because I thought it was some kind of scam," he recalls. The second call failed to convince him either; the actor assumed that one of his acquaintances, knowing his passion for the series, was playing a prank. Only after speaking with the studio director did it become clear that the offer was real. "I apologized and said: let's work," "Franko" recounts. This episode well illustrates how unexpected it was for the performer himself to land a role in a project that is the event of the year for millions of players worldwide.
A Plot Under NDA: Voicing Korshunov
Work on the role of Colonel Korshunov was lengthy, and project details were kept in strict confidence. However, the actor needed to understand the plot to comprehend the character's motivation and logic. The developers revealed possible storyline branches to him, but, as Romanii put it, "under deep secrecy, under a written pledge." Despite the complexity and restrictions, the soldier-actor speaks of the experience with pleasure: "It was a very cool, creative job. Super team, great office. I drew so much inspiration from there."
From Voice Acting to Cooperation: Donations, Cars, and a "Small Spoiler"
After completing his work on the role, Romanii stayed in touch with the studio. According to him, they still send him game cards to sign, and the collected donations are directed to his unit's needs. He shared his voice acting experience at a time when his unit received a vehicle from the MK Foundation charity, founded by Maksym Krippa, the owner of GSC Game World. Thus, the connection between the gaming project and the real needs of the military unit is not a one-time event, but systematic. In addition, the actor announced that he recently received an offer to continue cooperating with the studio, though he did not disclose details: "It's such a small spoiler. I don't know if I can talk about it right now."
Context: Styler and the Media Space
The interview was published on the Styler platform, an RBC-Ukraine project combining entertainment and lifestyle: trends, celebrities, tips, recipes, and horoscopes. The online media identifier in the Register of Entities in the Field of Media is R40-05347. The Styler editorial team notes that they may not share the views of the authors, and value judgments, according to Ukrainian legislation, are not subject to refutation. Materials marked with labels such as "Press Release," "Special Project," "Partner Material," and others are published on an advertising basis.
